Batalion de marş: Ediție română

Legion of the Damned #5

by Sven Hassel

Un comando special al regimentului disciplinar, îmbrăcat cu uniforme ruseşti, cucereşte 4 tancuri de luptă T 34. Se află mult în spatele liniilor ruseşti din Caucaz. Este anul 1942. Ceas după ceas tancurile se îndreaptă către Est. În diverse rânduri sunt solicitaţi de către diviziile ruse. Îi urmărim pe soldaţi în lupta lor disperată pentru a reveni în liniile germane. Distanţele sunt mari, prietenii puţini şi moartea întotdeauna aproape. STAFFORDSHIRE EVENING STANDARD, „UNUL DIN CEI MAI BUNI SCRIITORI EUROPENI, CU UN SENS AL SUSPANSULUI PRECUM PUŢINI ALŢII”Sven Hassel a fost trimis într-un batalion disciplinar al armatei germane ca simplu soldat. Cu un realism intim şi brutal, el narează atrocităţile războiului, crimele naziştilor şi umorul cinic şi grosolan al soldaţilor. Cu o vânzare de peste 50 de milioane de exemplare, sunt cărţile de război cele mai vândute din lume.

Genres: War, Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II, Military Fiction, Historical, Russia

282 pages

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Hassel served in the Danish merchant navy till 1937, when he moved to Germany to join the army. He served with the second Panzer Division stationed at Eisenach and in 1939 was a tank driver during the invasion of Poland. A year later he attempted to escape because of being mentally exhausted. He was transferred to a Sonderabteilung, a penal unit manned by criminals and dissidents. He served with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and later the 11th and 27th Panzer Regiments (6th Panzer Division) on all fronts except North Africa and was wounded several times. Eventually he reached the rank of lieutenant and received an Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. He surrendered to Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945 and spent the following years in various POW camps. He began to write his first book Legion of the Damned while he was interned. He was released in 1949, and was planning to join the French Foreign Legion when he met Dorthe Jensen. They got married in 1951. He went to work in a car factory. In 1957 Sven Hassel suffered from an attack of a sickness caught during the war and was paralyzed for almost two years. After recovery, he began to write more books.

See also Sven Hazel

Reviews

[Mihaela Abrudan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adevărate mărturi ale terorii și dezumanizării. În haosul războiului fiecare își face propriul joc, chiar și cei din aceeași tabără. Cred că nici un film de groază nu ar putea avea niște scene atât de terifiante.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Eastern front.
" Treated like animals, living like animals", but with some heart and possibly unexpected human kindness too. In fact, your enemies are not only the ones you fight against. And that's the saddest part of the story...

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it back into 2006. Remember it was very gitty, dark and depressing as shit. It made me buy all of his books.

[Procyon Lotor]

