Product Description

CROSS OF IRON is the thrilling story of a German platoon cut off far behind Russian lines in the second half of World War II. A resourceful and cynical commander somehow manages to coax his men through the bitter hand-to-hand fighting in forests, trenches and city streets until eventually they regain the German lines. But safety is only temporary. After the tension of waiting for the last overwhelming Russian advance the platoon is forced into futile counter-attacks and murderous house-to-house fighting until its final decimation becomes inevitable. A modern classic of war fiction both as a book and a film, this is a strikingly realistic story of action on the Eastern Front, where the grimness of combat seems to have neither pity nor end.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161754 in Books
• Published on: 1999-08-05
• Original language: German
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Customer Reviews

As good a war story as any!
What a top book! In my estimation, 'Cross of Iron' rates in war fiction up there with 'All Quiet on the Western Front', which is no mean feat. The translation from German to English makes reading a little 'bumpy' in parts, but the thrill, fear and adrenalin are by no means lost. The story is a bit like a latter day Sharpe epic. Steiner, the hard-as-nails Werhmacht corpral, is in charge of a ramshackle group of men on the Eastern Front, and the narrative takes you through all the emmotions of war, without the cosmetics and almost 'holiday read' feel of a Sharpe's novel. Gripping stuff....I'd certainly recommend it.

Pumping read, unlike most eastern front novels
The first journey which Steiner and his men undergo sets the tone for a book that qute simply has the ability to make u feel like a part of the novel. Steiner is such a complex character that you have to read on, although written in the 1950's the book has withstood all the latter publications to be in my opinion simply the best fictional story of combat on the eastern front by far. The last few chapters leave u ghasping for air as you become subdued in the brutal fight for a factory. A bit of a weak end but still a superb read.