- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Allen & U.; First edition (Dec 1957)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0049400126
- ISBN-13: 978-0049400122
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14.7 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,474,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Legion of the Damned (Cassell Military Paperbacks)
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Product Description
Book Description
The famously horrific war novel set on the Russian Front.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
Product Description
LEGION OF THE DAMNED was the first of 14 novels written by Sven Hassel, a Danish volunteer who served in the German army throughout World War II. Never before had violence been described in such hideously graphic detail: it was a far cry from British or American war novels. Based on Sven Hassel's own horrific experiences fighting on the Russian Front, LEGION OF THE DAMNED won critical acclaim across Europe and America and was translated into 15 languages. It has now been optioned for a film.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
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First Sentence
The previous day the big sapper had been before the court-martial and received a sentence of eight years' hard labour. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The previous day the big sapper had been before the court-martial and received a sentence of eight years' hard labour. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I first read these books almost 30 years ago in secondary school, and have always enjoyed the exploits of Porta, The Old Man, Heide, The Legionnaire and Sven as they rampaged and drank across the European theatre.
Over the years my collection has shrunk to just 3 tattered volumes - TBRTD, AG and MC - from the 1978 or 1979 Corgi editions, so I was very happy to see a reprint of 4 of the best, but who on earth commissioned the cover designs??
The author's name has the 'ss' from the middle of his name as an SS collar patch superimposed over the rest of his name.
As any fule kno, the 27th Tank Regiment hated the Nazis and their SS henchmen, and I can't believe the publisher let such an elementary error through.
The book itself? A great read, probably based most on fact of all his books, showing the horrors of war and the value of comrades in arms in extremis.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
As a teenager I read virtually all Sven Hassel's novels and enjoyed them as good old war stories. But over the years my perception of things, as many of us find, changed and I recently wanted to re-read those books, so bought Legion of the Damned and went through the story once more, but with an extra 30 years of life behind me.
My recall of the sadness of it all was not misplaced. This story ultimately is a tragedy; not merely of the loss of many of the close friends and comrades of Sven as he struggles to retain some humanity throughout the madness of what he experienced, but also of the futility and waste of societies, human life and animals.
In many ways Legion is a two-parter. The first part concerns the processing through heartless camps designed to slaughter opponents of the fascist system, or even those unfortunate to evoke the wrath, envy or other slight, imagined or real, of those running the fascist apparatus. Hassel is a deserter who is caught and ends up in an 'extermination camp',to quote the commandant. He survives only to be put into a penal regiment, a force made up of criminals and outcasts, expendable individuals not wanted in the Nazi society.
Its almost impossible to comprehend the brutality displayed within these pages, almost a fictional scene its that alien to our ways and morals. But it happened. And as a social history it should never be forgotten lest it occurs again. Hassel's description of the treatment he and others received is not gratuitous or indifferent of prose - he witnessed and experienced it and this comes through the pages. It can only have come from the pen of someone who did.
Then the story switches to life in the penal regiment. Sven finds the comradeship of all those rejects of society warm, genuine and a saviour to his soul. Even though these men fought in the wehrmacht, I find I'm rooting for them to survive. Hated by their own political system and faced with death from an implacable enemy, Hassel and his friends battle to survive the slaughter of the Eastern Front. Their exploits are hilarious at times, frightening on other occasions. Of course, they begin to die one by one, and even when allowed home on leave, tragedy is never far away and two women he loves die - one by Nazi thugs, the other by allied air raid - and his circle of friends shrinks.
The book would appear to cover the years 1940 to 1944, and ends rather in the air. It doesn't end with the war's end, and with Hassel's own capture by the Soviets in Berlin in 1945 which happened for real. No, it ends on a train with Hassel and his commander shaking hands after a harrowing incident in 1944. I would have preferred Hassel to complete his story which would have closed the chapter on it all, yet somehow I feel slightly cheated by the ending. And in addition, the last couple of chapters appear rushed and compressed in comparison with what came before. I do know that Hassel was switched from Russian to American, British and Danish prisons in the 1950s when he wrote this story, so maybe this affected him.
Overall, a 4-star rating for a book that stands out in the series he wrote as being the most authentic and realistic. The rest would seem to be more of fictional novel type of stories and not as real as this one, which is why this stands out as the best in my opinion of the entire set Hassel wrote.