7th March Battalion chapter by chapter: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Barcelona tells his Spanish Civil War story. Back to Russia and the freezing cold. Plans are made for a suicidal reconnaisance mission behind Russian lines dressed in Russian uniforms and tanks. Talk about the types who joined the battalion and their past lives. Introduction to Captain Lander the Nazi. Tiny starts interrupting Lander's speech and generally irritating him. Start of patrol. Talk about Allah's garden. Contact with Russians (and the NKVD green cross). Various adventures getting through road blocks etc. Loss of one of the tanks - and M�ller. Everyone starts walking. Tiny talks about No 26 Reeperbahn (a whorehouse of course). Long trek. Encounter with more NKVD. Capture of dog sled and skis. 2. Description of 'the Professor' - the Norwegian SS volunteer. Travel with the dog-sledge. Dig-in for the night. NKVD soldiers pass by. Arguement with the Professor. 3. Talk about the Legionnaire. Heide tells his life story. Reference to killing of mental patients. 4. . Tiny and Heide have one of their fights. Further travels through the ice and snow in the Caucusus. Encounter with camels and camel herders. Visit to a Russian village. German soldier who has survived a firing squad tells his story. Plans to escape to Turkey. Tiny discovers a hidden supply of alcohol. General drinking activity with the locals. Drunken NKVD man arrives. More merry-making. NKVD patrol approaches. Escape from the village. Three day snow storm. Return towards German lines. Running battles. Porta gets hold of a flamethrower. Anti-tank battle. The Professor tells his story. Return to German lines. Death of Captain Lander. 5. Story of Major Karl Ulrich Mercedes. Lugansk 14th March. Tiny jumps out of his tank to rescue a little kid. Drive through marsh. Bit of philosophy on war. Tiny's kid is killed and Tiny goes mental. Legionnaire deals with him. Refueling and rearming of tanks. More tank battle. Picking up stragglers. Back for repairs. Porta plays 'I Was Born And Brought Up In A Brothel' on his flute. More fighting. Comments about the Death's Head badge. Rescue of SS troops (but not for long). 6. Torgau guard duty. Hauptfelwebel Dorn. Story of Lt Heinz Berner (and his fianc�e Else). Tiny visits him in his cell and Berner tries to escape... without much luck. Porta and Tiny play cards in the latreen until the Chaplain arrives. Lots of entertainment as Tiny winds the priest up. 7. More prison stories, including that of Kurt Schwartz, the farmer, and Gustav D�rer, the Head Warder of Torgau, and Feldwebel Hermann Lindenberg (all wonderful stories). 8. Execution of Lindenberg. Katz and Schr�der of the RSHA arrive at the prison to investigate D�rer's death. They start interrogating Dorn. Colonel Vogel arrives and puts them in their place. Major Divalordy arrives. The Colonel sends everyone to the Eastern Front. Read this chapter here 9. Introduction to General von Grabach who deals with appeals. Lots of wonderful political intrigue! Story of Heinz Berner. 10. Return to the front via the Black Sea. Section occupy a house. Old Man goes mad at Tiny for his comments about children and war. Story of Tiny 'feeding an SS man to dogs'. Section on Rumania. Move into a deserted villa - which turns out, naturally, to have been a brothel. Wonderful scenes as Tiny etc go looking for the whores. Rumanian soldiers turn up and join in. General insane debauchery at Mme Olga's. Mme Olga is 'tried' by the Legionnaire - and hanged by the mob. 11. The party continues. Retreating soldiers pass by warning that the Russians are coming. Various stories of retreat. Tiny and Barcelona rescue some German prisoners - troublesome officers from a court martial. They are dealt with and Tiny helps himself to another three gold teeth. General retreat through the marshes.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sven Hassel again on Russian front. Story of people who were comrades in penal batallion - treated like animals they became animals. Great tale how war changes people.

[Jurica Ranj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hasselov je svijet Drugog svjetskog rata pisan avanturističkim stilom pripovijedanja i uz povremene nenajavljene promjene perspektive na koje se nisam potpuno navikao. Opisi su kratki, precizni i uvjerljivi. Situacije koketiraju između tragedije i apsurda, uvijek praćene crnim humorom.

Likovi su sivi, a osjećaji koje izazivaju idu od simpatije do apsolutnog gađenja. U nekim su trenucima ljudi, a već u drugim krvoločne životinje. Njihov je moralni kompas izbaždaren prvenstveno željom za opstankom, ispunjavanjem nižih strasti, ali ponekad i empatijom prema nevinim žrtvama rata. Uz to, politički sustav Reicha i uvijek prisutna birokracija kod igranja ljudskim životima dovode situaciju do totalnog apsurda.

Jeli ovo antiratna poruka zapakirana u slavljenje rata ili samo povijesni zapis čovjeka koji se izvukao iz ljudski osmišljenog pakla? Jedno je sigurno, rat iz čovjeka izvlači stvari za koje nije ni znao da postoje, bile one dobre ili loše, i obično uvijek dolaze u takvom crno bijelom paru.

