Customer Reviews

The Brenner Assignment: The Untold Story of the Most Daring Spy Mission of World War II

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After the fall of Mussolini in 1943, Italy saw an increase in partisan warfare against the Germans. While Allied troops were slowly pressing north, partisan bands of almost every political stripe were formed, disrupting the German rear areas and tying down troops needed for the front. Seeing an opportunity to make life harder for the Germans, the newly-created OSS (Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of CIA) parachuted agents behind enemy lines, tasked with the mission to aid the partisans and to conduct commando operations. Few missions were more daring than the plan to block the main German supply route through the Brenner Pass on the Italo-Austrian border. It was the brain-child of Captain Stephen Hall, an OSS agent with an adventurous streak. Parachuted into northern Italy, his exploits could have been the subject for an action movie, had he succeeded. A fellow OSS agent, Captain Howard Chappell, entered the area the same way together with his team, and with one of his objectives to link up with Hall. His colleague had disappeared, though, and was in the clutches of the Gestapo...

The blurb for the book likens it to movies like "Where Eagles Dare", and isn't far off the mark. Daring American agents, sadistic Gestapo officers, brave (and not-so-brave) partisans, double agents, traitors, mysterious countesses, sabotage, capture, escapes, and missions that could alter the course of the war (or so it was believed) - "The Brenner Assignment" has it all. Now, this might sound like a cheap thriller, if it wasn't for O'Donnell's research, which is based on original documents and interviews with people directly involved in the story. For those of you who like a (mostly) well-written, exciting and true (as far as can be told) story from WW2, the book is bound to be a great read. You can stop reading now, as some major spoilers will follow in the second part of my review.

For all his thorough research, the author fall victim to a few inaccuracies and generalizations. One of the main antagonists, Major Otto Schröder, is said to have commanded a Waffen-SS battalion, when it appears like he commanded the 2nd Battalion of the SS-Polizei-Regiment "Bozen"; to some, this might be a minor mistake, but considering the brutality of the anti-partisan warfare, the blame should be laid at the right door. Another of the bad guys, the local Gestapo chief August Schiffer is said to have joined the Kriminalpolizei in 1933, "(...) the criminal police branch of the Nazi Party. At the time, the secret state police, or Gestapo, had yet to be formed" (page 68). First off, the KriPo became a branch of the SS in 1936, and not of the NSDAP in 1933. Besides, the Gestapo was founded in 1933. On page 113, he mentions a couple of deserters from "the 20th Luftwaffe Division"; there was no such unit, and the closest candidate, the 20. Luftwaffe Feld-Division, wasn't in Italy at all. Some members of Chappell's team ended up in the Gries concentration camp, where "Jews [had] a temporary home for them on their way to the hell of death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau". This takes place in mid-March, 1945, but the only remaining death camp, Auschwitz, had been liberated six weeks earlier. Chappell claims that the April 14 blowing of the Busche bridge created a huge traffic jam, where retreating German troops were caught next night by fighter-bombers, "killing several thousand Germans". Strangely enough, I've been unable to find any mention of such attacks; 12th Air Force attacks at that time appear to have been made against targets near Bologna further to the south.

While I didn't read the book with the intent to ferret out every error, I couldn't help checking up on a few minor mistakes. The author writes - twice - that the required number of jumps for the Parachutist Badge ("Jump Wings") was four, when it was five. A mid-March (1945) night is described as one with "bright moonlight", when it was dark (the Moon was new, and not up at night anyway). The surrendering Germans of the schwere Panzer-Abteilung 504 are said to have had a single Tiger I tank left, when other sources claim that it lost its last Tiger the day before. Perhaps it was a PzKpfw IV. Then there's the question of style. O'Donnell writes in a mostly straightforward style, but he occasional lapses into purple prose like: "A bony finger depressed the gunmetal trigger of an Italian Breda machine gun. With a maximum cyclic rate of over 450 rounds per minute, the weapon spat bursts of flying lead with deadly fury (...) cutting down Germans like a scythe through a wheat field". He refers to the Germans alternately as "Germans" and "Nazis", which perhaps suits his style, but which sounds rather tired in the 21st century. As a side note, most of the SS Police troops in the area where from South Tirol, and not German at all.

