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In Deadly Combat: A German Soldier's Memoir of the Eastern Front (Modern War Studies)
 
 
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In Deadly Combat: A German Soldier's Memoir of the Eastern Front (Modern War Studies) [Paperback]

Gottlob Herbert Bidermann (Author), Derek S. Zumbro (Editor, Translator), Denis E. Showalter (Introduction)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 344 pages
  • Publisher: University Press of Kansas; New edition edition (30 Sep 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0700611223
  • ISBN-13: 978-0700611225
  • Product Dimensions: 24 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 245,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

G. H. Bidermann
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Product Description

Synopsis

In the hell that was World War II, the Eastern Front was its heart of fire and ice. Gottlob Bidermann served in that lethal theatre from 1941 to 1945, and his memoir of those years vividly recaptures his gruelling experiences with an army marching on the road to ruin. A reflecting account by one of the millions of anonymous soldiers who fought and died in that cruel terrain, "In Deadly Combat" conveys the brutality and horrors of the Eastern Front in detail. Wounded five times and awarded numerous decorations for valour, Bidermann saw action in the Crimea and siege of Sevastopol, participated in the vicious battles in the forests south of Leningrad, and ended the war trapped in the Courland pocket. Bidermann's account debunks the myth of a highly mechanized German army that rolled over weaker opponents with impunity. Despite the vast expanses of territory captured by the Germans during the early months of Operation Barbarossa, the war with Russia remained tenuous and unforgiving. Translator Derek Zumbro has rendered Bidermann's memoir into a compelling narrative that retains the author's powerful style.

This English-language edition of Bidermann's story is based upon a privately published memoir entitled "Krim-Kurland Mit Der 132 Infanterie Division". Zumbro has also added important events derived from numerous interviews with Bidermann to provide additional context for American readers.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Any memoir of frontline ground combat in World War II raises two fundamental questions: why did the author do what he did, and how did he endure it? Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
97 of 97 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Firstly, before launching yourself into this excellent book please take the time to read the introduction by Dennis Showalter as it will help explain the style of writing to be found in this book. The book was originally written for the survivors of Bidermann's regiment and division, not for the general public. Bearing this in mind you will have a better understanding and feeling for the author's account of his experience of fighting on the Eastern Front during WW2. At times you might find the narrative old fashioned and even cliched but this is definitely not the case, it has to be taken in context of when and why this book was first written.

This is a great story, on par if not better than Guy Sajer's 'Forgotten Soldier'. This is a combination of a combat history of the 132nd Infantry Division and the author's role and experiences in the fighting on the Eastern Front. The author, Gottlob Herbert Bidermann, won two Iron Crosses, the Crimea Shield, the Close Combat Badge, the German Cross in Gold, the Gold Wound Badge (wounded five times), the Honour Roll Clasp and the Tank Destruction Badge. What is remarkable is that the author survived five years of combat on the Russian Front fighting in Crimea, Leningrad and later in the Courland Pocket. I found his stories about his early years fighting with an anti-tank section using the Pak 37 "doorknocker" very interesting, I had always believed these weapons to be next to useless on the Russian Front however I was surprised.

You can trace the change in the author from a novice who still cared about human beings, even his enemy to one whom has been brutalised by warfare to a point past indifference to death and destruction. I have taken the liberty to include below a short section of the text from the first chapter to give you an idea of the author's style of writing:

"The NCO was grasping one of the wheels of the Maxim carriage, his sightless eyes peering forward at the ammunition belt where it fed into the chamber of the weapon. Another held his rifle clenched in cold fists, his head resting against the ground as if asleep, the olive-colored helmet secured tightly under his chin.

Hartmann slipped past me and slowly approached two other figures lying closely together, side by side. One of the figures had draped an arm across the other in a last embrace, as if attempting to comfort a dying comrade. As Hartmann neared, a cloud of flies rose in protest, breaking the deadly silence and I moved forward to join him in surveying the ghastly scene.

Moving silently among the carnage, Hartmann suddenly turned and slipped past me without speaking, heading in the direction from which we had come. Carefully avoiding the eyes of the dead, I quickly followed him.

In this abode of death, only the trees, still and quiet, appeared to be survivors and witnesses to the struggle that had occurred, hidden within this wooded glade".

I found this book to be a very fascinating account of the fighting conducted on the Eastern Front from the perspective of a young German soldier. It offers some very interesting insights into combat and its affect on men who in the end just tried to survive against immense odds. There is a number of absorbing black and white photographs supplied from private sources that give the book a human touch. The only real problem that readers may find with this book is the lack of maps detailing the movements and combats of the 132nd Infantry Division. Overall this is the sort of book that should be in the library of every serious reader or student of the war on the Russian Front during World War Two.

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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
German war memoirs are not as numerous as those by allied soldiers,therefore any book by an axis soldier is worth reading.The novelty factor alone makes them interesting, but if anyone has a serious interest in military history then a book such as this will prove fascinating.German memoirs tend not to be as readable as others due to the translation and also as they tend not to put you in the thick of action.(no muck & bullets)
Examples of this would be the works of H Guderian and H von Luck.This book is however more like 'Grenadiers' by K Meyer (a must buy!)which although not as graphic as the works of former 'screaming eagle' D Burgett still convey the real life war experience of a common Landser.
The reader will be astonished at the amount of combat the average german soldier saw,also one can get a real insight into the mind of a wehrmact soldier,the tactics and skills of the german forces and also a different perspective on the german soldiers relationship with the soviet peoples they conquored.
It would be a bargain at full price,at the discounted rate you can't not buy it.
If you only buy one german memoir and don't want to spend as much as 'Grenadiers' then pop this one in your basket.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
this book follows G.Bidermann from june 41,to the end of the war and beyound.He starts in jubilant mood in the belief he and his comrades are on a crusade,but as the war goes and casualties mount.thoughts change from we will win to we must win,and then to a realisation that all is lost and now they fight for there own survival. a great read.
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