[Jakub Hanák · Rating 2 out of 5]

dle mého osobního názoru byla tato kniha chaoticky sepsána a místy nedává rozum, třeba na začátku se mi zdál celá dějová linka poněkud přehnaná a těžko uvěřitelná, co naopak musím ale ocenit, je vývoj postav které se zdají realistické a tak akorát depresivní na vojáky německé armády druhé si to je válce. celkově bych tuto knihu hodnotil jako lehce čtitelnou knihu.

ENG
for my personal taste it was little bit chaotic sometimes with the storytelling and I found the beginning to be very unreasonable and not believable, well maybe it was how it went back in WW2 but my brain just couldn’t make sense of it. but fair points for depressing and somehow realistic characters, those felt real. after all it was a semi-enjoyable light read.

[Hedda von Herzfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Különösebb története, főszála ennek sem volt, csak egyik helyszínről a másikra dobálták szerencsétleneket. Különösen kegyetlen rész volt az, amikor börtönőrök voltak, de a záróakkord sem volt kevésbé groteszkebb és kegyetlenebb. Mondjuk nem is csodálom…egy háborúban mi nem groteszk és kegyetlen? :/ Ez egy erős négyes így a végére.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deel 4 uit de serie van Sven Hassel.


Later meer.

[Big Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sven Hassel is an interesting talent when it comes to military paperbacks. He's a notch above most others, in both experience and style--Leo Kessler wrote strong action but was somewhat weak in prose. Hassel served in the German army's Panzer divisions during World War II and saw action on almost all fronts. He wrote durable - though not brilliant - prose, with flashes of great eloquence and power. His action is savage, raw, and has the cold, hard ring of the horrors of war about it.
Hassel isn't the poor man's Erich Maria Remarque. They came from different generations, fought in different wars; saw things in different lights. Both Hassel and Remarque's books are anti-war and show combat from a German first-person perspective. All Quiet on the Western Front is more melancholic; thoughtful, dwelling on the past and yet trying to keep hopes up against the dark. Its present-tense throws you headfirst into the action, prose is polished and a delight to read. The German Empire is not as unforgivingly cruel as the Nazis.
Hassel's works are centred firmly in the present (despite the past-tense narration), with bygone days ignored in the desperate struggle to survive in the war with the Russians on one side and the Nazi regime's hurling of troops into the meat-grinder.
The narrator, Sven, has become more of an observer and less of a leading man than he was in Legion of the Damned, the author's debut. Perhaps this represents the dehumanising effect of soldiers' in wartime. Multiple times, the narration becomes almost third-person as it delves into the thoughts of others, going to places where Sven was not present but always seeming to be the voice of Sven.
Chapters are broken up between short (usually a paragraph or two), italicised vignettes in which Sven recollects events or people. These vary in tone, but usually end in tragedy. They serve as an excellent framing device for both characters and story.
Hassel does not spare us the horrors of war - those both physical and bureaucratic. There is a stretch spent in a prison that crawls through the processes; uncaring superiors, cruel guards and many, many cases of injustice. But even though he condemns the war, Hitler and its causes, he also celebrates the camaraderie of the soldiers. March Battalion is a books which has moments of great hilarity and moments of great tragedy.
The characters are well developed, Hassel's dialogue is excellent and his prose never falters in its solid quality - though it sometimes rises above itself. Overall, March Battalion stands towers tall alongside its Hasselite brethren in the genre of military fiction dismissed as 'pulp'.

[Mati · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something which have Hassel´s book in common. It is brutality and desperation of the all who are involved in the plot line. Each book has its unique method how to put new insight in to the mass killing on the eastern front. Here we are put in dilemma panzer and infantry, what to do. I give you a hint you have panzer. Torgau chapter was simply must to be in (Torgau the dreaded prison). Hanging one female pimp who was killing her girls just on the whim or sending them to the KZ was obligatory justice, however twisted in a way. Not easy to read during the cold dark winter days.

[David Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 4th of the 14 books consists of loosely connected stories, much like the others. This book has 3 main set pieces: the company is deep behind Russian lines; the company becomes guards at a military prison; the company finds itself in an abandoned whorehouse just before the German army collapses, and the Russian army moves in.

