It started on August 15. We were covered by artillery fire and Stalin's organ fire that lasted for hours. I still remember that there was a lunar eclipse that very night. It seemed to fit the doomsday mood perfectly. In our positions we were able to withstand daily heavy attacks for two weeks. Then there was a threat of encirclement, as the Russians were able to cross the river on our right and left and were advancing along our flanks. That's why the order came to clear the positions and retreat back. The next six weeks were the worst I had experienced in the war. Every day new situations, night retreats, building defenses and trying to hold the position until the evening. And the next night the same game. Sleep was out of the question, everyone performed superhumanly, even though many of our comrades fell or were seriously injured. I can still hear their screams. something like that cannot be forgotten.

The book tells about the fate of the German soldier Eberhard Dennerlein. When he joined the 47th Engineer Battalion in Munich in 1936, a real turning point in his life occurred. He pledged to serve the Wehrmacht faithfully throughout his life. At the age of twenty, he was already appointed company commander. After military missions in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, he was transferred to the Eastern Front in 1943, where he faced the harsh and dirty reality of war. At the end of the war, his further destinies intersect with the history of Czechoslovakia. From Tábor, he ended up in Russian captivity, where he spent several years. All the while, he recorded his experiences and thoughts in a diary, which thus became an important testimony of his life.