There are some interesting insights in the book, like the descriptions of the diverse partisan groups and the problems leading them, and the improvised nature of the OSS operations, with poor communications and lofty plans that came for naught. Some of the OSS agents were real mavericks, like the Spaniard Fabrega, and fun to read about. The goal of the whole operation, to block the Brenner Pass, failed in all crucial aspects, and it is hard to judge what impact the presence of OSS agents had on the partisan warfare in the area. A few bridges were blown, and rear-area security units were tied down, but I find it hard to believe that the operation had other than a marginal effect on the fighting in the region.

There are some maps that illuminate some of the operations, and the photos are mostly relevant. The book is a pretty exciting read, and throws light on a little-known aspect of WW2. It will appeal to those who like to read about secret missions and behind-enemy-lines stories, but the subject is still just a foot-note in the history of the war. While the story is quite well documented, there are some errors and omissions that I couldn't ignore. I give the book three strong stars.

Start off with one great writer, Patrick K. O'Donnell, add a daring spy mission; then add a world at war, some really bad guys and lots of action and suspense, and you have the essence of a great book. "The Brenner Assignment: The Untold Story Of The Most Daring Spy Mission Of World War II" is that book and it captures a story that is so fascinating it truly is worthy of being made into one of those huge blockbuster action films.

For history buffs and readers who enjoy spies, war, suspense and action entertainment they do not get much better. Written like a great novel this story will hold reader's attention from page one to the end. O'Donnell reminds us of why we enjoyed his other writings so well - he is a first rate story-teller!

The true story this book tells should be gripping, tense, and cinematic. It has all the elements: heroes, villains, beautiful women (both good and bad), spies, war, and more. Yet it is none of those. The writing is pedestrian at best, although it strives irregularly for a novelistic flair. If it were drier, it might be palatable as a straight history; if it were better written, it could be a terrific page-turner. Sad to say, it's neither.
I'm glad to have read it, in the sense of having learned about an interesting time, and a daring plan, but I certainly wish the experience hadn't felt so much like work! There are places where the failings might be blamed on a bad book-to-Kindle conversion, but there are far too many awkward turns of phrase, or thuddingly cliched descriptions, to ever enjoy the reading itself.

"Dim is the rumour of a common fight,
When host meets host, and many names are sunk;
But of a single combat Fame speaks clear."

-- Matthew Arnold "Sohrab and Rustum" (1853)

The ski resort town Cortina d'Ampezzo is nestled in the Ampezzo valley of northeastern Italy, bordering Austria. The region's scenic Dolomite alps and valley have played host to a number of motion pictures. Classic adventure films such as The Pink Panther (1963), For Your Eyes Only (1981), and the Cliffhanger (1993) were filmed in the area. Cortina was also the site for the 1956 Winter Olympics.

During World War II, Cortina was a vital German army headquarter in northern Italy. It served as the communications and transportation synapse between Italy and Germany. To the west of this alpine village, the Brenner Pass had been the principal artery linking Italy and Austria during the conflict. Even to this day, it is still the lowest and easiest of the alpine routes to travel between the two countries. Its strategic importance dates back to the Roman empire.

One month before the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the objective of The Brenner Assignment was for small teams of OSS (Office of Strategic Services) operatives, with the aid of local partisans, to disrupt and destroy the road network in the Cortina area feeding into the Brenner Pass. The principals of this true story centered about the Captains Stephen Hall and Howard Chappell.

Hall parachuted into northern Italy in August 1943, a month after the invasion of Sicily. Chappell's charge was to linked up with Hall and provided the latter with a radio operator. When Chappell arrived at the Dolomites the day after Christmas in 1943, the Allied forces had already invaded and secured southern Italy three months prior. With Italy out of the war, the Germans fought on but slowly retreated northward to the Brenner Pass. All the while, the SS were closing in on Hall and Chappell.

And yet, the fate of war barred the meeting of these two brothers-in-arms. Each relied on his own skills, intrepidness, and endurance to complete the objective charged. An excerpt from the book illustrates what these OSS operatives endured while fighting behind enemy line. In this narrative, the determination of an already ill and frostbitten Captain Hall heads toward the Cortina railroad station:

"An hour after dawn on January 26, Hall pushed off from his safe house in the tiny Dolomite town of Andrich...Hall's journey took him through seventeen miles of some of the most formidable terrain on earth. The miles are not a true measure of the journey, which only takes more than half an hour by car. On skis, the trip moves over mountains, down gullies, and into canyons. Hall's journey would take at least two days."

