On Desperate Ground

by James R. Benn

On Desperate Ground is the story of men and women caught up in the death throes of Nazi Germany, struggling to maintain those things precious to them—life, an end to killing, and even sanity itself. Colonel Johann Faust has lost everyone he ever loved and feels he is going inexorably insane. He hears the haunting voice of his dead fiancée and the demons that roar through his mind as he perfects a plan to save Nazi Germany from defeat and insure a greater and deadlier new world war. Captain Dieter Neukirk, once a protégé of Faust’s, is more concerned with saving the lives of his remaining men than sacrificing them in a fanatical last stand. Meanwhile, Elsa Klein, Dieter’s lover and the chief social worker at a Berlin hospital, is engaged in her own dangerous work, providing medical care and identity papers to hidden Jews in the city. American Captain Mack Mackenzie, pulled from a military hospital before his wounds are healed, is assigned to investigate reports of a secret Nazi operation. Wanting only to make it home alive, Mack finds himself in a life and death struggle with unlikely allies and a ferociously determined opponent. Americans and Germans alike are drawn to a hilltop in the remote German countryside, where they find themselves between powerful armies and forced into a terrible decision that could end one war or begin a new one.

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

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

James R. Benn is the author of Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery, selected by Book Sense as one of the top five mysteries of 2006 and nominated for a Dilys Award. The First Wave was a Book Sense Notable title.
Benn is a librarian and lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting WWII book by the author of the Billy Boyd series. This one is set in the latter part of the war and has more characters featured. Unusually, we see the war through German characters. We see German soldiers and German nurses and how they are managing living through the war. There's also fictionalized versions of real people, like Hitler and Himmler. Overall, I like this book well enough. It shows different sides and perspectives of different people living through horrible times.

[Candace Simar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Billy Boyle books by James Benn and was disappointed in this earlier work. Too many characters and shifting point of views made it difficult to follow. I was never sure who the main character was. Overly sentimental and way too many adjectives. Mr. Benn's writing skills have improved very much since this book was published. Don't neglect to read his later books because of an opinion on this book.

[Grant Masson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book! I enjoyed reading about the German and American perspectives and the historical accuracy was spot on! James Benn is my favorite author and he did not disappoint with this book! Now it's time to get back to the Billy Boyle mysteries and find out what mess he can get himself into!
Read this book you will not be disappointed at the time you take to read it!

[Jill Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author James Benn has become highly regarded for his Billy Boyle WW2 novels. Billy, a reluctant combatant who has the patronage of his aunt's husband (his aunt's maiden name is Doud, so you may be able to guess who the uncle is!) is the subject of five or six novels, with a new one issued yearly. All are very good and I'm looking forward to his newest novel, to be published in September. But James Benn has surprised his fans with a couple of new books - issued in paperback. The first one I've read is "On Desperate Ground", and is, in every way, an equal to his Billy Boyle series.

The main American character of "Desperate" is Captain "Mack" Mackenzie, another Irish-American smart-aleck, who also enjoys Ike's patronage. He's sent off to do "odd jobs" for the general and when the book opens, Mack is recovering in a British nursing home from minor physical injuries and more serious mental ones. It's early January, 1945, and the Allies have finally turned back the Germans in the Ardennes at the Battle of the Bulge. (Interesting fact that I learned from both this book and another one I recently read was that the allies were truly caught off-guard by the German advance in the Ardennes because the German commanders had not used radio messaging that had previously been picked up and decoded by the British/Americans, using the Enigma machines at Bletchley Park. Instead, the Germans relied on radio silence and talking by phone when planning the attack.) Allied armies are racing toward Germany from both the west - the Americans and Brits - and from the east - the Soviets. Ike and his aides think something's happening in Germany, but don't quite know what it is. He sends Mack to shadow one American army group to see if he can pick up any stray intel.

But Benn's story doesn't neglect the German side; in fact, the Germans in the last days of the Reich are the pivotal characters. One long-time army officer, Johann Faust, has gone mad from losing his family and fiance, murdered by the invading Russians in their east-Prussian homes. He concocts a plan - not a totally bad one - which involves pitting the invading Soviets against the invading western allies and turning their guns towards each other. The plot involves clothing some German and Russian-defector troops in American uniforms and others in Soviet uniforms and watching the ensuing "hi-jinks" as both sides think they've been betrayed. Faust has gathered some aides, with whom he's fought since the war began in 1939. There's a back story of how Johann Faust knew Mack Mackenzie from early in the war, so the enmity is already established between the two.

