Wheels of Terror (Cassell Military Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Sven Hassel (Author)

Book Description

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

The best-selling military writer returns to his comrades in 27th penal battalion, offering another gritty, realistic view of the ordinary soldier in wartime. Now stationed at the Russian Front, and equipped with armored vehicles, Sven Hassel's band of warriors from the German army gird for the next battles. Caught between the insane orders of the Nazi high command and the overwhelming numbers of Russian soldiers, they prepare to fight on nonetheless--and will do anything to survive the inferno. A remorseless ride through a man-made hell.

Editorial Reviews

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: 304 pages
• Publisher: Cassell (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304366331
• ISBN-13: 978-0304366330
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #704,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book that began the series, April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wheels of Terror (Hardcover)

I have read many of Sven Hassels works and have found them ALL to be chillingly descriptive and accurate about the real frontline conditions faced by the German Military. These books also reveal the harsh and deadly occurances within the military heirarchy during ww2. I you desire a descriptive and action filled perspective on ww2, I recommend you read this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Picaresque adventures in WW2, March 12, 2005

By 

Kull "the valusian" (Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wheels of Terror (Cassell Military Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Much malignity has been thrown at Hassel's books.
I'd like to point out that ONLY 'Legion of the Damned' is autobiographical.
The rest of the books are works of fiction...even if interspersed with many real anedoctes Hassel/Pedresen picked up during his prison-camp years.
All the 'errors' you can find in the books (wrong years for certain tanks/equipments, the fact that THERE WERE NOT 'PANZER' PENAL UNITS...etc) are DELIBERATE.
They make the story better and wilder...and btw Hassel was disgusted and angry at the Nazi war machine that abused him so bad so he 'retorted' my muddling the details that were oh-so-important to the sadistical officers and cowardly nazi 'pheasants'.
I have ALL Hassel's books except for the one regarding Finland and I always approached them the way you read picaresque adventures...you know thy're far-fetched and credibility-stretching butyou enjoy them for the vivid carachters' depiction
and the cruel humour...not to have sound historical facts from them.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wheels Of Terror, November 13, 2002

By 

Brad Jones (Kakabeka Falls, Ontario,Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wheels of Terror (Hardcover)

If you enjoy reading war adventure books and you like books that put you right in the middle of the horror and bloodshed, this one is for you.On the back cover there is a warning in red lettering,"This is a book of horrors, and should be left alone by those prone to nightmares.Sven Hassel's descriptions of the atrocities committed by both sides are the most horrible indictments of war I have ever read---Alan Sillitoe--
This book and others by Sven Hassel are true gems that take the reader to a place and time that is horrifying. You feel the fear,and understand the terrors of war as if it is really happening. These books are a true window into the world of the WW2 Russian front at its worst. A definate must read for all war novel enthusiasts who enjoy reading what it was truely like on the Russian front. Non stop action from page 1 through to the end. These books are my all time favorites and I'm sure they will become one of your favorites as well.