There is a whistling sound behind us. Shells pass overhead and explode in a sheet of flame a hundred meters away.

Erich Maria Remarque, born Erich Paul Remark, was a German novelist who created many works about the terror of war. His best known novel is "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1928) which tells the tale of German soldiers in the First World War. This was followed by "The Road Back" (1931) and "The Three Comrades" (1936).