Resource 5-6

A German Soldier’s letter On the Somme, 21 August 1916. It is terrible to be here. For three days and four nights I have been

in the front line. It is dreadful… Finally we are far enough ahead and now have to dig in. We dig from

one shell crater to the next until it becomes one continuous trench… We have spent three days at

the front in the rain and cold, without coat or blanket, without anything warm to drink, only water.

It is left to me to describe the condition of this company of people – chilled through, dead tired and

mentally crushed by the continual heavy fire of the guns.

Translation of a letter written by a 19 year old German Soldier in August, 1916

1. Find words that refer to the exact same thing and join them up as a ‘text chain’ in one colour (EG. ‘One shell crater’ and ‘next’) 2. In a second colour, underline or highlight any adjectives that describe verbs or nouns. 3. Pick three adjectives and describe what they mean. 4. What is this soldier writing about? 5. What is his opinion? 6. What does this source tell the reader about the conditions faced by soldiers?

Resource 5-6

A German Soldier’s letter On the Somme, 21 August 1916. It is terrible to be here. For three days and four nights I have been

in the front line. It is dreadful… Finally we are far enough ahead and now have to dig in. We dig from

one shell crater to the next until it becomes one continuous trench… We have spent three days at

the front in the rain and cold, without coat or blanket, without anything warm to drink, only water.

It is left to me to describe the condition of this company of people – chilled through, dead tired and

mentally crushed by the continual heavy fire of the guns.

Translation of a letter written by a 19 year old German Soldier in August, 1916

1. Find words that refer to the exact same thing and join them up as a ‘text chain’ in one colour (EG. ‘One shell crater’ and ‘next’) 2. In a second colour, underline or highlight any adjectives that describe verbs or nouns. 3. Pick three adjectives and describe what they mean. 4. What is this soldier writing about? 5. What is his opinion? 6. What does this source tell the reader about the conditions faced by soldiers?