Seven Men at Daybreak

by Alan Burgess

Vintage paperback

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction, World War II, Military History

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[D. Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a much more straightforward relating of the events that make up Binet's "HHhH"- in fact I found about this book because Binet referenced it in his own book. The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague by two Czech parachuting commandos was a pivotal point during WWII, and resulted in the massacre of a entire villages in reprisal (one of which, Lidice, I recently saw while in CZ- chilling memorial), & finally a heated battle during which the two commandos & 5 of their compatriots held off 800 SS Stormtroopers for 8 hours before committing suicide in the church crypt they fought from (I went there too- eerie place). This book tells that story in historical fiction format, & while it's not "literature" of the high brow sort, I recommend it to anyone interested in a story of normal men performing extraordinairy acts of courage & defiance in the face of pure evil. It's out of print to my knowledge, so you might want to search Amazon or your local used book store.

[David Lowther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven Men at Daybreak is the story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, top German in Czechoslovakia in 1942 and one of the most evil and sadistic of all of the Nazis. Burgesss recounts events from initial training in England through establishing safe houses in Prague, the planning, assassination and the thrilling climax.

The book was published in 1960 and the author acknowledges that access to archives in then communist controlled Czechoslovakia was not all that it might be. Nonetheless, this is an extremely well-told account that leaves the reader pondering over the question 'was it all worth it?' given the aftermath of Heydrich's death.

David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil (www.thebluepencil.co.uk)
davidlowtherblog.wordpress.com

[Mila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book not because of the wonderful writing but the fact that it was written.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Englantilaisen Alan Burgessin "Seitsemän miestä aamunkoitteessa" (Otava, 1961) on tositapahtumiin perustuva romaani Reinhard Heydrichin salamurhasta. En olisi kirjaan varmaankaan tarttunut tai edes tiennyt sen olemassaolosta, ellen olisi aikaisemmin tänä vuonna lukenut ranskalaisen Laurent Binet'n romaania HHhH: Heydrichin salamurhan jäljillä. Binet ruotii erinomaisessa kirjassaan muita Operaatio Antropoidia käsitteleviä romaaneja, eikä anna "Seitsemästä miehestä aamunkoitteessa" erityisen mairittelevaa kuvaa.

Binet pohdiskeli teoksessaan muun muassa sitä, mahtaako Heydrichin Mercedes olla Burgessin kirjassa väärän värinen, mutta suurempana epäkohtana pitäisin natsipyövelin vaimon nimeämistä Linan sijasta Ingaksi. Muitakin pieniä mutta ärsyttäviä yksityiskohtia nousee esille: Mauthausenissa ei ollut kaasukammioita, tsekkiläiset tuskin kutsuisivat Prahan halki virtaavaa jokea Moldauksi... Lisäksi mikään lähde ei taida tukea sitä, että toisen laskuvarjomiehen takamukseen olisi polttomerkitty seitsemää pientä hakaristiä!

Lukukokemusta latisti epäilemättä vertailu vastikään luettuihin, paremmin aihetta käsitelleisiin kirjoihin, mutta muutenkaan "Seitsemän miestä aamunkoitteessa" ei ollut kovin kummoinen tapaus. Välillä tuntui aivan kuin kirjailija ei olisi oikein osannut päättää, haluaako hän kirjoittaa aiheesta tietokirjan vai romaanin: yhdellä hetkellä kuvataan mitä hahmot ajattelevat, toisella tyydytään vain arvelemaan mitä heidän päässään liikkuu. Jan Kubis, Jozef Gabčík ja heidän toverinsa jäivät henkilöhahmoina aika yksiulotteisiksi. Burgess ei myöskään ole suurien tunteiden tulkki, puhuttiinpa sitten laskuvarjomiesten ihmissuhteista tai Lidicen kylän tuhosta.

Kaksi tähtöstä. Odotin kirjalta enemmän.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.75

Seven Men at Daybreak is the nonfiction version of the story told in Laurent Binet's more recent HHhH and the movie Anthropoid: the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the head Nazi in Czechoslovakia after Hitler moved in, by two Czech nationals trained in England, in Prague in 1942 The story is more longitudinal here than in Binet's version - partly because Burgess doesn't mix in the story of how he wrote the book, and includes a interesting bit of detail about other "parachutists" sent from England to be part of the Czech resistance. Burgess does tend to overwrite occasionally, waxing eloquent about the motives and the romantic involvements of the resistance fighters. But when he gets to the story of the assassination and the Germans' response to it, particularly the attack on the Orthodox Church of St. Cyril and Method, where the parachutists were ultimately cornered and killed after hold out for 6 hours against overwhelming odds, his storytelling is direct, detailed and powerful. I've visited the church and its memorial to these brave men, and it's quite a moving experience. Burgess's book does an excellent job of bringing the story to life.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

One is left to question why the four remaining heroic Czechs did not prolong their siege by using weapons dropped by the dozens of Germans they killed once they had run out of ammunition for their Sten guns?