The story of the deal of Gustav Durer (from the military prison sequence) is absolutely first rate military absurdity, in a class with Joseph Heller (Catch-22), Jaroslav Hazek (The Good Soldier Svejk), and Hans Hellmut Kirst (many books). Not to be missed.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved all of these as a kid. Almost certainly wouldn't today. I remember giving them all as a spotty teenager to my Uncle Ernie to read when he was ill.......turned out he had cancer.....with a warning to my Dad that they had a bit of swearing in them. The innocence of youth. My uncle Ernie used to be Liverpool docker lol.

[M.J. Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grim. A bit voyeuristic - violent men behaving badly yet being strangely moral. Sven Hassel was a good writer though, a compulsive page-turner but not for me.

[Donnacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down.

[Hans-Petter Sandseth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leste den norske utgaven

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

— Nu-i prea mare diferenţă, spuse Barcelona şi scuipă pe partea laterală a tancului.

— Eu am început cu războiul din Spania. Eram miliţian şi mă alocaseră la Serviciile Speciale din Madrid. Cei suspectaţi că ar fi fascişti sau că ar aparţine coloanei a cincea erau aduşi pe strada Ave Maria până la zidul de execuţie, unde nisipul era atât de uscat, încât absorbea instantaneu sângele. Nu era nevoie să se facă niciun fel de curăţenie. Preferam să-i împuşcăm în picioare; dar unii se aruncau la pământ şi nu era uşor să-i faci să se ridice. Mulţi strigau „Trăiască Spania“.
Apoi am fost luat de naţionalişti şi trântit în Legiunea Străină spaniolă. Trebuia să dovedeşti că eşti un bun german, că eşti în stare să repeţi samavolniciile ucenicilor generalului Miaja.

Mă alocară companiei a treia, batalionul 2, aceia care purtau fulare albastre. În compania asta făceam acelaşi lucru pe care îl făceam şi la Serviciile Speciale ale generalului Miaja, numai că îi împuşcăm întotdeauna aşezaţi pe scaun şi întorşi cu spatele. Şi ei strigau „Trăiască Spania“.

Când sosi sfârşitul, lucram în stil mare. La Barcelona îi puneam în linie în arena coridei şi îi seceram cu mitraliera grea. Patru escadroane de mauri ne dădeau ajutor; apoi sosea poliţia care trăgea la ţintă asupra morţilor. Toţi muriseră în acelaşi fel şi niciunul nu era vinovat.

Trebuia să denunţi pe cineva pentru a demonstra că eşti un bun patriot. Unde comanda generalul Miaja, judecătorul striga: „Gura, porcule“ acuzatului care încerca să se apere. Unde comanda altcineva, i se spunea: „Linişte, porcule“.

— M-ai plictisit cu războiul ăsta. Gata! protestă Micuţul. Vorbeşte despre coride şi despre fete frumoase la soare.

Barcelona îşi şterse ochii pentru a alunga viziunile execuţiilor. Apoi începu să povestească şi noi ne amuzam în răceala frigului şi a zăpezii. Vedeam soarele Spaniei, auzeam zgomotul mulţimii extaziate, nimic altceva.

Până chiar şi T-34, tancul rusesc pe care stăteam, uitase, ascultând, că are nevoie de ulei şi sforăia în surdină, foarte mulţumit, imaginându-şi că are în spatele lui un mare taur negru.

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another biographical book by author Sven Hassel which may or not be about his war experiences. The Penal Battalion return for a fourth outting and once again the book is split in to three distinct parts with two new characters Barcelona and the Professor while slightly annoying that Tiny is now known as Little John. The story involvles with the outfit going behind the line on the Russiian Steppes. Later Little John and Porter find themselves part of a prison firing squad revealing the casualness in which thhe Nazis would kill their own soldiers for the smallest discrection. Finally the gang are sent East again and find themselves protecting a brothel from the oncoming Russians. While never reaching the heights of Wheels of Terror the book is still enjoyable even if the characters behavior should be seen as questinable.

