The legion of the damned no ordinary novel of war, this has the special quality of being an accurate account not only of armies fighting but of the opposed loyalties of individuals fighting within themselves while remaining loyal not to a dreadful system but to the known and treasured friends. The legion of the damned was originally a space marine chapter known as the fire hawks, made from the geneseed of the ultramarines or so they claim. Legion of the damned isbn 9780297865735 pdf epub sven. Legion of the damned is ultimately about more than its authors identity or past, and should be read for what it has to offer as a book independent of warbuff minutiae. The complete series has to this day been published in. Read the sven hassel collection by sven hassel available from rakuten kobo. Sven hassel, who has died aged 95, wrote 14 massively popular novels about life in the wartime german army. Books by sven hassel author of legion of the damned goodreads.
An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of europe new york times legion of the damned is an incredible picture of totalitarianism, of stupefying injustice. The book covers a chronological period of a number of years, starting with the protagonists arrest and time in german concentration camps. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. Comrades of war is the third of fourteen novels written by sven hassel, and it, by far, the best of them all. Sven hassel project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. His books including legion of the damned, monte cassino and liquidate paris. He is graphic, at times brilliantly so, but never brutal or bitter. For sven hassel s legion of the damned, it was more interesting researching the author than reading the book. All of sven hassels subsequent war stories, from a chronological point of view, fill in details. Sven hassel project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The legion of the damned sven hassel official site. The novels are based on his own experiences in the german army.
The legion of the damned is the first book written by sven hassel about his life as a penal soldier in the german naziarmy during wwii. Like all the main characters in the legion of the damned, porta is of course killed off see chapter 31 theres a man lying out on the wire. Sven hassels iconic war novel about the russian front. Those who appreciate its admittedly roughedged message are advised to seek out other sven hassel novels for what is, i can assure you, one hell of a ride through the battlefield. When they caught him, he was sent to a penal regiment on the russian front. This is the first in a series of wwii books about a danish soldier serving in the german army, purporting to be autobiographical. I got my copy at the old worthington librarys book sale. Legion of the damned series by sven hassel goodreads. He began to write his first book, legion of the damned while he was interned. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Fordomtes legion is the first in a series of fourteen world war ii novels written by sven hassel.
Legion of the damned by sven hassel, paperback barnes. The legion of the damned was the german penal battalion in which the author, a dane, found himself after having spent several months in concentration camps on a charge of desertion. Legion of the damned sven hassel sven hassel s iconic war novel about the russian front. Sven hassel legion of the damned sad statue youtube. The legion of the damned by hassel, sven, 1917publication date 1957 topics world war, 19391945. The rough style and breaks in narrative, along with incidents so strange theyd be hard to make up, the relative concentration on everything but combat, and even the simplistic but. He joined the danish merchant navy at age 14 and served a mandatory stretch in the danish military before joining the german army in 1937. Sven hassel, whose factbased tales of second world warfare have sold millions, has created another horrific war novel, this time set on the deadly russian front. Never before had violence been described in such hideously graphic detail. Legion of the damned is the first in a series of fourteen world war ii novels written by sven hassel. Sven hassel, author of legion of the damned, on librarything. The soldiers there the tank battalions of hitlers penal regiments are considered expendable by the german high command. Sven hassel was the pen name of the danishborn borge willy redsted pedersen 19 april. He began writing his first novel, legion of the damned, in a prisoner of war camp at the end of the second world war.
The legion of the damned by hassel, sven and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The book covers a chronological period of a number of years, starting with the protagonists arrest and time in german concentration camps, and ending with his being an officer and company commander on the russian front. The sven hassel collection sven hassel war classics ebook. The narrative, made up of fragmentary experiences rather than a complete and unified series of events, speaks symbolically for the horrible and ridiculous aspects of war, which are its main concern, for hassel. Legion was the first book and supposedly the most autobiographical. Sven hassel s unflinching narrative is based on his own experiences in the german army. Legion of the damned is undouubtably the best book i have ever read.
An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of europe new york times brconvicted of deserting the german army, sven hassel is sent to, isbn 9780297865735 buy the legion of the damned. He published his first book, legion of the damned, in 1953. Hassels character describes the horrors of war and the horror that he became as a member of the legion of the damned. He adopted his mothers maiden name, hassel, when he began writing. Sven hassel the critically acclaimed legion of the damned has already been translated into 15 languages, and will soon reach the attention of even more readers when it becomes a movie. Find legion of the damned by hassel, sven at biblio. He was released in 1949 and was planning to join the french foreign legion when he met his future wife. The story focuses on a doomed platoon of german soldiers on the western front in 1944, with sven hassel as one of. Sven hassel was a world war ii novelist, who completed a series of fourteen books, that tell the battles of a penal regiment on the eastern front. Read online or download the commissar legion of the damned, book 14 pdf. Although he is arguably one of the most sold danish authors, at most second to.
Sven hassels most popular book is legion of the damned. Review of legion of the damned by sven hassel 1953. The book covers a chronological period of a number of years. Convicted of sven hassels iconic war novel about the russian front. During the events in this novel we are introduced to sven and his friends and fellow convicted soldiers in the 27th penal panzerbatallion. Synopsis legion of the damned was the first of 14 novels written by sven hassel, a danish volunteer who served in the german army throughout world war ii. Uncommonly good collectible and rare books from uncommonly good booksellers. Legion of the damned kindle edition by sven hassel. Legion of the damned is an incredible picture of totalitarianism, of stupefying injustice. It has an unique and different style of the other novels. March battalion legion of the damned series book 4 ebook.
Sven hassel was born sven pedersen in fredensborg, denmark on april 19, 1917. I remember it quite differently to the present reading, perhaps coloured by the other books. Sven hassel s iconic war novel about the russian front. The style that sven hassel wrote this book is unique and graphic. Sven and his new friends were expendable pawns deployed as sacrifices to keep the red army occupied. Legion of the damned cassell military paperbacks sven. Autobiography legion of the damned, wheels of terror, comrades of war, march battalion, assignment gestapo, monte cassino, liquidate paris, ss general, r. While there is some controversy with respect to hassels wwii stories this book reads to me as an unapologetic confessional of a young. Sven hassel and his comrades are once more hurled into the ferocity of the frontline. Legion of the damned is the first in a series of fourteen world war ii novels written by sven.
For fine examples of portas officer baiting style see three girls chapter 14 of legion of the damned or herr niebelspangs via dolorosa chapter 2 of blitzfreeze. Legion of the damned 1 chapter match chapter match against the legion of the damned. It is a shocking but quite human story and many believe this book to be at least based in fact, even if the rest of his oeuvre may be little more than a cashin. The commissar had the biggest secret of the russian war.
The question of whether sven hassel s legion of the damned is a memoir, an oral history posing as a memoir, or outright fiction has persisted for decades. The first novel published under the name of sven hassel was the legion of the damned in 1957, which lays the basis for much of the above. Legion of the damned legion of the damned series book 1. Tanks of hitlers eastern allies 194145 by steven j. Convicted of deserting the german army, sven hassel was sent to a punishment regiment on the russian.
Sven hassel 19 april 1917 21 september 2012 in barcelona was the pen. The massive armor battles of the russian entrance are well known, however the function of germanys jap allies isnt besides. First, the whole history follows a coehrent plot, instead of isolated chapters. The eastern front is a sight of unprecedented destruction. Sven hassel official site official sven hassel site. Hassel, a danish volunteer who served in the german army throughout wwii, based this story on his own horrific experiences fighting on the russian front. They made a name for themselves during the age of apostasy, where they fought well and were rewarded with the destruction of. Comrades of war legion of the damned series book 3.
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