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Willi Heinrich
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The Cross of Iron Paperback – May 3, 2021

by Willi Heinrich (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 506 ratings
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CROSS OF IRON is the thrilling story of a German platoon cut off far behind Russian lines in the second half of World War II. A resourceful and cynical commander somehow manages to coax his men through the bitter hand-to-hand fighting in forests, trenches and city streets until eventually they regain the German lines. But safety is only temporary. After the tension of waiting for the last overwhelming Russian advance the platoon is forced into futile counter-attacks and murderous house-to-house fighting until its final decimation becomes inevitable.

A modern classic of war fiction both as a book and a film, this is a strikingly realistic story of action on the Eastern Front, where the grimness of combat seems to have neither pity nor end.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    360 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Must Have Books
  4. Publication date
    May 3, 2021
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1773237845
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1773237848
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Must Have Books (May 3, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 360 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1773237845
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1773237848
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.16 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 506 ratings

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Willi Heinrich

Willi Heinrich

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
506 global ratings
Interesting
5 Stars
Interesting
SCHNELL!!!! Great movie, great book!
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Top reviews from the United States

Tony
5.0 out of 5 stars A great addition after having watched the movie, and even more fun with a much richer and involved storyline!
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2016
Verified Purchase
I'd watched the movie based on this book, "Cross of Iron" several times, coming away each time thinking it was one of the better WWII movies around, and certainly one of the best of the Eastern Front--if not the best I've seen. I decided to read the book based on the character upon whom Steiner is based, and boy what a rewarding experience. Having read numerous personal accounts of warfare on the Eastern front, this book did not take any license with the "reality" as best as I can understand. The personal experience of the characters was riveting, with an interesting mix of interchanges on point of view, for example a passage might include a first-person idea/thinking by Steiner and then switch to another soldier's point of view. The plot was much extended compared to the movie, and more believable in the sense of the ambitious Hauptmann and the subplots therein. Perhaps the only aspect of the book that did not reflect the awful nastiness of warfare on the Eastern Front is that it did not describe much the incredible infestations of the soldiers by vermin, e.g. lice, fleas, and the skin conditions that accompanied them. I recommend this book to any WWII buff. It helps bring to light the interpersonal intra-squad dynamics that are the "world" of infantry (and military) everywhere.
7 people found this helpful
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ceemoss
4.0 out of 5 stars Well Written
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2022
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Great book of the WW2 era from the German viewpoint.
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Polarbear
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great and Tragic Tale
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2016
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I've seen the movie many times and figured I would check out the book. Wow. What a story. If you liked the movie, you have no idea what you missed. If you didn't like the movie, you might still like the book. If you've read All Quiet On The Western Front, you can consider this its WWII analog. It is an epic tragedy and I was enthralled from beginning to end. While this is a fictional story, the author served on the Eastern Front and I'm sure he drew on a wealth of personal experience in crafting it. Also, I can't help pointing out there are a number of small details in the story that could only come from a person who was really there and they help shed some light on the experiences of the average Landser. For instance, the author mentions how soldiers marching in formation on long road marches would link arms and sleep marching with one or another soldier occasionally steering the entire rank to keep them on the road as they marched. As a former soldier, I get it. Little details like that make a story come to life for me and I love those nuggets when I find them. If you like WWII stories, especially the average soldier's view, as opposed to the view from 20,000 feet above, you're going to enjoy this book.
18 people found this helpful
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Chuck Schick
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
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SCHNELL!!!! Great movie, great book!
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Chuck Schick
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
SCHNELL!!!! Great movie, great book!
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Jeffery J Loftus
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a digital copy of this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2024
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Been hoping for years to find a digital copy of this book. Lost my paperback one years ago and a hard copy was just to expensive.
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Tyson Conrad
4.0 out of 5 stars A decent read
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2016
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This is the second novel of Willi Heinrich's that I have read, the first being The Crack of Doom, which I read some 35 years ago. The Cross of Iron I believe is older, having been written in the 1950's, and it shows. His characters and the story's plot are not nearly as well developed. The story is fairly predictable and in many ways is similar to Eric Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. I believe Mr Heinrich did a much better job with The Crack of Doom. However, all that being said I still enjoyed the book and wouldn't have any misgivings about recommending it. On a side note, don't waste your time with Sam Peckinpah's movie version if you're trying to get an idea about the book. The movie only vaguely resembles it.
2 people found this helpful
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jamie
5.0 out of 5 stars very good
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2023
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I really liked it and will probably read it again sooner or later. I wish Steiner didn’t die, and faber didn’t lose his eyes. But that’s war I guess. Too bad there’s not a lot of those books in serial, like the Sven Hassel books. I’d take em all. But anyway, 10 out of 10 is say. Thank you.
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chris georgehead
3.0 out of 5 stars Distraction
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2021
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I am confused about the ranks of the characters. Sergeants are squad leaders, not platoon commanders. Lieutenants are usually platoon commanders, not company commanders. Captains are usually company commanders, not battalion commanders. Finally, Lieutenant Colonels usually command battalions, not regiments. Was something lost in the translation?
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
Reviewed in Canada on January 25, 2021
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Brings the Kuban Campaign to life.
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Graeme Shimmin
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping and realistic account of war
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
I liked this a lot.

