Surgeon with the Kaiser's Army

In this WWI military memoir, a German medical officer chronicles his harrowing exploits on both fronts of the Great War.

Born in 1893, Stephan Westmann was a medical student at Freiburg University when his country was drawn into the "war to end all wars." In 1914, he left his medical studies to enlist in the German Army, and was soon involved in bloody hand-to-hand fighting against the French before moving to the Russian front.


Despite his youth and lack of qualification, Westmann was promoted to medical officer. He was given command of an ambulance train on the Western Front, where he treated and operated on wounded soldiers of all ranks and nationalities. He rescued both British and German soldiers after gas attacks on the trenches of the Somme. As medical officer to the German Air Force (von Richthofen Circus), Westmann saw the dangers and effects of aerial combat up close. He also witnessed the British tank attacks at Cambrai.


In this vivid chronicle, Westmann illustrates life and death on the front lines, capturing both the horrors of war and the humor that helped sustain him and his comrades.


Wartime photographs included.