In 1916, Berg devoted himself to attaining the rank of "Einjährig-Freiwillige" Korporal (Corporal), which he did later that year. During this period, as he wrote to his wife, "For months I haven't done any work on "Wozzeck". Everything suffocated. Buried!" Finishing act 1 by the summer of 1919, act 2 in August 1921, and the final act during the following two months (with orchestration finalized over the following six months), Berg completed "Wozzeck" in April 1922. For the climactic section, he used one of his old student pieces in D minor.