BOOK REVIEW: RADIO OPERATOR ON THE EASTERN FRONT.

 AN ILLUSTRATED MEMOIR, 1940-1949.

When I bought the book last reviewed, this one also came up. As it looked interesting I bought it too and I was not disappointed.

The author was a Sudeten German and was drafted in late 1940. He served with the 61st East Prussian Infantry Division as a radio operator through most of the war on the northern flank of the Eastern front. He took part in Operation Barbarossa, advancing through Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia into Russia to the siege of Leningrad and back again as the Russians counter attacked in early 1944. 

By late 1944 the division was moved to East Prussia. In January 1945 the author was sent on leave which meant he was then unable to rejoin his division when it was soon after cut off at Konigsberg and subsequently destroyed in April 1945.  However before his leave had even fully expired he was drafted into a reinforcement battalion and sent to Silesia where he was captured by the Russians on 10th May. He then spent the next four years as a slave labourer in Siberia before finally being released  and arriving back in Germany in October 1949.

The author states that he has no great adventures to recount or unusual stories to tell however he does himself a great disservice. His story is in fact an amazing account of combat on the Eastern Front. He does not hesitate to describe what he saw in graphic detail and certainly this book really tells in great detail what the average German soldier experienced in fighting Russia. He says his experiences of life as a prisoner would fill another book and uses only one paragraph to cover those four years of misery. Unfortunately, that second book was never written.

The book,  as is often the case with memoirs, is well illustrated with lots of the authors previously unpublished photos including quite a few of his comrades graves. Many of the photos show vehicles and equipment which is always of interest. Yet again the reader is left wondering how this man managed to survive four years of combat and then another almost four and a half years of Russian captivity, especially as barely ten percent of German prisoners ever got to return home.

A great book, well written and highly recommended.