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Hammerstrike
The Nazi plan to crush the British. Eight thousand men on the run . . . think of the chaos that escape would cause on that wretched island . . . I want to be able to tell the Fuehrer that we can disrupt the whole of Britain's economy, hammer her into the ground. Yes, hammer her into defeat. . . The best escape novel in years.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 6, 2015
You might have read numerous POW escape stories - both fiction and non-fiction - if you are a world war enthusiast like me. But I bet you won't have read anything about German POW escape attempt from mainland UK. Of course, in reality not a single German POW was able to escape from mainland UK (as this book states), but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't have attempted an escape. This is a good fictional account of something that might have happened in that regard.
August 10, 2010
This tragic story takes place in the early days of WWII at an English POW camp near the Irish Sea. A German soldier is sent to free a important German General from the camp. The events of the escape and its aftermath reveal that both factions could be considered to be cruel and relentless.
June 10, 2024
As an avid reader and watcher of WW2 things, both fictional and factual, I have read and watched many escape tales. The Great Escape, The Colditz Story, Stalag 17, you may notice that all of these are stories of allied escape attempts, in Germany or occupied territory.
Hammerstrike on the other hand, is a fictional tale that follows the extraordinary escape of German soldiers from all different parts of the military, from England. It's made very clear that this never actually occurred during the war, and that, being an island, that made it impossible in the real world for any enemy to get back to their homeland via escape.
This is highly unique and a bit of a breath of fresh air if I'm honest. It was quite interesting to read things from another perspective to the one I have read for such a long time. The story includes deeper plots than what I first thought and is interesting and fresh throughout.
There are times where it's humorous, times where it's quite sad. And for the characters involved in the escape plots that went on from the Skiddaw POW camp, they all have their reasons for wanting to go. But there were plenty of men whose narrative made it very clear that realistically, why would they want to go back to the ever brutal front line, facing russian soldiers who were very well known to be relentless and hardy fighters.
I think the fact the author kind of makes these German soldiers acknowledge that by this time in the war, Germany was very much on the losing hand, was probably what a lot of them felt back then at that point whether they chose to admit it or not.
The writing itself is easy to read, the plot is different and it constantly kept me wanting to read on. The ending chapters were very quick paced, and the ending itself was unexpected and brutal. I found myself reading so quickly to find out what was going to happen.
This was a really great find and I think if it's available to buy anywhere, this is a great change for my fictional war history readers, who fancy a small change to the perspectives we are so very used to.
Hammerstrike on the other hand, is a fictional tale that follows the extraordinary escape of German soldiers from all different parts of the military, from England. It's made very clear that this never actually occurred during the war, and that, being an island, that made it impossible in the real world for any enemy to get back to their homeland via escape.
This is highly unique and a bit of a breath of fresh air if I'm honest. It was quite interesting to read things from another perspective to the one I have read for such a long time. The story includes deeper plots than what I first thought and is interesting and fresh throughout.
There are times where it's humorous, times where it's quite sad. And for the characters involved in the escape plots that went on from the Skiddaw POW camp, they all have their reasons for wanting to go. But there were plenty of men whose narrative made it very clear that realistically, why would they want to go back to the ever brutal front line, facing russian soldiers who were very well known to be relentless and hardy fighters.
I think the fact the author kind of makes these German soldiers acknowledge that by this time in the war, Germany was very much on the losing hand, was probably what a lot of them felt back then at that point whether they chose to admit it or not.
The writing itself is easy to read, the plot is different and it constantly kept me wanting to read on. The ending chapters were very quick paced, and the ending itself was unexpected and brutal. I found myself reading so quickly to find out what was going to happen.
This was a really great find and I think if it's available to buy anywhere, this is a great change for my fictional war history readers, who fancy a small change to the perspectives we are so very used to.
December 5, 2020
I hated the ending ngl
March 19, 2016
I really liked this book. Very similar to The Great Escape storyline except German prisoners in England. Excellent book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews