German soldier (French on his father) Guy Sayer tells in this book about the battles of World War II on the Soviet-German front in Russia in 1943-1945. The reader is presented with a picture of the terrible trials of a soldier who was always on the verge of death. Perhaps for the first time, the events of the Great Patriotic War are presented through the eyes of a German soldier. He had to endure a lot: a shameful retreat, continuous bombing, the death of his comrades, the destruction of German cities. Sayer does not understand only one thing: no one invited him or his friends to Russia, and they all got what they deserved.