In Deadly Combat
A German Soldier's Memoir of the Eastern Front
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In Deadly Combat
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Narrated by:
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Paul Woodson
About this listen
Wounded five times and awarded numerous decorations for valor, Gottlob Herbert Bidermann saw action in the Crimea and siege of Sebastopol, participated in the vicious battles in the forests south of Leningrad, and ended the war in the Courland Pocket.
In his memoir, he shares his impressions of countless Russian POWs seen at the outset of his service, of peasants struggling to survive the hostilities while caught between two ruthless antagonists, and of corpses littering the landscape. He recalls a Christmas gift of gingerbread from home that overcame the stench of battle, an Easter celebrated with a basket of Russian hand grenades for eggs, and his miraculous survival of machine gun fire at close range. In closing, he relives the humiliation of surrender to an enemy whom the Germans had once derided and offers a sobering glimpse into life in the Soviet gulags. Bidermann's account debunks the myth of a highly mechanized German army that rolled over weaker opponents with impunity.
Despite the vast expanses of territory captured by the Germans during the early months of Operation Barbarossa, the war with Russia remained tenuous and unforgiving. His story commits that living hell to the annals of World War II and broadens our understanding of its most deadly combat zone.
©2000 The University Press of Kansas (P)2017 TantorCritic Reviews
What listeners say about In Deadly Combat
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-11-2024
The Horrors of the eastern front
A compelling account of the horrors of the eastern front. Until I listened to this I could not have fathomed how bad it really was for all the young men and women thrust into combat in the soviet union and beyond. A really good read for history enthusiasts. Highly recomend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rew
- 29-06-2017
A poignant and compelling story
Bidermann's story is a fascinating glimpse into the life of a German soldier on the Eastern front - written simply, elegantly, and without dwelling on the politics of the war, nor on the horrors.
While it's always hard to know how genuine are claims of moral behaviour - he seems to not have harmed or abused a single non-combatant in all of his years of struggle - this story certainly gives the reader an empathy for the German soldier on the Eastern front, a character usually villified as a soulless automaton driven by evil.
Well worth listening.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jenny McDonald
- 10-02-2021
Well worth reading
True stories from German soldiers who do not become famous are quite rare and this is a very detailed moving and well written account of a tragic tale. Recommended
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 25-05-2021
An excellent insight into my Opas' service.
My Opa survived service on the Eastern front as Captain of a self propelled 20mm flak gun while serving with the Luftwaffe.
He never spoke much of his service.
What he did speak about aligns well with the timeline and areas mentioned in this account.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Greg
- 03-11-2020
Chronology without too much human interest
I dont usually do these reviews but i bought this title because of the 5 star reviews i read so felt i needed to balance them a little.
The book is a fairly dry chronology of events all be it at a soldiers level. It reads more like a historian's draft than a human experience piece. Dont get me wrong, it's not terrible but it lacks the human interest flavour that i think makes these first hand accounts so compelling.
If you want that sort of experience, read/listened too Blood Red Snow or The Forgotten Soldier. But if you have allready done so then this one will be disappointing.
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2 people found this helpful