Customer Reviews

Fox at the Front

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was very pleased to see that authors Miles and Dobson followed up the entertaining "Fox on the Rhine" with a continuation of the story line to a more satisfying conclusion.
At the end of the first novel , "The Fox" , Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel , has rather preemptorally surrendered to the allied army after the bridges across the Meuse were bombed by allied aircraft , stranding a large segment of the Panzerarmee on the other side without a chance of resupply.

In "Fox at the Front" , we are treated to the reasons for Rommel's prompt capitulation. We then see Rommel as a true German patriot , wanting to save his homeland from further devestation and subjugation by the Soviet Union. The other really central and essental character is US general George S. Patton , old "blood and guts" himself. Initially , Rommel's surrender order is obeyed by the elements of the Wehrmacht under his immediate control , but the agressive Obersturmbahnfuhrer Jochen Peiper of the SS prevents the forces under general Heinz Guderian from complying with the order. The SS divisions wind up attacking the remaining Wehrmacht forces , causing the emergency formation of an Allied-German alliance with the surrendered forces under Rommel's command.

Basically , the war continues : "German Republic" forces , allong with Patton's 3rd Army continue to pursue Peiper's SS forces through the Rheinpfaltz , and force the crossing of the Rhine itself in an effort to terminate the conflict. Enter the Russians ; Stalin sees an opportunity for an easy victory in the east , and hence breaks the "truce" earlier negotiated with Heinrich Himmler.

Many subplots and new characters keep the reader well entertained. Many of the characters from the first novel , such as Rommel's devoted driver , Kark-Heinz Claussen , find expanded roles in this sequel. Through many exciting twists and turns , we are brought to a rousing finish at the siege of Berlin -- a standoff between the Grman-American-British forces facing the Soviet juggernaut of Marshall's Zukhov and Konev.

My general "take" on this AH novel : MUCH better than the first effort ; the authors cleaned up their usage of the German military ranks , including the somewhat arcane SS ranks. The characters are not as "cartoon-like" as in the "Fox on the Rhine" , and are much more three dimensional. There are actually exceptional descriptive writing passages later in the book. The writing styles have improved alot , and the action tends to flow more seamlessly than before. Overall a strong 4 star effort , and definitely "must read".

Fox at the Front is an alternative history, WWII thriller that takes us from the collapse of German's last Western offensive (as chronicled in the book's predecessor Fox on the Rhine) through to the end of the war. Central to the book is the idea of thoughtful, conscientious actors making decisions in the face of nothing but bad choices. As one of the main characters explains, making a good choice is easy. It's when someone must choose between several horrific alternatives that the true measure of a person can be discovered.

The overarching historical events-from Rommel's defection to the Allies (with a large chunk of the German armies), to the establishment of a German Republic separate from Nazi Germany, to the discovery of the concentration camps, to the fallout of the secret treaty between Himmler and Stalin, to the bitter-end fighting of the SS, to the inexorable advance of the Soviet legions-challenge the characters both big and small. Insights into the global vision of Roosevelt and Stalin and the regional concerns of Rommel, Patton, Himmler, and Eisenhower are balanced by sympathetic depictions of extraordinary "joe averages"-Rommel's mechanically skilled and devoted driver, an ex-Hitler Youth American intelligence officer, a battle scarred spearheading tank commander, a too-young zealous SS trooper, an up-and-coming Soviet commissar, a long-in-the-tooth AP editor turned field reporter, and many more. The actions and words of the historical characters offer interesting glimpses of their personalities while the three-dimensional portrayal of the "lesser" actors puts a human face on world-shattering events.

As a casual WWII fan, I learned many interesting things from this book. The vast resources in both men and machines of the Soviet Union emphasized just how outmatched the Germans were on the Eastern Front. So numerous were those forces that combining the Allied and German forces together still left them vastly outnumbered. This brings home the absurdity of the idea of crushing Communism after defeating the Nazis. The Western world was fortunate that Stalin decided not to press his advantage and take more of Europe in those closing days. In view of this overwhelming mismatch, Roosevelt's willingness to "give" Stalin Eastern Europe in an effort to build a lasting peace is presented as not only reasonable but perhaps the only acceptable choice available. At one point, Roosevelt expresses his faith that history would validate Western representative democracy over Soviet-style Communism. This forms a neat rationale justifying the least atrocious of otherwise nightmarish choices.

Best of all, the fascinating historical interplay is packaged in a heck of a page-turning story. It's one of the those books that a guilty glance at the lateness of the hour is excused by a little voice saying "just one more chapter."

The book left me with one major question for Niles and Dobson-What the heck is going on in the Pacific?

This is an absolutely riveting, page-turner of a book. The plot is amazingly sophisticated -- diverging from real events in absolutely plausible ways that demonstrate just how contingent history is - and the characters are brilliantly drawn and so true to life one gets a deeper understanding of the real personalities that shaped (actual) history. This is, for instance, one of the best portraits of Patton since George C. Scott's immortal movie portrayal, and a completely engrossing dissection of Rommel, his nemesis cum ally in this alternative universe. The character of Franklin Roosevelt is drawn with a fine and subtle insight, befitting the man himself, and Stalin is absolutely chilling - the more so for his almost seeming normality. If you want a book that you can't put down and that brings the strategy, tactics, horror and triumph of war alive, read Fox at the Front.

