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The Cross of Iron

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Willi Heinrich's Cross of Iron addresses the challenges facing German soldiers on the Eastern front during World War II. Some of these trials are physical; the novel begins with a German platoon stranded miles behind the Russian lines, without rations or adequate weapons, and progresses through brutal sieges and shattering assaults. Under the strain of mental exhaustion and the extreme stress of combat conditions, the platoon's commander, non-commissioned officer, Rolf Steiner, must make critical decisions for his men to survive. More compelling than the substantive difficulties Steiner and his men undergo are the psychological problems that war imposes on those who fight. The soldiers' reactions to these problems, ranging from bleak acceptance of what seems inevitable to an unquenchable ambition for advancement, provide the impetus for a plot line that centers on the unremitting hardship of war.

Heinrich writes in understated, direct prose designed to relate events that are inherently dramatic without pretension or histrionics. Coming suddenly, without warning or prejudice, death is documented rather than lamented: "The earth exploded. The blast knocked him backwards and he lay staring up at the sky" (257). Dialogue becomes the author's outlet for addressing the important questions raised by the book's events. Hardened by the experience of relentless combat, the soldiers scathingly scrutinize both motivations for combat and human nature itself. The infantrymen's reactions to the deaths of their comrades carry a particular significance. In one instance, two soldiers remark upon the death of a companion in markedly different ways. Private Kern finds a cause for anger as well as lament when Pfc. Dorn, "the professor," dies, blaming not the enemy but the war: "This miserable war - just to kill like that - a man of his learning" (258). Expressing an indifferent fatalism, Corporal Kruger responds, "You think any of you are going to make out better?" (258).

One of Germany's great novels of World War II, Cross of Iron tells of a world without reason. Heinrich's antagonist is not human; death, an indiscriminate and omnipresent force, drives the action and torments the reader's emotions. As this work shows, war supercedes such fixtures of humanity as God, patriotism, heroism, and morality; the necessity of survival renders them peripheral.

Unlike so many of his fellow German veterans, Willi Heinrich elected to relate his WWII experiences through his outstanding novel, The Cross of Iron. The book deals with the German withdrawal from the Kuban Peninsula. This is one of the far flung fronts that comparatively little has been written.

Heinrich's protagonist is Sgt. Steiner, the veteran platoon leader that has seen more than his share of combat and knows how to achieve an objective and keep his men alive. He is the cynical sort of heroic soldier, who does his job not for medals or politics, but to keep himself and his men alive for one more day.

Heinrich's Landser are a great cross section of Germans from the young replacements to the grizzled veterans to the true Nazi. Into his group arrives Cpt. Stranksy, who has been in the occupied West and seen virtually no combat, yet is foaming at the mouth to win his Knight's Cross as befits his status as a member of the Prussian Officer Class. His motivations are purely self-serving and contrast sharply with Steiner.

Heinrich portrays the German officer class with fairness and realism. Officers like Kiesel and Brandt represent the best characteristics of German officers and Stransky and Triebig show the dark side of that same group. And of course Steiner and his men aren't that far removed from Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe slogging it through Italy.

The book is at its best during Steiner's Platoon's efforts to escape a Soviet occupied factory. It is riveting reading and as frightening as any horror movie. And in truth what could be more frightening than knowing that you are being hunted by an enemy that wants to kill you with extreme prejuidice.

Heinrich brings the reader into that factory and into the dark woods of the Kuban peninsula. He succeeds in making the reader see Steiner and his men, not as Nazis, not as German Soldiers, but as men trapped by circumstance in the most awful of situations.

And finally, he creates in a Steiner, a man that we can all respect and root for. We want Steiner and Kruger and Schnurrbart to make it back to their own lines. But war is war and Heinrich does not hold back its punches. And in the end the best anyone caught in the cataclysm of war can hope for...is a trip into the light.

I loved this book very much, and think that like others have said, it is comparable to All Quiet on the Western Front. Furthermore, I think it surpasses AQWF in terms of exploring war and the people involved, especially from the German/Nazi side. It's harsh and crude at times, with descriptions more direct than poetic. Perhaps many would be put off by the fact that it's written from the Nazi perspective, but the truth is that 'Nazi' is more a description of an ideology that not all followed, rather than a term for the foot soldier who is simply fighting to save his life and what he may believe at first to be the survival of his country.

...P>A far better book than Guy Sajer's THE FORGOTTEN SOLDIER, the characters are richly developed; everyone who serves in the military for any length of time eventually encounters a Captain Stransky - a man bent on "spriritual domination of his battalion." Sympathetic to the German soldier, but not the Nazi cause, this is a gripping and honest portrayal of men at war, with many surprise turns along the way.

It is a great book, much better than the movie. It showed the brutal side of war and human darkness. I was totally absorbed by it. In fact, I finished in 2 days. However, after I finish it, I am a little bit disappointed not only by the ending, but also the auther's gloom portrait. Definitely the author made his point on the hopelessness and waste of the war. But frankly speaking I was looking for a more upbeat picture.

Anyway, a great book!

This novel, written by a veteran of the Russian Front, gives us through the eyes of his main character insights into the German army of the Russian front in gritty and realistic detail.

This is not a thumbs up and cherio type novel but the graphic bitter story of survival written by a man who was there.

I read this novel while in High School and found it most insightful into the German army of WWII as well as the hell of war. My father's experiences in Korea were undoubtedly similar.

Published in 1956, this is one of the first, and certainly the best, war novels that captures the horrors of war from the German perspective. This book introduces the reader to what life was like as a German Infantry soldier as the Russians began pushing the Germans back in WW2.

Author Willi Heinrich writes with such authority and realism because he fought on the Russians. The war on the Eastern front was a savage, brutal war, with both sides literally taking no prisoners. Millions fought and died on both sides. Vivid, realistic, Heinrich depicts how war de-humanizes everyone. There are no winners, only a few survivors. To fight when there is no hope, the despair and all human emotions are shown to the reader. Heat, cold, hunger, rage, rape, boredom, sacrifice, slaughter to name but a few.

It is no understatement to put this book in the same class as other great war novels such as The Naked and The Dead, Catch-22, Slaughterhouse 5, The Thin Red line, the Red Badge of Courage. I found this book to be amazing in its ability to put you there, to make you feel these emotions. That's what great authors do. To read this is to get a glimpse of a side of WW2 that most do not know about. Highly recommended. The movie was excellent as well.

In a powerful way the book reminds us: Countries / governments go to war. But individuals suffer, bleed, and die. The presidents, leaders and fuehrers sit safely at home. The story is an eternal one, to be re-played until there will be a war and nobody shows up.

The book is vividly written, lives take shape before your eyes, great character development. This book should be read together with "All Quiet on the Western Front." By the way, the German title is "Das geduldige Fleisch" = "The Patient Flesh."

Cross of Iron sets the standard for WWII East Front fiction. I first read it maybe 25 years ago and have reread it twice since -- and I rarely reread a novel. Willi Heinrich draws you in with his vivid characteriazation and settings, but keeps you turning pages with his pulse-racing action scenes. Steiner must go down as one of the greatest charaters of WWII fiction.

If you read no other novel of WWII on the Eastern Front, you must read this one.

Read this novel and get a real sense for the desperate fighting of the Russian front.

Take note -- as ususal, the movie is no substitute for a well written novel.

For anyone who is interested in a classic war book, written at a time when people knew and remembered World War II, this book is a must. It is also rare in that it is written from the perspective of Axis soldiers. A good companion to this book is the non-fiction book Black Edelweiss, about a combat SS soldier and his disillusionment as he learned what the SS and his country had done during the war.