My recall of the sadness of it all was not misplaced. This story ultimately is a tragedy; not merely of the loss of many of the close friends and comrades of Sven as he struggles to retain some humanity throughout the madness of what he experienced, but also of the futility and waste of societies, human life and animals.
In many ways Legion is a two-parter. The first part concerns the processing through heartless camps designed to slaughter opponents of the fascist system, or even those unfortunate to evoke the wrath, envy or other slight, imagined or real, of those running the fascist apparatus. Hassel is a deserter who is caught and ends up in an 'extermination camp',to quote the commandant. He survives only to be put into a penal regiment, a force made up of criminals and outcasts, expendable individuals not wanted in the Nazi society.
Its almost impossible to comprehend the brutality displayed within these pages, almost a fictional scene its that alien to our ways and morals. But it happened. And as a social history it should never be forgotten lest it occurs again. Hassel's description of the treatment he and others received is not gratuitous or indifferent of prose - he witnessed and experienced it and this comes through the pages. It can only have come from the pen of someone who did.
Then the story switches to life in the penal regiment. Sven finds the comradeship of all those rejects of society warm, genuine and a saviour to his soul. Even though these men fought in the wehrmacht, I find I'm rooting for them to survive. Hated by their own political system and faced with death from an implacable enemy, Hassel and his friends battle to survive the slaughter of the Eastern Front. Their exploits are hilarious at times, frightening on other occasions. Of course, they begin to die one by one, and even when allowed home on leave, tragedy is never far away and two women he loves die - one by Nazi thugs, the other by allied air raid - and his circle of friends shrinks.
The book would appear to cover the years 1940 to 1944, and ends rather in the air. It doesn't end with the war's end, and with Hassel's own capture by the Soviets in Berlin in 1945 which happened for real. No, it ends on a train with Hassel and his commander shaking hands after a harrowing incident in 1944. I would have preferred Hassel to complete his story which would have closed the chapter on it all, yet somehow I feel slightly cheated by the ending. And in addition, the last couple of chapters appear rushed and compressed in comparison with what came before. I do know that Hassel was switched from Russian to American, British and Danish prisons in the 1950s when he wrote this story, so maybe this affected him.
Overall, a 4-star rating for a book that stands out in the series he wrote as being the most authentic and realistic. The rest would seem to be more of fictional novel type of stories and not as real as this one, which is why this stands out as the best in my opinion of the entire set Hassel wrote.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a great book, that?s definitely not for the faint hearted. Hassel once again proves that he is a master teller of WWII stories with his unique twist of telling the story from the point of view of a foreigner severing in the Werhmacht. Tiny & the rest of the gang have a great sense of humor which keeps the book light hearted even when describing some of the more gruesome aspects of war.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
l have found my youth once again.
I first read this book over twenty years ago when l discovered it in my local library,l then bought the whole series of the books,yes the author does take some liberties but if you... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Janet Fernie
"Legion of the Damned" by Sven Hassel
The first in the accalimed series of semi-autobiographical accounts of Sven's experiences in the German Army during World War II. Read more
Published 3 months ago by giles lewis
He's a phoney
It is not in any sense autobiographical. Hassel's real name is Borge Pedersen. During WWII he was a fervent Nazi but the SS rejected his application as he had a criminal record. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mick
Much better than you might think
I read this book assuming it would be of a pretty low calibre but in the end it turned out to be much better written than expected. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Stitch Jones
Not the violent panzer-porn you might think
Not the action packed violent glorification of war that I thought it was going to be,I must have been misled by the screaming soldiers on the covers of his books when I was a... Read more
Published on 24 Mar 2010 by nicholas hargreaves
The funniest history lesson I ever got.
This book is a real peach, I just couldn't put it down. Seriouly funny yet telling a grim tale. I've just bought another 4 in the series.
Published on 1 Oct 2009 by Ewell Crooks
Great Read
I first read this 25+ years ago. It was my introduction to Sven Hassel and I spent years searching out the old Corgi versions of his books in old bookshops and libraries. Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2008 by Ian Watson
One of the best
As already mentioned this is probably the most factual of his books (together with Comrades of War and Wheels of Terror)as we follow Sven from court room to penal camp to the... Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2008 by H. T. Davies
A View from the 'Other' Side...
Very well written and a good introduction to the work of the author. Sven doesn't get bogged down in too much historical detail, but manages to paint a gritty image of life as a... Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2007 by MC Knifton
Boring
Firstly, I'm an avid reader of WW2 fiction and thought it was about time I started reading Sven Hassel. Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2007 by N. Ingram
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