The Cauldron

by Zeno

Genres: World War II, Military Fiction, Historical Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2024

Reviews

[Tsung · Rating 5 out of 5]

'They’ll say that this battle will go down in the history books as an example of the indomitable courage of the British soldier in adversity. We shall all be heroes, all those who get back will be fêted, and whether the individual was a hero or a coward, no one will know or care.'

'In twenty years’ time, the man in the street will never have heard of the battle of Arnhem, or he’ll only recall it by an effort of memory. And in fifty years’ time the military history books will devote a few lines to it as an unfortunate strategic error, an attempt to shorten the war that didn’t come off. That’s what we must face now – the bloody operation’s a failure.'

Operation Market Garden was a controversial allied attempt to expedite the German defeat in WWII. The British 1st Airborne Division made a heroic but ill-fated attempt at capturing the bridge at Arnhem (17-26 Sep 1944), losing thousands of troops in the process. The Cauldron was a nickname for the small thumb shaped area at Oosterbeek in which they were surrounded. This is a fictionalised account of Independent Company, a pathfinder group which secured the area for follow up landings.

Zeno is the pseudonym of Gerald Lemarque, who was a rogue, a recidivist and a murderer, yet antithetically he had been a hero at the Battle of Arnhem.

There were many issues surrounding Operation Market Garden. The primary mistake which Zeno highlights through different characters was that they were air dropped too far from their objective. With that they lost their key advantage, the element of surprise. The second was that they underestimated the German response. Despite their misgivings about the flawed plan, the airbourne troops soldiered on.

It was a story of valour, resilience, leadership and brotherhood, balanced against fear, doubt, terror and cowardice. It was thrilling from beginning to end. The tense battle scenes were vivid and heart-stopping. The gory details of injuries and death were used sparingly but effectively. But what lifted the narrative was the portayal of the soldiers as ordinary men with ordinary lives under extraordinary circumstances. The character sketches were absorbing and gave them an extra dimension. I felt sympathy for each death, even for characters with only a brief mention.

Classic war literature.

[Seanik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely riveting account of the battle of Arnhem from the POV of a single British Airborne platoon. Without a doubt this book was written by somebody who was actually there, their experience and memories clearly shine through in what is presented as a fictional account. Somewhat similar in that respect to something like Fields of Fire by James Webb.

One very interesting aspect of the novel is the actual POV of the characters. Their platoon is involved in protecting the initial landing zones and then the titular cauldron at Oosterbeek, they never actually participate in the fighting in Arnhem proper. This allows us, who have the benefit of hindsight, to get a modicum of the feeling or sense the actual troops on the ground had about how the actual operation begins to deteriorate and the sense of dread that builds for them.

If you are at all interested in the Battle of Arnhem or WW2 Military History this is a must read.

[Gary Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads Review, ‘The Cauldron’ by Zeno

For me a thrilling find. ‘The Caldron’ initially released in 1966 by ‘Zeno’. A pseudonym for an inmate serving a sentence for murder. A former paratrooper fighting with the 4th Parachute Brigade at Arnhem in September 1944. The novel is a detailed and episodic story about the fierce and intense fighting during Operation Market Garden. A distressing and fascinating insight at men at war. Young men at that. The authors note states, “This is a novel, although the battle and many of the incidents described in the book are true” (p. vii.). It’s a no holds barred battle history guided at a novel. Couldn’t put it away because even though I knew the outcome of the Battle for Arnhem it was the desperate and heroic efforts of ‘citizen’ soldiers fighting in World War Two. In a sense the close quarter battle is perhaps in some way being played out in Ukraine at this very moment. Young men fighting and killing each other in savage combat. ‘The Cauldron’ pertains to an area of battle where the fighting is the most fierce and deadly. Just like at the Battle of Stalingrad the Germans fought the Russians in very small areas where in that case hundreds of thousands died. What is a cauldron? It’s a big fat cooking pot on top of a blazing fire. What’s cooking? Young men! A fantastic but tortured read. One can read about war but there is no way to feel it and as Zeno was a soldier it is his story spread with ‘facts’ and anecdotes to create this brilliant novel. Not easy to recommend across the board but if you are at all interested in the psychology of fear and courage then this is a book you might want to read. Bought for $24.99 from Kinokuniya, Sydney. Enjoy.

[Simon Tyldesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating. I know it’s a novel but written by someone who was there in operation market garden. Should be made into a tv series ‘the British band of brothers’.

[Darrell Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

When is a novel an autobiography? People get sniffy about what’s factual and whether what you are reading can be reliable, verifiable. Surely once you say a story is fiction, do you not rob it of much of its power? The Cauldron makes it very clear this is a novel, that the units and people destined are not real…. And yet, and yet everything else is. Lamarque was there. He fought at Arnhem with the Pathfinders, the unit at the centre of the story. The names may be changed, but never has something felt more real, the chaos of urban warfare so accurately described, and the randomness of death so poignantly portrayed. In most war stories you build up a core cast of characters, get to know them in detail, kinda know who will survive and win the day. The Cauldron tells it like it is. Anyone can die at anytime, sometimes heroically sometimes unluckily, always shockingly. The exploits in the Oosterbeek pocket could easily have been glamorised, more the Alamo, Thermopylae…. But this is warfare at its most savage, and sent me rushing to films and documentaries to see the ground and understand more of what I had just almost viscerally experienced. Ask yourself, what toll would no sleep for 6-7-8 days, while under near constant shelling, snipers, occasional tank thrusts do to even the most hardened soldier? Give thanks, as the citizens of Arnhem do to this day, and thank the heavens that you never had to go through anything even remotely like this in your own life. A 5 star classic.

[Random Harvest · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book of the year.
I avoided the foreword & any reviews.
It’s band of brothers, blunt, true & brutal, leaving you wanting more yet realising the brutality, truth of war that we now see on our screens on a daily basis.
Zeno, I praise you!

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an amazing book, I've never read a second world war story quite like it before.