On 15 August it started. We were covered by artillery fire and fire of the Stalin organ, which lasted hours. I still remember that the lunar eclipse occurred that night. It seemed to be perfect for the mood of the judgment day. In our positions we managed to withstand everyday steep attacks for two weeks. Then there was a threat of encirclement, because the Russians managed to go to the right and left of us to cross the river and advanced along our wings. Therefore, the order came out to clear the position and retreat. For the next six weeks, the worst thing I experienced in the war was. Every day a new situation, night retreats, building defense and trying to keep their position until the evening. And the next night the same game. Sleep was out of the question, everyone achieved superhuman performances, although many of our friends fell or were seriously injured. I still hear their screams. something like this cannot be forgotten.

The book tells of the fate of German soldier Eberhard Dennerlein. When he entered the 47th engineer battalion in Munich in 1936, there was a real turning point in his life. He committed himself to faithfully serve the Wehrmacht throughout his life. At the age of twenty he was already appointed a company commander. After military missions in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, in 1943 he was transferred to the Eastern Front, where he faced the harsh and dirty reality of war. His other fates intersect at the end of the war with the history of Czechoslovakia. He eventually got into the Russian captivity from the camp, where he spent several years. All the time he recorded his experiences and thoughts into a diary that has become an important testimony of his life.