In the original dustsheet. Red cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

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Summary: The dramatic account based on the personal experiences of a conscript Wehrmacht soldier who, as a Panzer driver. fought in the Crimea, at the Siege of Leningrad and Kursk, the largest, and a long-lasting land battle in modern history.

The author describes his participation in the two main phases of Operation Barbarossa, namely the advance of the powerful German forces into the heart of Russia followed by their enforced ‘Napoleonic’ retreat after the battle of Stalingrad. It portrays the gradual awakening in the mind of a young Youth ‘educated’ soldier of a Panzer Division to the truth of the criminal character of what he is involved in. Having in mind that about 9 out of 10 German soldiers who died in WWII were killed in Russia, it throws some light on the largely unreported heroic sacrifices of Soviet soldiers and civilians often against seemingly hopeless odds, without which Europe might well have fallen to fascism. It does not deal so much with grand strategies, tactics and military technicalities as with the human involvement of ordinary people from both sides having been caught up in that enormity of a tragedy, that epic struggle in Russia. It throws light on the chasm which existed between officers and men in the sharply class-divided Wehrmacht with most of the top rank officers having been drawn from the old imperial aristocracy.

Review: I had seen a BBC docudrama about this man many years ago and that was good if disturbing but this book was even better. The experiences Henry had in Russia are by far the most telling parts of the book and at times you feel as though you were there with him. War is cruel and this war was probably the worst in its length and the hardships and disasters experienced on all sides and Henry was at the heart of it all. These days it is hard to imagine just how bad things were for ordinary men and women but this book certainly gives you a fair idea. You do get the feeling , after reading elsewhere about the awful Rhine Meadows POW camps that Henry glossed over parts of his captivity that were probably much worse  All in all the best book of its type I have read and highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in WW2 from the ” other ” side. In my mind all wars are a crime but we humans still willingly take part in death and destruction on a regular basis to please our rulers and increase their wealth because war really is just another racket to the elite and soldiers just the pawns.