This truly is one of the most remarkable artefacts of the great war I have ever come across. We obtained this directly from the descendent of the soldier who wrote it, so in addition to his letter we are able to also provide information on him. This is an original one-of-a-kind letter, written by August Christian Paulsen, an Officer in the German army. As far as we can ascertain it was written to his parents to be opened in the event of his death. After writing this letter Paulsen was subsequently Killed in Action the following day leading his platoon in an assault on French lines, he was 19 years old.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Paulsen was the fact that he was NOT German but actually Danish. His descendent (whom we purchased this off) was unclear about his motives for joining but said that Paulsen's parents never forgave him for it. During the Great war many Danes were forced into joining the German army however it is clear by reading the letter that Paulsen believed passionately in the German cause. According to the descendent: He was born in Egernsund in Nothern Sleswig which at the time was German territory, though was subsequently returned to Denmark after Germany's defeat. He volunteered for the German army and fought on the front line in the Champagne region of France near the towns of Moulin sous Touvent and Audigncourt. The descendent believed that Paulsen served with the 12th Company of the 35th Infantry Brigade, 18th Division and was killed in action in February 1916.

We have not really be able to translate this letter in any meaningful detail but we have (through a colleagues basic German skills) translated a few sketchy sentences as best we can:
"If you receive this letter, then I will either have been captured or killed in action doing my duty. Tomorrow evening, we set out to attack Navarin-Terme. I am going in with the first storm wave"
"My duty will be to dispose of any sentries."
"Should I not return, know that I died for a great cause. I depart proud and eager as a German Officer and that is a good thing".
"I have often thought about my life and the love and kindness shown me during my upbringing by you both. For everything, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you!"

This would be a great research project for someone and the buyer will receive the full albeit hazy and sometimes conflicting information we have from the descendent. This artefact really should be on display in a museum or in an archive and we will be prepared to provide copies of this letter to museum institutions free of charge.