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In Deadly Combat cover art

In Deadly Combat

Written by: Gottlob Herbert Bidermann, Derek S. Zumbro - translator
Narrated by: Paul Woodson
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Publisher's Summary

Wounded five times and awarded numerous decorations for valor, Gottlob Herbert Bidermann saw action in the Crimea and siege of Sebastopol, participated in the vicious battles in the forests south of Leningrad, and ended the war in the Courland Pocket.

In his memoir, he shares his impressions of countless Russian POWs seen at the outset of his service, of peasants struggling to survive the hostilities while caught between two ruthless antagonists, and of corpses littering the landscape. He recalls a Christmas gift of gingerbread from home that overcame the stench of battle, an Easter celebrated with a basket of Russian hand grenades for eggs, and his miraculous survival of machine gun fire at close range. In closing, he relives the humiliation of surrender to an enemy whom the Germans had once derided and offers a sobering glimpse into life in the Soviet gulags. 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. His story commits that living hell to the annals of World War II and broadens our understanding of its most deadly combat zone.

©2000 The University Press of Kansas (P)2017 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"Stands head and shoulders above the many other books in this genre. Bidermann's style is crisp, succinct, and lucid and Zumbro has done a great job of translating." (David Glantz, coauthor of The Battle of Kursk)

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Incredible story

It's not often you hear from the losing side. The author, who eventually gets promoted to a gun capitan, share the Highs of an organized and ruthless German army tearing through Russia during 1941-1942, the the eventual slow down of the progress and then the retreat form occupied territory.

He's a very lucky solider and he acknowledges the same throughout.

He doesn't talk much about the politics of that time, except that he wasn't a big fan of Hitler. I find that a bit hard to believe.

He also portraits the wehermacht as a humane organization compared to the SS, whereas there are numerous instances of army excesses committed during the war.

Overall a very good audio book, although I found it a little difficult to get used to the American reader's performance.

A definite listen for anyone interested in WW2 and the suffering of soldiers in the thick of the action.

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