It's been said the world knows nothing of its greatest men. Books like "The Brenner Assignment" are answering such challenge and disproving its proposition. Wartime heroic exploits of men like Hall and Chappell are being revealed. There are those like Sartre, however, in their own state of existential existence, reason that wartime heroism is "a false experience". A Kant philodoxer, Sartre is in this instance. Heroism feels and never reasons, says Emerson, and therefore is always right. He further makes the point the things the hero does is the highest deed, and is not open to the censure of philosophers or divines.

Odd and quaint as it may seem, there is an old legal document which brings to bear on the illustrious character and splendid achievements of Captains Hall and Chappell:

"The difference between the difficult and the impossible is as follows: the difficult is troublesome to procure, but though troublesome it is still procured; whereas the impossible is a thing which it is impossible for a person to procure, because it is not natural for anybody to get it at all."
-- Ancient Laws of Ireland: Uraicect becc and Certain Other Selected Law Tract, Vol.5, 1901, page 223.

When viewed in totality the separately pledged labor of Hall and Chappell, they had, indeed, procured both the difficult and the impossible in their Brenner assignment.

With diagrams and pictures, this is an easy and captivating book to read. Notwithstanding, the author should have included a discussion on the Allied invasion of Italy in the prologue. The Baby Boomers and the generations which follow could stand to learn more about World War II. In addition, a brief mentioned of dates and events of the invasion for each chapter heading would have helped. Having thus this information, the reader could gain a better grasp of the activities described in the Hall and Chappell narratives. The state of affairs chronicled in their exploits would not be "out of joint", if woven in context within the greater scheme and scope of the 1943 Italian Campaign.

It is a fast read about a very interesting episode during WWII. There are many characters but it is easy to follow. It is a true story and shows the bravery of many people during a savage war. I gave the book to 3 young men at Christmas. They all had good reports.

I have skimmed this book and while I got it to read on a trip to Europe I am having trouble leaving it on the book shelf. Well written and very interesting account of the Brenner Pass which is the lowest pass through the alps north to south. The pass itself has quite a history and this book tells a fascinating story of the pass during World War II.

Having lived in Austria and having traveled the Brenner Pass to Italy, I was deeply moved by the descriptive realism and empathetic conveyance of character Patrick K. O'Donnell brings to his pages. His detailed academic research is evident in every word, supported by extensive notes in the back of the book, establishing the factual basis of his historical examination.

When O'Donnell describes a rastrellamento, the Italian word for a German posse in search of Allied forces or Italian partisans, the reader can feel the palpable fear that shot through a region and shook to the core those living in the shadows. While some were captured, others carried forward, persevering through the harshest weather conditions, driven by their dedication to the mission.

The courage of the brave men of the OSS - Hall, Chappell and team - is visually recreated and we, the readers, are the beneficiaries of the writer's tightly written account. When O'Donnell states near the book's end, "Like most soldiers who have tasted battle and loss, a part of them remains where they fought," he touches poignantly on all battles endured by the human spirit since time immemorial.

A MUST READ!

This book is well researched and written. A great story of hardships and struggles. This is more of a story of sabotage than of spying as the book jacket leads you to believe.The Brenner Assignment: The Untold Story of the Most Daring Spy Mission of World War II

An amazing WWII story filled with adventure, intelligence and espionage. You'll be riveted to the exploits in this book. The characters are incredible. It is the perfect story line for the movies !!!

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA, has legendary status in the history of World War II. This book, by popular historian Patrick K. O'Donnell, tells the story of one of the OSS's most exciting operations during the war. The Brenner Pass through the Alps between Austria and Italy had been a critical part of the transportation system in Europe for centuries and the railroads and roads passing through it were necessary to Axis success in defeating the Allied invasion of Italy. In 1944 the OSS sought to cut off this pipeline, thereby severely limiting the capabilities of Axis troops in Italy to continue the war.

The Brenner assignment was brilliantly conceived by two upstart OSS operatives, Stephen Hall, mastermind of the operation and overall leader, and Howard Chappell, a paratrooper who recruited, trained, and led a team of volunteers into Germany to sabotage the transportation nodes through Brenner Pass. There are German agents, a seductive countess, and other unforgettable characters who make up the story as well. But I'm not going to tell you what happens since I don't want to spoil the mystery. The author tells the story with verve and style, writing it like an adventure movie script (which may have been his intention all along). It is every bit as good a story as Alistair McLean told in "Where Eagle's Dare" or any number of other WWII spy books and films. This one has the advantage of being true. It's a truly enjoyable reading experience.