The Forgotten Soldier: War on the Russian Front - A True Story - Softcover

Sajer, Guy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0304352403 ISBN 13: 9780304352401

Publisher: Cassell, 1999

Synopsis

An international bestseller, this is a German soldier's first-hand account of life on Russian front during the second half of the Second World War.

When Guy Sajer joins the infantry full of ideals in the summer of 1942, the German army is enjoying unparalleled success in Russia. However, he quickly finds that for the foot soldier the glory of military success hides a much harsher reality of hunger, fatigue and constant deprivation. Posted to the crack Grosse Deutschland division, with its sadistic instructors who shoot down those who fail to make the grade, he enters a violent and remorseless world where all youthful hope is gradually ground down, and all that matters is the brute will to survive. As the biting cold of the Russian winter sets in, and the tide begins to turn against the Germans, life becomes an endless round of pounding artillery attacks and vicious combat against a relentless and merciless Red Army. A book of stunning force, this is an unforgettable reminder of the horrors of war.

About this title

Review:

Sajer is blunt in explaining his reason for sharing his experiences: to reanimate, with all the intensity I can summon, those distant cries from the slaughterhouse. He succeeds in doing just that. . . . This book will remain relevant because it explores the psychology of the soldier at war.

"May well be accorded equal respect with "War and Peace " as the masterpiece reporting war s reality."

"I don t think that anyone who reads [it] to the end will ever forget it."

"May be the book about World War II which has been so long awaited."

"A work of soul."

"Eloquent . . . powerful . . . Critics have likened it to "All Quiet on the Western Front"."

"Transcends language and nationality to address the human race."

"Few memoirs can compare with this work in range of feeling, depths of self-analysis, or vivid recounting of combat. This exception book is highly recommended."

"Must be read. . . . An enduring indictment of the evil of war and what it does to man."

"May well be accorded equal respect with War and Peace as the masterpiece reporting war's reality."--David Douglas Duncan, photojournalist and author of This is War! and War Without Heroes

--David Douglas Duncan (06/05/2017)

Book Description:

The devastating true story of a young Franco-German soldier trapped in the lethal machinery of total war on the Eastern Front in the Second World War.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cassell
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0304352403
• ISBN 13: 9780304352401
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 560