ABSTRACT
In Miroslav Krleža’s short story Barracks Five B, a conscripted soldier, Vidovic´, is mortally wounded whilst serving in the Habsburg army during the First World War. In the story, from the collection The Croatian God Mars, Krleža told of the suffering and slow death of his ill-fated protagonist in a ramshackle military hospital, situated near the front line. Barracks humour turns to gallows humour as Vidovic´’s companions take bets on whether the injured soldier will make it through the night (the odds are long). The hospital/ barracks is expected to be captured at any moment in a Russian assault, and an atmosphere of hedonistic reverie takes hold amongst the soldiers, depriving Vidovic´ of a few last moments of tranquillity before he dies.1
