Customer Reviews

Ten Thousand

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just finished reading The Ten Thousand yesterday afternoon, but boy I was caught by surprise as to how the plot unfolds, though I've first seen this book ten years ago and the plot still ingrained in my mind all this time.

It all begins in a cellar in Regensburg, Germany in late April 1945. When a young boy, a member of the Hitlerjugend, sees his family die before his eyes, he feels anger at not being given a chance to serve his Fatherland and his Fuhrer...fast forward to present day, the young boy is now the Chancellor of Germany, Johann Ruff.

The plot was unique in a sense: American troops enter the Ukraine together with Russian Army advisors to acquire a stockpile of Ukrainian nukes discovered stashed away. they eventually take the nukes with them, but not before the Ukrainians destroy one nuke stockpile and kill the American troops in the area.

Because they were not apparently consulted before the operation began, the Germans hijack the nukes as soon as they are prepared in an airbase in Germany for transport to the US. So begins the most dangerous European crisis since World War II...and now that General Malin and his X Corps are trapped in the Czech Republic with no home bases in Germany to return to, they must now make a choice: disarm right then and there, or travel across a hostile Germany for evacuation by sea, with former allies hot on their tails.

I liked Coyle's descriptions of how the action X Corps took gave resemblance to an earlier feat of arms: the march in 400BC of the Greek warrior Xenophon and his ten thousand mercenaries from what is present-day Iraq all the way back to Greece.

The reason I'm giving it four of five stars is because of some things i found odd: A Russian major in charge of US Rangers? Ooookay. Normally, US troops would feel uneasy when a foreign officer, a Russian at that, takes command of a US unit. But given the situation, the issues of nationality and racial bias take a backseat because all of them are soldiers, first and foremost.

This is the first ground war novel I've ever read that placed a major emphasis on ground battles, unlike the other combined-arms operations I've read in some books, most recently in Clancy's Bear and the Dragon or even in Larry Bond's Cauldron...and it shows, from the gritty realism of the tank battles and fifth-column ops that occur at several points in the story, to the personal perspectives of some of the major players themselves (Dixon, Kozak, Seydlitz, Ivanich, to name a few). Yes, some of the characters in the book do not reach the end of the story, but hey, that's war.

The book also gave focus on the professionalism of the German soldier and their ethical dilemmas on following the orders of their superiors or their consciences as well give rise to major dissent in the German Army. It also forced me to take notice because they come from a country that has never been to war in over fifty years, still struggling to come to grips with it's Nazi past and it's division during the Cold War, not to mention many generals from my country's armed forces also went to military schools in Germany that are some of the toughest in the world.

In all, The Ten Thousand is a well-written book.

Harold Coyle, a master of military fiction, has created yet another vivid and all too possible scenario: A reunited Germany with a fanatically anti-American chancellor has seized control of nuclear weapons, and intends not only to threaten Germany's neighbors but to humiliate the American army in the process. Not only does Germany intend to keep the nukes, but he intends to disarm the American Forces in Germany and send them home in disgrace. So, the commanding general of the American army in Germany decides to march through Germany to the sea, taking on anyone who stands in their way. Several characters from Coyle's previous books are back, including the irrepressible captain Nancy Kozak and the unforgettable Scott Dixon, as well as Ed Lewis, the former National Guardsman now congressman, and General "Big Al" Malin (all five foot three inches of him). Moving skillfully from the battlefields of the inner chambers of power within the two opposing governments to the actual battlefields on the plains of Germany, the triumphs, tragedies, and horrors of sustained modern armored combat are described in vivid and sometimes graphic detail. This book does an excellent job of putting a human face to a tale of modern warfare.

The Ten Thousand returns author Harold Coyle to high-tech warfare since Bright Star. In it, the US with the cooperation of Russia confiscate nuclear weapons from a belligerent Ukraine. The weapons are then placed in Germany for safekeeping where a Chancellor sees the opportunity to steal them and threaten the world. Suddenly, Germany is not a good place for Americans to be in and they must fight their way and get the nukes back.

In this book, Coyle introduces even more women and in different aspects of the war. The infantry leader, medic, reporter/soldier's wife and the commander-in-chief. They are credited to giving a more humanizing effect on the male soldiers. It may not be realistic but it's definitely idealistic portrayal.

Most of the American characters are back. And for those who've read Coyle's previous books, it's a treat to see two Russian characters return. It's also interesting to see that a Russian finds himself in command of a group of American Rangers. The German characters could use some more depth however. None of them are very memorable unlike most non-American characters in previous books (except Bright Star). They're either against the war or are anti-American. I do wonder what Coyle thinks of the US military's future. In one chapter he mentions that the Airborne Division is being scrapped as part of the "new model Army". Yet, they are used in the book for a vital operation. A re-evaluation is sorely needed.

Overall, Harold Coyle has another winner.

"The Ten Thousand" is a breath of fresh air to what had been a stale genre- military fiction. When I began to read I braced myself for another of Harold Coyle's dull Clancy clones, yet I found myself enjoying "The Ten Thousand" immensely.

The story- the fanatically anti-American leader of Germany captures nuclear weapons taken by U.S. forces from the Ukraine, forcing the U.S. Army's X Corps to fight their way across a hostile country to recover the weapons - is a welcome change from the renegade Russia scenarios that authors like Dale Brown cannot break free from.

