The following is excerpts of a letter from a French soldier named "Pierre" to his wife "Édith", written on September 22, 1916, today 106 years ago, during the Battle of Verdun. Translated by myself with the help of Google Translate:
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"My dear Édith,
Life here is very hard. In the trenches, the stench of the dead reigns. Rats invade us, parasites eat our skin; we live in the mud, it invades us, slows us down, and tears our boots. The cold is added to these tortures. This icy wind, which freezes our bones, it hunts us every day.
At night, it is impossible for us to sleep. To must be ready at any moment, ready to attack, ready to kill. To kill, that is the focal point of our existence. They keep telling us that you must kill to survive, but I prefer saying live to kill. This is how I live every minute of this inferno. Without hygiene. Without rest. Without you. Without life.
This is nothing compared to the morbid trenches they send us to. On the battlefield, one finds nothing but corpses, poor soldiers rotting on the blood-soaked ground. The shells, the mines, they destroy everything in their path. Trees, houses, and what little vegetation remains. Everything is in ruins. The stench of mass graves, the sound of the cannons, the screams of soldiers...The atmosphere that reigns on this field of carnage would terrorise a kid for all his life. It is already terrorising us.
On Monday, I went to the front. I was struck in the leg. I write this letter to you when I should be alongside the others, fighting for my Fatherland. Our Fatherland doesn't aid us much. They send us to massacre men while they sit at their desks; but in reality, I'm sure they're scared of death.
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⬆️CONTINUED FROM ABOVE⬆️
"Ah! How I would like to receive a letter. How I would love to see you again, my dear wife! To find a little comfort, spend time with our little boy...Is everyone okay? Don't think of all these horrors.
I wouldn't want you to go through this for me. Take good care of yourself, of our son, and of my parents. And, even if I don't return, I will always watch over you. I think of you every day, and the sole force which keeps me alive is knowing I have a family waiting for me at home.
I hope to be by your side very soon, see you on the other side my beautiful Édith, I love you.

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