To defend the fatherland
_____
To the front, into the war
_____
That's what I've written on my banner
_____
Ecstatic, I boarded the train
_____
Victorious, we want to smash France
_____
A call roars like a thunderclap
_____
Many meters before the battle line
_____
You can already hear the shells' roar
_____
The company stands in reserve
_____
Yet I can see no man's land
_____
It flashes, it rumbles, the steel storm
_____
A world fire wrought by artillery
_____
The first mission now awaits
_____
Packed tight, man by man
_____
The stench of death and explosive fumes
_____
Wafts from the trenches to us
_____
To defend the fatherland
_____
To the front, into the war
_____
That's what I've written on my banner
_____
Ecstatic, I boarded the train
_____
Victorious, we want to smash France
_____
A call roars like a thunderclap
_____
Many meters before the battle line
_____
You can already hear the shells' roar