You are lucky that you never met me while I was forced to play 'Per Aspera ad Astra' on my tuba while I was at army.
A German military march from 1906. The English took the march into their military song list as 'Through bolts and bars'.
Our saying when drafted was:
In the German army you saw sunlight once passing the house with the obstacle parcour. The Brits however were allowed to visit the bars for a drink when finishing ;)