The Memoir of Dr Hans Rehfeldt – Volume I: From the Moscow Winter Offensive to Operation Zitadelle
Written from the diary of a young German soldier in World War 2, this book is an extremely gripping account of what those young men went through. Never mind he was a German soldier and at war because of the Nazi’s….. He was a young man first and foremost, and a little keg in a huge army, truly believing he was rightfully fighting his country’s enemies.
When I was young, I used to read the German pulp novels ‘Landser’. They were written in German and depicting the German side of the war, much like exciting boys’ stories. Every magazine had some action drawing on it’s cover. Rehfeldt’s book reads a lot like one of these action stories, but his is based on actual facts and not fiction.
I am reading this book at 30 C in the summer of 2019, but getting goosebumps by reading of the horrible cold and hardship these men went through. Marching to waist high snow at temperatures of minus 40 to minus 50 without proper clothing must have been horrible beyond imagination.
The book includes many interesting photos, most by the author himself and different from most ‘ general’ pictures we are used to. In addition he had maps drawn up in his diary and those too are depicted, showing where the action took place, on a tactical level !
In addition to being very informative, the book is also exciting and one continues reading…. Hope to get Volume II as well one of these days !
Mortar Gunner on the Eastern Front (Hardback)
The Memoir of Dr Hans Rehfeldt – Volume I: From the Moscow Winter Offensive to Operation Zitadelle
By Hans Heinz Rehfedlt
Greenhill Books (Pen & Sword Publishing)
Pages: 341
ISBN: 9781784383619
Published: 16th April 2019
