Dear Diary,
Russia has only been in the war for two months and I’ve only been here a mere three weeks. The trenches on the eastern front are nothing like I imagined. They are out of control. There has been rumor in the trenches that the Germans (our enemy) have unleashed a misty like substance in combat that has said to kill every Canadian and French soldier to encounter it. It is the most deadly weapon they have used yet. It was at the battle of Ypres on April the 22nd and onlookers described it as a yellow-greenish cloud approaching them. I later heard from some of my comrades that it was chlorine, I only went to school for a couple of years so I’m not as educated as the others, but I’m sure that is pretty bad. It’s a miracle I even know how to read and write. From what they told me, the gas immediately affects your lungs and irritates the tissue, which causes it to form liquid in your lungs. It’s like you choke on your own bodily fluids. It was like drowning internally; the men would asphyxiate and then die immediately. I don’t know what you think but that is a messed up way to die.
I am apprehensive all the time about everything. My greatest fear right now is facing the Germans. The Germans unleashing their death gas onto me and my comrades and me dying without even a chance to fight for my life. I didn’t join the army to be sucker-punched; in fact, I’m starting to question whether I should have even joined. The only thing keeping me going is my love, Vera. I didn’t get a chance to marry her before I left. I made sure to make love to her before I left. How I long to hold her in my arms again. I must finish writing; I need to get some sleep while I can.
Ludwig