Storm of Steel: My Last Assault Summary & Analysis

In late July 1918, Jünger is withdrawn to a rest period in Northern France and spends some of his time training a shock troop, understanding that such small, resilient troops are more reliable in an advance than the majority of exhausted soldiers. As he rides around the countryside, he comes upon propaganda leaflets dropped by the British, promising a comfortable life in prisoner-of-war camps.

On August 23, Jünger receives marching orders to the front once more. He’s also warned about the danger posed by new tanks. Jünger addresses his men a final time, finding that there’s little to say—everyone knows the Germans are losing, but that they must stand firm. He leads three platoons toward dugouts as airplanes strafe overhead. He then naps for a while until woken up with the news that they’re about to go on the offensive. He hurriedly marches his men to their position in the village of Favreuil.

The company moves through the rubble-strewn village toward its castle grounds. Jünger puts on a steel helmet he finds lying on the ground. He calls this advance “our last storm,” remembering similar days over the past four years. He feels the attack is a hopeless mistake, and he views it more impartially than passionately.

Just as Jünger is leaping over a trench, he feels a “piercing jolt” in his chest and falls to the ground with a cry. Compared to his many past injuries, he now feels “Death’s hand” with a “firmer and more determined” grip than before. Yet he feels entirely happy, suddenly understanding his life’s purpose. He has a sensation of sinking, as if beneath “the surface of some turbulent water,” to a place where “there was neither war nor enmity.”