[Andreas Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un ritorno al "passato"; è un libro che non ha precedenti e neppure successori: semplicemente, la Russia. Dopo un assegnamento dietro alle linee nemiche, in barba a tutte le convenzioni sulla guerra, ritornano alla "civiltà", per la precisione nel carcere militare a Torgau. E viene descritto qui il trattamento riservato ai prigionieri, le fucilazioni... E tutto continua nonostante l'irrazionalità della guerra. Finito l'assegnamento a Torgau, vengono destinati ad un "march battallion" per combattere in Romania. Lo stile di Hassel è in continuo mutare, si fa sempre più romanzensco e sempre meno rigida descrizione di fatti e di cose, come fosse la realtà. La comicità, mista all'ironia e alla tragedia, ad ogni modo, è sempre presente e, anzi, viene perfezionata.

[Hamish Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book definitely gets back on track quickly. The stories are longer and more detailed, flowing better than the the previous book Comrades of War. There is lots of tank action and lots of graphic scenes throughout the first two thirds of the book. The remainder of the book features a drunken orgy in a field brothel the gang at first believed to be abandoned. The dialogue between the men is outrageous, and the the scenes that followed were both grim and tragic. A visceral read; it is thoroughly satisfying, and Hassel is in fine form.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantan los libros de Sven Hassel, pero este en particular es especial. Contiene mucha más acción que la gran mayoría de los demás libros, aunque no por eso deja de tener situaciones cómicas. La guerra contada con toda su crudeza, pero donde se intercalan momentos tiernos e hilarantes y en definitiva, una historia sobre personas arrastradas a la locura de las líneas enemigas que busca sobrevivir un día más.
Muy buena recomendación si te gusta el autor o el género y si tienes "estómago" suficiente para poder leerlo.

[Oscar Espejo Badiola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Según avanza la serie de novelas se va dejando de folklore la guerra y de describe con todo la crudeza, no hay piedad, no hay amigos ni aliados, si se ha disparado a las propias tropas, son cosas que pasan.
El frente oriental es duro, hay cosas de humor, pero la dureza sigue o aumenta.
No sé que es peor, si la batalla o la prisión, quizá la batalla sea más noble. Los capítulos de la guardia en prisión dan que pensar, la miseria humana y la corrupción mata peor que el enemigo.
Va mejorando la serie.

[Sandra McCourt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my goodness it’s gritty it’s bloody and it’s raw. I read these books way back in the early 80s and I remember them to this day. I’ve been buying up the series again. The German high command clearly didn’t give a toss about its soldiers who were treated like animals and they acted like it too . This is a novel of raw rage black humour and raw emotion. Not a pleasant read in places but you can see some of this happening

[Saskia Heezen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het verhaal van een groep soldaten met een hele diverse achtergrond. Zo heeft bijvoorbeeld een van hen gediend in het vreemdelingenlegioen. De karakters van de soldaten zijn goed uitgewerkt, het verhaal soms wel wat vergaand. Als je een zwakke maag hebt en in " plaatjes" leest/ denkt zou ik dit boek niet aanraden.

[Christopher Trevor edge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favourite.

Probably the best book in the series. Sven Hassels books are full of funny one liners and mixed emotions but this one shows Tiny (Little John) in a much more fundamentally human sense.
Spoiler alert:



The chapter when he volunteered to break the bad news of the prisoners rescinded appeal always brings a tear to my eyes!

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usual stuff from Sven, the books are blast from my past reading when much, much younger

[Audiobook Accomplice (Gillian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but the Publisher’s Summary is misleading. And there are better out there…
My Full Review

[Liberius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hodně epizodní charakter bez nějaké pointy, směřování děje vyprávění moc neprospívá. Jinak se samozřejmě jedna o velmi sugestivní líčení války bez hloupých ideologických příkras.

[Agus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Segunda guerra mundial contada en primera persona desde uno de sus protagonistas

[Cyclone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. Worse than Comrades of War, and a little boring in the second half, but still part of his great collection.