Now I have been sitting in front of Verdun for three months

“Dear Mum!

I’ve been sitting in front of Verdun for three months now. Nothing changes here. Last night we were playing cards when another shell landed on the roof of the house next door. I’ve never jumped up from the table so quickly. Otherwise, we just lie in the trenches day after day. I’ve calculated that we’ll be relieved on the evening of 24 December, so I’ll be back on my stealth patrol of the enemy trenches on the night of 24 to 25 December. This is the first Christmas Eve I’m not spending at home with my parents. Hopefully it will be the only one I spend in enemy territory.”