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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Memoir, April 16, 2007
This review is from: 800 Days on the Eastern Front: A Russian Soldier Remembers World War II (Modern War Studies) (Hardcover)
Definitely one of the more interesting memoirs from the Eastern Front of WWII. While there isn't as much information in terms of actual combat, at least not as much as I would have liked to read, I was quite impressed with the other stories that the author was able to talk about.
The entire book is quite short, 143 pages, and took me two days of casual reading to finish. The translator helps along in the translation by explaining Russian phrases and words which those not familiar with Russian would be a bit lost without but he also helps the narrative by giving context to the authors stories.
The author definitely had an interesting 'career' throughout the Second World War on the Eastern Front. He was involved in the fighting at Kursk, where he was wounded, as well as operation Bagration, and many other battles with the 354th Rifle Division, and an airborne guards division before that. The 354th belonged to Rokossovsky's front and the 65th Army under Batov, which was involved in many battles throughout the last year of the war.
Some of the more interesting stories were about how the author was sent to a penal company, he left his post without a written order. He was sentenced to three months and served at least one, hard to tell the exact date he was assigned to it. What was interesting about this account was that he explained penal units after a battle would receive a few days of rest, which the regular army units did not even receive. Although penal formations were sent to some of the most dangerous sectors they were treated like a regular unit and supplied like one as well, no one rifle for two men here. Eventually he was discharged on account of his actions in battle and sent to a regular unit.
Another incident had two scouts being accused of rape. They had confessed and the woman who complained about the fact that they raped her daughter and daughter-in-law was shocked to hear that their punishment would be execution. Instead she asked if there was any other way they could amend for their crimes. The only other alternative had the two scouts marry the women they raped. The daughter-in-law already had a husband and so she simply forgave her attacker, while the daughter agreed to the marriage. An interesting story, to say the least!
Other recollections include the author, while being in a penal company, running into two soldiers from the 'blocking detachment' which had to watch out for soldiers retreating without orders. When asked what he was doing, as he was retreating, he was able to convince them that without ammunition for his machine gun there was nothing more he could do, especially since the rest of his crew had already left for the rear. They let him go on his way, it was the first and last encounter he had with any soldiers from a blocking detachment.
The author candidly talks about German POWs and what happened to a few of them when they were captured. Six of them he helped execute with a friend, although as soon as he pulled the trigger he fainted, so how many he killed, if any, will never be known. Another POW proved to have been a Russian who joined the Germans years ago, he was executed. Still another German soldier was witnessed killing an old man, he was given to the local population to do with as they please.
Overall an interesting account of the Eastern Front with many stories you just won't find in a general history of the war between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Well worth the money and I'm glad that more and more memoirs are coming out from Soviet veterans, it is about time they had a chance to tell their stories!
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It is What it is, July 9, 2007
This review is from: 800 Days on the Eastern Front: A Russian Soldier Remembers World War II (Modern War Studies) (Hardcover)
Although the negative reviewers might of had valid points, I am not sure the critism is really relevant. I knew two WWII veterans very well, one of whom wrote a brief memoir. Using them as a reference, I do not believe the author was trying to create an exciting, flowing, historically, geographically precise docudrama (if it was I would be very suspect of the motivations and validity of the document and would not have found it near as valuable). I am not sure the author was even trying to educate us although I certainly was. I believe the author was trying to set down in print a brief personal history of WWII obviously, largely from his point of view. What was added by the tranlator was an aid which allowed us to go back in time and perspective without disturbing the author's account. What the author (and the other veterans I know) think is important based on his experiences obviously doesn't always match readers expectations. With this in mind and in response to specific criticism, I found the author's references to various vehicles he encountered interesting and important. Maybe not exciting but, again, that wasn't the point. I thought the historical and geographical descriptions to be adequate in and of themselves. The author's accounts and stories flowed well enough with help from the translator's added descriptions and foot notes.
I bought the book based on a recent description in the WSJ. I had read a book some time ago called "The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier." I thought it would be interesting to compare what sounded like a similar story told by two men of similar rank who fought wars in the same basic geographic area a century apart. The similarities were remarkable and reading both books contributed much to my persective of war and this region. Beyond the obvious basics of survival, what was important to these two men is very much the same. And I think what was important to these two men from their personal perspective in these two "histories" is what the authors and their "helpers" were trying to convey. Both documents succeeded in this respect and did so well enough to, dare I say it, be entertaining. I would give "The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier" 5 stars however. I thought it was a better read. If you must be constantly thrilled and excited by a book to enjoy or be informed by it, subtract one star from each rating. And if you are looking for graphic descriptions of blood, sex and gore, don't bother with either of these reads. A rating of two stars however misses both the point and the mark in my opinion. And thus ends my critique of the critics.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Russian Soldiers Tale, May 13, 2008
This review is from: 800 Days on the Eastern Front: A Russian Soldier Remembers World War II (Modern War Studies) (Hardcover)
Considering the amount of memoirs available form WW2 it is amazing how few are from a Soviet perspective, at least in English. So in this context the book is a gem and in content it shines.
Nikolai Litvin's memoir is very low key and honest. For the most part he is a driver, either as a commanders chauffeur or with a transport battalion and you get interesting small details as how dirty his one uniform becomes when he served as a mechanic. Don't worry there are hair raising parts as well and sad stories. Litvin comes across as a man doing his duty for his country and never tries to claim credit for extraordinary deeds even if he did a few.
Starting out as an anti tank gunner in a Airborne Division he is wounded early during the battle of Kursk, from there he is transfered to a transportation battalion and is bombed by artillery and planes, he lives when others, even his friends die. At one point he has difficulties in disposing of a friends body. Then he is sentanced to a penal company for desertion when all he does is following a command that turns out to be a suggestion and not a proper command. His time with the penal company is very interesting. Then he gets reassigned to his transport unit and gets drafted from the rear units to the front replace combat losses. All through the story there are accounts of Litvin's personal experience and some very horrible incidents.
Many readers will also find interesting how Litvin is fighting the infantry mans war, very few tanks are metioned at all. In fact with 2/3 of all Germans fighting on the Eastern Front and the majority of both Germans and Russians fighting as infantry this tells how the war was for most, even if it isn't the most glamorous part.
Special mention should also go to Stuart Britton who completes the memoir by adding introductions or adds explanations to fit Litvin's experience into contex and big picture. They summarise the unfolding events and explain strategic and tactical events and I found these parts very useful and informative without casting a shade on Litvin's story. In many occasions Litvin would have been blissfully ignorant of what was really going on but as a reader it is good to be helped along by Britton.
Through Litvin one gets a very diverse view of the Soviet Army and not always its most glamorous side but the toil of the every day soldier. I heartly recommend it for anyone interested in WW2 memoirs and would like read about the experience from the Russian side.
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