A short novel, or fragment of a novel, about army life in a French cavalry regiment shortly before the First World War. Ferdinand, a young recruit, arrives in the barracks and is thrown into a world of brutal sergeants, shouting, filth, drills and bullying. The text is a comic and harsh portrait of military discipline, written in Céline's rapid spoken style. It was long thought lost in part, and it stands as an early view of the army experience that shapes the first pages of his famous debut novel.