The Forgotten Soldier

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The Forgotten Soldier

By: Guy Sajer

Narrated by: Roger Davis

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About this listen

An international bestseller, this is a German soldier's first-hand account of life on Russian front during the second half of the Second World War.

When Guy Sajer joins the infantry full of ideals in the summer of 1942, the German army is enjoying unparalleled success in Russia. However, he quickly finds that for the foot soldier the glory of military success hides a much harsher reality of hunger, fatigue and constant deprivation. Posted to the crack Grosse Deutschland division, with its sadistic instructors who shoot down those who fail to make the grade, he enters a violent and remorseless world where all youthful hope is gradually ground down, and all that matters is the brute will to survive. As the biting cold of the Russian winter sets in, and the tide begins to turn against the Germans, life becomes an endless round of pounding artillery attacks and vicious combat against a relentless and merciless Red Army. A book of stunning force, this is an unforgettable reminder of the horrors of war.

Military

Military & War

World War II

War

Russia

Scary

Thought-Provoking

Red Army

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of a french soldiers experiences on eastern front, Guy Sajer was only 16 when he entered the German army, eventually making it into the most elite regiment. The sheer suffering he witnesses and endures and shares with us is almost too much to bear over the course of the book. So much so, that one often has to put it down after a few pages to compose oneself and emotionally re-center.

Brutal, honest, and traumatizing. This account of the German perspective of the war shows the horrors these young men faced. I feel both the Allied Forces and the Germans acted out of convictions of duty, courage, and the preservation of life. This story will stick with me for years to come and will act as a reminder of the carnage and death that can only come from war.

Writers like Sajer, will never allow the future generations to forget, the miseries of world war soldiers.

World war two was fought by soldiers but described by soldiers who become writers; Sajer belongs to this rare breed; he accomplished this rare job by writing, under stressful circumstances and arranging the information, for future readers.

Sajer did a fine job in describing, the situation and psychology of a foot soldier, respect and value of enemy, Morality of a losing infantry, Hate for partisans, Agony of dying comrades, Worries of families, Benevolence of seniors, Difficulty of weather, Hardship of immobility, Frustration of illness and much more.

This is a very fine book for those, who want to read about the agonies and pain of German soldiers. This book gives altogether a different aspect of world war. This helps in understanding a crucial fact of war that .... the true enemy of, a man in war is .... the war itself!

"We felt like lost souls, who had forgotten that men are made for something else, that time exists, and hope, and sentiments other than anguish; that friendship can be more than ephemeral, that love can sometimes occur, that the earth can be productive, and used for something other than burying the dead.”

― Guy Sajer, The Forgotten Soldier