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Hot Motors, Cold Feet
This book is sub-titled; A Memoir of Service with the Motorcycle Battalion of SS Division "Reich" 1940 - 1941. This is an exciting personal account of front-line service with the motorcycle battalion of SS-Division "Reich" from 1940 until late 1941.The author initially served as a messenger and eventually as a squad leader in the Balkans Campaign and subsequently the invasion of Russia - Operation Barbarossa - until the retreat from Moscow. He was evacuated in late December 1941 with severe frostbite to both feet. Helmut Günther is quite a character and a natural storyteller, who writes in a very compelling style. His story is riveting, and in many cases very amusing, as he and his comrades manhandle their 600cc BMW and NSU motorcycles through some of the roughest terrain and toughest combat imaginable. This is a revealing look at what it was really like to serve in the original SS division. Many of the officers the author served with, such as Klingenberg and Tychsen, later became well-known SS commanders. Includes over 110 black and white photographs - many previously unpublished.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published August 2, 2004
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August 30, 2015
This is the memoirs of Helmut Gunther who served in a motorcycle battalion of the SS Division "Reich" from 1940 to 1941. It chronicles his experience in the Balkans Campaign and then Operation Barbarossa ending with
The majority of the book deals with his time as a dispatch rider delivering messages and orders, with the last portion of the book he is a squad leader. The author does a great job putting forth a story that ranges from comedy, when he is explaining some of the situations he got in, to tragedy when he finds out the fate of some of fellow messengers.
As this is a first person account of the second world war as Helmut Gunther saw it, it does not go into the big picture of what is happening. That is alright as it is not needed in this story (and would probably have detracted from the story), this story is the story of a common soldier fighting in the war and Helmut Gunther does a good job telling it.
It should be noted that the author continues his story in the book "The Eyes Of The Division", I have not read this book yet and will be looking forward to reading it.
The majority of the book deals with his time as a dispatch rider delivering messages and orders, with the last portion of the book he is a squad leader. The author does a great job putting forth a story that ranges from comedy, when he is explaining some of the situations he got in, to tragedy when he finds out the fate of some of fellow messengers.
As this is a first person account of the second world war as Helmut Gunther saw it, it does not go into the big picture of what is happening. That is alright as it is not needed in this story (and would probably have detracted from the story), this story is the story of a common soldier fighting in the war and Helmut Gunther does a good job telling it.
It should be noted that the author continues his story in the book "The Eyes Of The Division", I have not read this book yet and will be looking forward to reading it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review