'Fox at the Front' is a wonderful Alternate History novel set in a world where, due to Hitler's assassination in July, 1944, Heinrich Himmler leads Germany and Erwin Rommel is around to lead the Battle of the Buldge. 'Front' begins right where 'Fox at the Rhine' left off. Erwin Rommel, whose panzers had been largely cut off from the bulk of his forces, realizes the neccessity of surrendering to the Americans before the Soviets get ideas about resuming their attack. What follows is a tense, page turning story in which the western allies, with Rommel's help, try to reach Berlin before the forces of Stalin. Overall this is a very believable senario and lends itself to some good 'what if?' questions. The plot is fast paced, sometimes too fast paced, and holds the reader's interest. And while this book succeeds on many levels, the ending seems a little flat and predicatable. Additionally, while many of the characters are wonderfully drawn and add much to the story, others seem to offer nothing of any real interest. Because of this, the book could have benefitted from some trimming. Sometimes it felt as though I was reading nearly six hundred pages for a three hundred page story. Aside from these setbacks, 'Fox at the Front' is definatly worth a look for WW II buffs or fans of Alternate History in general.

I really enjoyed _Fox on the Rhine_, which I'll have to get to reviewing one of these days; it was an imaginative look at how Erwin Rommel might have planned and executed "Wacht am Rhein" (Watch on the Rhine, the Bulge offensive, here called "Fuchs am Rhein", Fox on the Rhine) had he not been implicated in the July 1944 coup attempt and forced to commit suicide.

_Fox at the Front_ is a look at what happens next. Rommel, having surrendered himself and his entire command after having come _this_ close to breaking through and storming to the English Channel, is now offered the opportunity to switch sides and become the leader of the army of a new, democratic Germany that will take its place among the Allies as they seek to finish the Third Reich once and for all. The Nazis aren't quite finished yet, though; they - especially Heinrich Himmler - have other plans. Not to mention what Joseph Stalin is plotting at...

If I have a problem with this book, it's that it seems somewhat rushed in places. This is especially apparent in the section dealing with the siege of Berlin by the Soviets; as another reviewer points out, the Allies at this point in 1945 had significant assets and advantages that would have gone a long way toward balancing, if not outright overcoming, the Soviet superiority in numbers. Niles and Dobson might have spent some more time thinking out, for example, how American artillery might have counterbalanced Soviet guns, or how a huge raid of Anglo-American heavy bombers protected by swarms of Mustangs and Spitfires (along with the new German Democratic Republic's Me-262s) might have broken up Zhukov's assault from Potsdam without having had to resort to the atomic bomb. (On the other hand, their point that the Soviets would have focused first on getting revenge by smashing up as many German units as they could is well taken; their description of the destruction of Panzer Lehr is chilling.)

Nonetheless, the book has many good points. Chief among them is the description of Rommel's discovery of the depths of Nazi depravity and bestiality at Buchenwald. I personally think their estimate of what his reaction, and that of the men under his command, might have been is spot-on. To the reviewer who complained that this section is unrealistic because most Germans knew something about what was happening to the Jews even if they chose to ignore it, I would respond that this is precisely what makes Rommel's anguish so powerful. He is grappling with his own conscience here, and the sense of guilt that he feels over not having done anything to try to stop the Holocaust even though he had intimations that something dreadful was happening. That's why he reduces himself to the status of menial laborer trying to clean up the wreck of Buchenwald, resisting all entreaties to return to command until a dramatic confrontation with the book's main POV character.

I'll certainly be looking at trying their new book, _MacArthur's War_, because of these two books. Well done overall.

These two authors came out with a book titled Fox on the Rhine, an alternative history thing that pitted the Germans without Hitler (and better off for their lack), but with Rommel in command of their forces, they make things rather hot for the Allies in France as the Winter of 1944 approaches.

As the book ends, Rommel has launched a modified version of the Battle of the Bulge, and gets surrounded, deciding to surrender. The present book begins with Rommel having surrendered, and Patton meeting him. The two eventually decide to join forces, so to speak, and the result is interesting, as they journey across Germany to save Berlin from the Russians. The cast includes various soldiers on both sides, both historical and imaginary, and has various scenes of action at the front and behind the lines.

I enjoyed this book, though the premise is a bit kooky, and you do get the idea that the authors worked hard to get Rommel and Patton on the same side in the war

I really enjoyed this book. As a retired army sergeant I only docked it one star for mistakes on the military angle; any general's staff rates a G (G-2 for Intelligence, for example)not an S. Shortly after promotion to full colonel the officer reported himself as lieutenant colonel, etc.

This one is a stretch but as alternate history goes, it's good readingd. Once I started I couldn't stop. Made for some interesting views on the potential Wehrmacht options and reactions of the Soviet Union and Stalin. If you are in to this type of reading, this one is a must read.

I really enjoyed this book. It takes place in an alternate timeline in which Adolf Hitler is assasinated in mid 1944. This lead to a very different Battle of the Bulge led by Erwin Rommel. In Fox at the Front Rommel joins forces with the Allies in a desperate bid to save Germany from Soviet domination. I had been looking forward to this book ever since I finished reading Fox on the Rhine several years ago, and am pleased to say it was a really great book. As a student of 20th Century European History Fox at the Front was everything I thought it would be, and I really enjoyed it.

This book moved, yet managed to hold my interest. On the plus side the new characters that were introduced were good, and actually had some depth (particularly the bad ones). In fact, it was a little strange to be more interested in the development of these characters than those associated with the main characters, and it was these minor characters that made the book more interesting. For example, I felt that Dietrich, the German general who eventually takes over the army of the Third Reich, is actually a better character than Rommel.

In contrast, I found several of Rommel's reactions to the horrors of the Nazi's to be a bit much, and out of the character of the time.

The only real problem is that it did move very fast at times. Turn your back for a second, and the US army is in Berlin. Further, the end was just a little unbelievable and a bit unsatifying.

Still, I would recommend this book as a fun read that certainly gives an answer to at least one "What If?".