It's a long novel and fairly slow in places. The opening section of the novel, where Steiner and his platoon are trapped behind enemy lines and sneak back, encountering an all-female Russian unit on the way, is probably the strongest of the novel and could even have been a a stand-alone novella.

The description of the action feels very true to real life:
- There are a lot of characters, some of which appear and disappear again very quickly. In a less realistic novel they would have been turned into a composite character.
- The initial characters are killed one by one in well described, but chaotic, military action scenes until the protagonist, Steiner, and the antagonist, Stransky, are practically the only people left.
- There are several loose ends and plot threads that go nowhere, such as one character being homosexual.
- Random events and 'deus ex machina' like stray shells kill characters, bringing their part of the narrative to a sudden halt.

Although the author has an annoying, to me at least, tendency to tell the reader the outcome of an event and then go back and show what happened, what holds this rather diary-like account of combat at the front together as a story is the feud between Steiner and Stransky which builds throughout the novel until a confrontation at the end.

Battle scenes are interspersed with scenes of the various characters discussing their philosophies of life and the fact that Germany is doomed and they personally are unlikely to survive the war (the real unit the story is based on and that the author served in had 700% casualties during WW2, i.e. it was wiped out and rebuilt seven times).

In places I thought the translation wasn't perhaps doing full justice to the text, seeming a bit stilted. Some of the technical word choices such as translating "sub-machine gun" as "Tommy Gun" were questionable too.

I found the very end of the novel a little unsatisfying, I won't spoil it but suffice to say the ending is left open and there are not really any answers.

For those who have seen the classic film, staring James Coburn, the novel is quite similar, or at least the first two thirds of the novel are. The ending is thematically similar to the film, leading up to a confrontation between Steiner and Stransky, but in detail it is quite different. The film is well known as having a rather bizarre and ridiculous end sequence, as the production company ran out of money forcing them to cobble something together. The novel covers similar ground but in a much more extended sequence where the company fights the Russians, and each other, in an abandoned factory.

Overall, a gripping and realistic account of war. In the end the novel is a large scale vignette of life at the front - the war was going on before the start of the story and it will continue after the end - the heroism or cowardice of the characters is futile. Which is perhaps the point.
10 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars so good.
Reviewed in Canada on November 22, 2015
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So far, so good.
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Andy
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2016
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Very Good book better than the film of the same name.
2 people found this helpful
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Titanic enthusiast. (Ken)
5.0 out of 5 stars A really great adventure read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2017
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A very good read. Good characters that are well written. I like to read Sharp and Hornblower novels and this is along the same lines, just a shame there are no more stories with Srgt Steiner. The battle scenes are brutal and show how quick things can change in the heat and fog of battle. I recommend this book to anyone who lives Sharp.
One person found this helpful
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