[Bram De longhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leui spannend boekje. heeft niet veel om het lijf

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d seen the film Operation Daybreak, about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by Czech Resistance, a number of times over the last couple of years (although from halfway through every single time!) and always knew it was based on true events but then found out this is the book it was based on. I’d given up getting a copy of it as it is not easily available at a decent price and then purely by chance stumbled across a hardback copy just before Easter.

I knew the film would differ from the book as they usually do but hadn’t realised just how much (some people are merged together in the film and the ending is totally different, although still as heart-breaking in real life as the film makes it). I did enjoy the book and the writing style was easy to read - not as stuffy as I find some of the older books can be. It gave me a much better insight into the lives of Josef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, their friendship and training in the UK. It even gave me more of an understanding of why Karel Curda would even think about giving them all up to the Gestapo. The massacre of Lidice, which the Nazis wanted to wipe from the face of the Earth in reprisal of the assassination of Heydrich, eventually defied them as well as it was resurrected after WW2.

The strength and courage of all who stood against the Nazis, whether in the military or civilian, never fails to amaze me.

If you do manage to find a copy of this book it is very much worth a read.

[Otto Valkamo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Burgess did a good job at describing the characters, their backgrounds and lives as well as the life of an average Jan in Czechoslovakia during the Nazi occupation. The book left a little to be desired though, like more operational details and I think it missed a lot of details and so on.
Despite this, and for a 61 year old book, it was decent.

[Wim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Dutch edition of publisher ‘De bezige bij’ from Amsterdam 1960. I was informed about this book after reading HhhH of Lauren Binet. The story was even more adventurous written about this heroic act against the Germans. It encourages me for a visit to Prague and see the church where the lives of the young brave men ended.

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually found the E.P. Dutton 1960 hardcover first edition in the San Antonio Public Library system. Went with 4 rather 5 on this because it is somewhat dated. Having read some of the authors who have had more research available - Bowden, Olson - it's tough to compete. That minor note aside, it's still a page turner. Curious as to why the Russians allowed Burgess in country to do the interviews with the survivors - the Cold War was still pretty hot in the late 50s. Also, wondering what compelled Burgess, thankfully, to preserve the tale. Think it best that we be reminded just how 'bestial' the SS, Gestapo and those who did their biding were - and those who are still subject to 'the knock in the night.'

[Joshua Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two parts ripping and tragic WW2 yarn, one part melodrama and artistic license, a pleasant read with a helluva climax.

[David Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Hhhhh is the last word on Operation Anthropoid then this was the first. I'm slightly obsessed by the exploits of these men and women, having paid a poignant visit to the crypt where the denouement played out on that lovely summer's day in 1942, giving the Czech and Slovak paratroopers a chance at last to demonstrate their fighting skills when all hope of survival had vanished.
Alan Burgess's definitive account of the botched but ultimately successful assassination of psychopathic Reichsprotector, Reinhard Heydrich,

”a human butcher of sincerity and thoroughness”

and its aftermath draws on the archives of the Czech Ministry of Information and people who knew the main protagonists, Jan Kubis and Josef Gabchik. The main problem for the would-be killers was that there was little organised resistance within Czechoslovakia that the British authorities could contact and organise safe-houses for them to hide while preparing and planning the attempt.
As usual with any mission, if it can go wrong, it will. The bravery and self-sacrifice of the civilians involved is humbling. To know that if discovered to have aided the soldiers leads not only to your own torture and death, but to that of your entire family too - and still do the right thing... The retribution as we know was swift and brutal, including the enormity of Ledice, which, the author argues, cemented the resolve of the free world to stamp out the evil that was the Nazi empire.
Told with a storyteller's skill the plot unfolds relentlessly and the motivation and fears of the plotters are explored. Not all emerge with credit. But there's time for love to blossom as a few days of snatched happiness puts a human face on the grim reality of wartime Prague. They knew it would end badly but the human spirit emerges as ultimately unconquerable.