Köppen's novel "Heeresbericht" was never truly forgotten, but it likely takes the hype surrounding the anniversaries of World War I to remind us of the outstanding literary qualities of this most narratively advanced among anti-war novels. Köppen volunteered in 1914, suffered both a gunshot wound and a psychological trauma, and refused further service in 1918 before the war ended, which landed him in a mental institution. The later author, journalist, and editor allows his main character to experience this fate, countering it with a montage of real and fictional documents that depict the madness of war and the propagandistic war fervor.