The Forgotten Soldier. Guy Sajer.

[Paul D]

Can't fault your observation and knowledge Paul

Hells Gate IS an excellent book (Though not easy to get hold of). If there's a better, more brilliantly researched and written book on on the Eastern Front i've yet to see it. It leaves you breathless.

Indeed The only ones i can compare research / writing wise wise are Last Victory in Russia by Geore Nipe and Death of a Leaping Horseman by Jason Mark.

[sitges1990]

Hi Paul, is Last Victory in Russia, written in first person like The Forgotten Soldier? I really enjoy that style of writing because it lets you know exactly how they feel as the action occurs.

[Paul D]

Hi jay no it's written in the third person , it's a brilliantly researched piece of work on Third Kharkov.

[hucks216]

...

Hells Gate IS an excellent book (Though not easy to get hold of). If there's a better, more brilliantly researched and written book on on the Eastern Front i've yet to see it. It leaves you breathless.

Hells Gate has now been re-released. I believe that a printing run of 3,000 copies was made late last year, and is readily available on Amazon, RZM and I expect other book sellers.
As you say it is a must read book and beats the other English language book on the battle hands down.

[Alan M]

Hi
I read this book a few years ago and thought it was great reading. It is based on one man,s true story in combat on the Eastern Front. After reading I decided to check the internet to see what other people felt about it and was amazed to find out that the story he was telling was wrong and some dates and places he stated was,nt right. If any of you guys have read it let me know and tell me what you Think.

Thanks Martin

Hi Martin , i also read it a while back , and really enjoyed it . it`s still on my shelf somewhere

[BROOKES]

Guy sajers book is a great read,as is Devils gaurd.Another good read is "Other mens graves" about an ss man(Peter Neumann) who supposedly served with the Wiking division on the eastern front.Picked up this 1952 paperback from a charity shop some years back.

All these books claim to be true accounts but who knows.They were all written a number of years after the war and time does tend to dull the memory so this could explain mistakes with dates,
facts etc.
Then you have the Danish author Sven Hassel whose books are loosely based around his own experiences .
IMO i don't think that there complete genuine accounts but a small part of me likes to think they are.
I think its best just to read and enjoy.Cheers Brookes.

[sawman]

I found The Forgotten Soldier to be an interesting book. Another good one is In Deadly Combat by Gottlob Herbert Bidermann. It is written in the first person. Bidermann describes his experiences in Russia with the 132d Infantry division from 1941 to the Battle of Kurland. He spent a few years in Russia after the war as a POW.

[sitges1990]

I read in Deadly Combat also sawman. It was a pretty good book. I would have liked alittle more actual battle coverage. Frontsoldaten by Stephen Fritz is a pretty good read. It's a collection of actual letters, diaries, and memoirs from German soldiers at the front. If you want a shocker of a book, read Ordinary Men, by Christopher Browning. It's about Reserve Police Battalion 101. They were one of the first execution squads that followed behind the regular troops into Poland. A very disturbing but insightful book.

Jay

[Paul D]

Sven Hassells books have been the subject of numerous debates on internet forums and i'm not starting another one here, suffice to say if you are interested Google search him and all will be revealed !!

Another good personal account book is Black Edelweiss by Johann Voss , regarding the fighting of the Nord Divison,

regards

Paul

[hucks216]

Has anyone read these books? If so do you recommend them?