A fictional Prussian soldier of fortune in 1937:
After fifteen years I can scarcely recall just what did happen in that confused struggle against the Bolsheviks in Livonia and Kurland, in that whole corner of the civil war with its hidden complications and sudden eruptions, like a fire not quite put out, or some skin disease. Each region, for that matter, has its own kind of war, a local product like rye or potatoes.
Marguerite Yourcenar, Coup de Grâce, translated by Grace Frick)