The historical allusions to Xenephon's Ten Thousand and the medieval warfare were wonderful for this ex-history major to read. Coyle clearly put some thought into this story.

The only flaws to Coyle's story are his unrealistic portrayals of the decision-making process in Washington.

This is a modern re-telling of the the extraordinary story which Xenophon described in "The Persian Expedition" which is also sometimes known as "Anabasis" (March Up-Country)."

Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, a long-running dispute between Russia and the Ukraine about the ownership of some former Soviet nuclear warheads suddenly threatens to become very serious. The Russians ask the USA to retrive the weapons, and they send the Tenth Corps to do so. The American force secures the nukes, but then an ally stabs them im the back and leaves them surrounded in hostile territory.

Just as Xenophon's force of greekl mercenaries, the original "Ten Thousand," had to fight their way back home after the Persian prince for whom they were fighting fell in battle in 401 BC, in this book the men and women of the US 10th Corps have to make their way to the sea for evacuation. Sometimes they can persuade the forces they come up against to let them through without a battle, all too often they have to shoot their way through.

The political situation described in the battle is more than a bit ridiculous, but the battle scenes are excellent.

A good light read if you want something to amuse you for an afternoon. However, the original story, "The Persian Expedition" by Xenophon, is an even better read.

Harold Coyle has written a terrific novel of modern warfare. Like SWORD POINT and TEAM YANKEE, two of his earlier books, or THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY, the recent WWII novel, THE TEN THOUSAND engages the reader on many levels, providing action, suspense, tension, and a gratifying ending. Read this book, I highly recommend it.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine has decided to keep the nuclear weapons from it stored for Russia. Russia cannot let an unstable country hold WMD(weapons of mass destruction) an asks for the help of the U.S. and U.S. forces are sent to the UK. to retrieve the weapons in dangerous and illconceved plan. As the operation commences, the reunited Germany, led by former Hitler-Youth, Johann Rolf, decide to "liberate" the WMD from the Americans, and make them pay for destroying his country. Soon lines are drawn and several Russians join the Ten Thousand on a march to the sea. As the ten thousand move north, the German army attacks and officers, enlisties and even the heads of the govenment must decide on whether to let the Americans pass or stop them at all costs. As the story unfolds, the characters become real and you can see how war can effect someone. Being in the army, I can say that the description of the battles and plans are very detailed and extremely accurate. While the situation as a whole may be a little far-fetched, the book is extremely good. The story of the Russian Major is well written and can show that a man's nationality does not matter in war. A soldier is a soldier to the end. The story of the nurse is another well written segment, that sort of happened to me. To make this short my team and I were seperated and were lost for three hours at night in Feb. at Fort Dix. We had a hard time with four of us. I can say what happened to the nurse is realistic with what happens in war. I encourage other people to read this book because it give insights on how war can effect people's lives and how it can screw them up.

This is a well-constructed, though somewhat far-fetched, story of a series of idiotic mistakes leading to a noble, though chauvanistic, military campaign. Aside from the implausibilty, the story is great. Maybe in India, but not Germany. I would definitely rate this one a 'read' to Coyle fans, or to any fan of military fiction. His portrayal of miltary personel is highly accurate - as diverse as civilians. The battles are exciting and descriptive enough to become real in the reader's mind. On a final note, I wish that the nurse would have not been introduced, or that her story would have gone somewhere other than where it did.

Dwight Eisenhower once said that we'd know if we were successful in rooting out Nazism if fifty years from now there was a stable democracy in Germany. He was right. Today there is a stable democracy in Germany but for some Germans old habits die hard. Anti-Semitic violence by neo-Nazis and Skinheads is on the rise. These people worship the ground that Hitler walked on and want to return Germany to the bad old days. The ideological descendant of the Nazi Party is the Republican Party. Unlike our Republican Party, the German Republican Party is like Vladimir Zhirinovsky's misnamed Russian Liberal Democratic Party. It begins in April 1945 with a twelve-year-old Johann Ruff, a Hitler Youth, who believes that American tanks rumbling through the streets of the city where he and his family are refugees, are those of his father's tank division. Flash forward to the present. That disappointed twelve-year-old boy is now Chancellor Johann Ruff. The Americans, and their Russian advisers, are taking Ukrainian nuclear weapons to a U.S. Army storage depot in Germany to be stored there until they can be shipped to the United States for destructions. Chancellor Ruff, who's never gotten over the German defeat in World War II, orchestrates a diplomatic and military crisis. As his war goes badly, many western Germans, the majority of the officer corps, and their men, including the chief of the German general staff, defect to the Russo-American force.Those who remain, are eastern Germans, are loyal to Ruff. As the threat of civil war grows stronger, an American convoy is ambushed and an American Army nurse dies of exposure.

Harold Coyle opens with an assault to prevent some nuclear weapons from the now defunct USSR. A weapon is detonated underground by the defenders, wiping out half of the weapons. Now an American force of ten thousand become the custodians of the remaining weapons. They are in Germany, what should be friendly soil but somehow a mixture of pride and old hatreds that make up the Germany of today come to play to make it a very hostile place. The former West German soldiers now stand side by side with former East German enemies to stop the Americans. And the Americans must follow their leader in a march to the sea or surrender. Washington has issued orders to surrender and no help will come, but the commander is adamant. To surrender would put the nuclear weapons in questionable hands. He and the ten thousand will fight.