Monte Cassino (Cassell Military Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Sven Hassel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007 | Series: Cassell Military Paperbacks

It's clear why Sven Hassell's books have sold millions. From a no-holds barred description of frontline combat to accounts of partisan attacks and adventures in Rome on leave, his World War II story is a classic. Here, Sven and his comrades who have survived the deadly fighting on the Russian front are posted to Italy, where the armies are locked in battle around the ancient hilltop of Monte Cassino. In the face of overwhelming Allied firepower, Sven and his fellow soldiers cling to the mountainside, knowing they cannot defy the odds forever.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Danish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Born in 1917 in Fredensborg, Denmark, Sven Hassel joined the merchant navy at the age of 14. He did his compulsory year's military service in the Danish forces in 1936 and then, facing unemployment, joined the German army. He served throughout World War II on all fronts except North Africa. Wounded eight times, he ended the war in a Russian prison camp. He wrote LEGION OF THE DAMNED while being transferred between American, British and Danish prisons before making a new life for himself in Spain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Cassell (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304366323
• ISBN-13: 978-0304366323
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A realistic story that is told well., January 4, 1999

By 

David Lucas - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monte Cassino (Hardcover)

One of a series of 14 books that Sven Hassel wrote to describe his experiences as a soldier in the German army during WWII.

Being in a penal regiment, they were given the hardest tasks, usually being the first in with the attack and last out when a retreat (sorry, strategic withdrawal) was necessary. Due to them being regarded as expendable, they lived hard and fought hard, this being reflected throughout the books, with graphic detail of their fights both against the enemy in the form of foreign armies, as well as skirmishes with their own people when they were on leave.

This series of books are overall a good read, and are refreshingly different than the majority, which were written by people on the winning sides. They also show, in vivid detail, how the war on the Eastern Front (which was where they were most of the time) was simply a fight for survival.

This book is a natural follow-on from 'Assignment Gestapo', which isn't always the case in these series. As the title suggests, it focuses on the fighting in Italy and in particular around the monastery at Cassino.

The book begins with the Allied landings (at Anzio?) and the general withdrawal of German troops northward. The unit have to undertake a couple of 'black bag' operations; removing artefacts from the monastery in the guise of SS troops and then going behind Allied lines to capture a Staff Officer. The rest of the book covers the battles had around Monte Cassino and describes the carnage very well. There are some poignant moments too, Padre Emmanuel holding mass in the crypt in the midst of an air raid, being an example. Considering the devastation wraught, it makes you wonder how anybody survived.

To summarise, a realistic war story that is told well from a different viewpoint than most.

Published in the UK by Corgi books in 1969, reissued in 1989.

David Lucas ([e-mail]).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interested in waar novels? Then read Monte Cassino., October 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Monte Cassino (Hardcover)

Monte Cassino is an excellnet book depicting the authour's amazing experiences in Itlay during World War Two. The epic battle for Monte Cassino is captured beautifully by Hassel who actually served as a German soldier during this time. If you like war novels, you will love Monte Cassino.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wars & Men, January 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Monte Cassino (Hardcover)

This moving book reminds us, as do other books of S.H., that wars are fought by men who have friends, families and ambitions. Monte Cassino is an excellent book in that it dispels the stereotype depiction of German soldiers popularized in Hollywood productions and lets us all know that soldiers of all nations are simply men caught up in storms not of their own creations, but for which they may have to die.