Summary

In Part II, Urbain begins to tell his own story, narrating his service in WWI in the present tense. On August 4th, 1914, a knock on the door calls him up to service, along with other boys in the neighborhood. Urbain reacts immediately, his years of training kicking in. The young men are pushed into an over packed train to Dendermonde, where they are divided into groups of 12. After taking over various houses and barns, the soldiers are static for three days before being provided with supplies and ordered to walk to Liege, where the Germans are attempting to break down various forts around the city. Their feet become covered in blisters after traveling for days on end, before they arrive in a hamlet called Hakendover. There, they fall asleep in a barn hungry and listless, as the rations are left...