The greater part of the Eastern Front remained 'static', perhaps marginally less dangerous than the active parts of the front but barely more comfortable.

For many German troops the miserable squalid conditions of trench warfare had changed little since the Spring.

Willie Reese1 was now suffering from the wet and damp rather than the freezing cold.

We lived in a kind of glorified rifle pit. A planked ceiling protected us against light mortar shells; a box stove afforded some warmth. We picked up firewood wherever we could.

We were unable to wash, and the field kitchens in a remote ravine didn’t serve us before dusk. But our serenity and calm stood us in good stead. Danger was normal, and what had once petrified us as we first set out now barely touched us. Mind and spirit accommodated the requirements of destiny.