Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42581 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 196 pages

Synopsis
Josef "Sepp" Allerberger was the second most successful sniper of the German Wehrmacht and one of the few private soldiers to be honoured with the award of the Knight's Cross. In this memoir, Allerberger provides an introduction to the commitment in fieldcraft, discipline and routine required of the sniper.

Customer Reviews

Not so quiet on the Eastern Front
The sniper is one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood figures in warfare, and this vivid first hand account helps to give an important insight into the role they play and the reactions they evoke amongst comrades and enemies. The Eastern Front was the scene of some of the most vicious fighting of the war, with the Russians and Germans each losing millions of soldiers, not to mention the countless civilian casualties, and in these conditions humanity and ethics were often abandoned in favour of survival.
Sepp Allerberger, a self-taught sniper specialist in the German Wehrmacht, fought for over a year against the Russians, from inside Russia back to the Reich, and his memoirs give a brutally honest and compelling view of this conflict.
Following his life from the time he was conscripted to when he finally arrived home after the war ended, it tracks the friends he made and lost, and the battles he fought in during which he was wounded numerous times and won several medals. It is a rare example of an account of war, not only because the accounts of snipers themselves are so rare, but also because German soldiers from the time rarely publish accounts outside their own country. The book is important in this respect for dispelling the ideas held about german soldiers fo the time, and German snipers in particular. While Allied snipers, especially in the Russian Army, are often held up as glorious heroes and heroines, their German counterparts are often depicted as sly, evil assassins, and this book demonstrates that the truth was nothing of the sort.
There is nothing left out for fear of being too candid; from the torure and rape of civilians and wounded soldiers by the Red Army to the ad hoc executions of suspected spies by the SS, death is a constant and defining feature of the book. Make no mistake; this is not for someone who is easily upset or squemish, but without the poignant examples witnessed by Allerberger, this would not be the same book.
A unique and thoroughly enlightening book, it is not exactly relaxing, but was never meant to be. A view of war through the eyes of a sniper on the losing side is such a rare thing, and this is so vividly written that it cannot fail but leave an impression.

Highly recommended
A very good read, well written and fascinating. Follows a German sniper's war from the eastern front to the end of the war and his homecoming. A great insight into the thoughts and fears of German soldier and the horrors of any conflict. A well researched and factually rich account that isn't disjointed like so many accounts. There are a few horrific accounts of atrocities committed by the Soviets and an acceptance that such acts occurred on both sides. A very human account that made me hope, as I read that Sepp's storey would have a happy ending for him. Highly recommended.

Not quite the bullseye
Gripping read and you almost feel as though you cannot move sometimes in fear of what the russians did to captured German marksmen but having read Stalingrad I just felt as though the writer could beef up certian areas and topics and generally prolong the read. At 100 odd pages it isn't the longest book. Perhaps a better understanding of the shifting front line might have helped but overall my first word in this review is justified by the still anticipation that the author takes you through prior to this guys so many kills, this mixed in with the usual russian/german brutality makes it a worthwhile read (even if it'll only take a week or so)