James Benn writes with a sure footing about the last six months of WW2, from both the German and Allied perspectives. There are no caricatures in the characters he brings to the reader in a very good - if slightly far-fetched - plot. I do think the book will interest WW2 affianados more than the average Benn-written Billy Boyle readers. There's more "history" in this book, more military tactics and political maneuvering than in most works of fiction. It's a great read for the right reader - who actually might be most of James Benn's "Billy Boyle" fans.

[Highland Park]

Hampton Sides’ ability to write well-researched history that reads like fiction makes him one of my favorite authors. In this book he outdoes himself in portraying the heroism, bravery, hubris, and futility of this Korean War campaign.

- Laurie, Information & Reader Services

[Lilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story. The audiobook was well done but it was quite a cast of characters to keep up with. I don't usually read books like this one but I got about 4 hours in and knew I was hooked. Very solid entertainment.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical information about the end of the Second World War. What might the Nazis have done to kept themselves from defeat, to have prolonged the inevitable. What would the self serving officers of the Reich done to keep Hitler happy in those last desperate days?

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy Benn's work. This is the first one of his books that is not one of his Billy Boyle series. This is just as good with a different setting of the same, WWII time period.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

ADDED IN ERROR

[Mary Keen]

Accidentally wrote review on this book instead of the same -titled book by Hampton Sides.

Have tried to delete from my list with no luck.

[Diogenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and emotionally charged thriller in World War II's last days of a plot to extend the war in by turning allies against each other. The characters o both sides are well fleshed out.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The insanity and strange decisions made in war.

[Thomas Sharp]

World War II battle. A little disconnected and not so good

[Steve]

Interesting and fast moving WWII story I enjoyed very much. If you like fast paced action, this is a book for you!

[Joe Stamber · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Desperate Ground is a novel set in the last year of the Second World War. Colonel Faust, an German Officer whose mind had been scarred by the knowledge of what happened to those he loved, want nothing more to extend the war at any cost. He ropes Captain Neukirk, a decent, honest and battle hardened soldier into his plan. Neukirk is more concerned with looking after his men and finishing the war alive, along with his lover. Elsa, Neukirk's lover, works at a hospital that smuggles Jewish refugees out to safety. On the other side, American intelligence officer captain MacKenzie is given the job of finding out what the Germans are up to.

First of all, On Desperate Ground is fiction, based on historical events. I have a reasonable understanding of the Second World War but cannot verify that every detail is historically accurate. However, it all sounded authentic enough to me. For those who like a historical novel to be virtually non-fiction, I can't say whether or not James Benn got everything absolutely right (and don't care).

What I can say is that On Desperate Ground has a fantastic plot in which the Germans come up with a plot to save themselves and drag the war out. The main characters, especially Faust and Neukirk, are fascinating creations and I was rooting for one (or occasionally both) of them at one time or another. Once the story gets going, it is a thrilling ride and every scene is riveting. Recommended to anyone who enjoys Second World War fiction.

[Andrew Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another WW2 book that mainly takes place in the last months of the war. However this time is different in that it's from the point of view of German soldiers. One of the main characters (Faust), burdened by tragedy throughout the war, hatches an insane scheme in the closing days of the war in Europe to draw the Western Allies into conflict with the Russians to fulfill a personal vendetta against the Russian soldiers.

While I normally love Benn's books, I thought the pacing and characterization felt a little rushed. The character archetypes aside from Faust were rather stereotypical and we even had an American character to still remind us that this will end in an American victory. A very quick read and while the detailed portions of the war plans are intriguing, the overall story blew by rather quickly and wrapped up almost a little too neatly. It does pick up towards the end and I thought it wrapped up on a much higher note however.

[Marin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really interesting faux-history that presents fascinating moral dilemmas. If you cannot see any other way to save a desperate situation, does that mean that for all intents and purposes there is no other way? And does that justify your actions?

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average

This story is just an average story, based on the last desperate moments of a terrible time. However, the characters are fully developed and believable. Just not worth taking up my reading time.

[Nigel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing speculation on the desperate steps taken by the Nazi regime to avoid defeat in the dying days of WW2. The focus from the German point of view is fascinating but overall it tries to juggles too many character arcs , lessening its impact.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical information about the end of the Second World War. What might the Nazis have done to kept themselves from defeat, to have prolonged the inevitable. What would the self serving officers of the Reich done to keep Hitler happy in those last desperate days?

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked yhis, I've read all his other books (although this was written first.) Sometimes his style is stilted but the action keeps you hooked.

[Longie · Rating 2 out of 5]

When you remove a cast from an arm, it is not because of a broken tibia.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for people interested in unusual details about the fighting that ended World War II. Vivid!

[Ronald Darbisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good tale with an interesting plot. James Benn is a fine author and this was a departure as a stand alone novel from the Billy Boyle series.

[Leonard Singer]

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