In Deadly Combat: A German Soldier's Memoir of the Eastern Front

In Deadly Combat is the "Must" read of World War 2. The memoirs of 3 1/2 years of combat on the eastern front, followed by over 1,000 days as a Soviet POW can not be described in any other words except by a man that survived the ordeal. Bidermann's account not only details the destruction and misery brought by the "Gods of War," but offers a very intriguing insight on how he both excelled as a soldier, and leader of men....And, his memoirs offers insight about survival. The most fascinating aspect about Bidermann's memoirs is "what went through his mind" during a terrible & horrific experience.After my readings of the US combat veteran in WW2, the Korean War, and Vietnam; the perils of 3 1/2 years of continous combat seem momentus compared to the shorter combat tours. Of course, any combat tour must be incredibly sickening, but the realization soldiers of the Red Army and German Army lasted so long boggles the mind.Finally, Bidermann depicts 3 1/2 years of combat on the Eastern Front in a concise, entertaining and easily read book. His work both as a soldier and author is INCREDIBLE!

This book will be well appreciated by any student of the Eastern Front. Bidermann started the war as a gefreiter with the 437th infantry regiment (part of the 132nd infantry division) and finished the war as a leutnant with the same unit. The book presents an interesting contrast between Bidermann's initial experiences as a Pak gunner in the Crimea and his actions as a junior infantry leader on the northern front toward the end of the war. While I never felt quite as "close" to the author as I did with Sajer's "The Forgotten Solder" and Knappe's "Soldat," the book was nevertheless excellent, and better than both in many respects (in particular, this book is much more detailed than Sajer's work). One of my favorite aspects of the book is its treatment of the Crimean and Leningrad campaigns, two sectors that, in my opinion, have been neglected in favor of more well-known battles such as Stalingrad and Kursk. In summary, I would highly recommend the book to any Eastern Front fanatic.

I have read both "Soldat" and the "Forgotten Soldier", I must rate this book over the other two. This book is a great first person account on the hell of the Russian Front. Bidermann's account of his AT gun crew knocking out Soviet tanks in the the Crimea, reads like a novel. Bidermann also fills parts of the Divisions (132nd ID) history that he himself was not present for with great detail. This book described the mindset of the typical Landser so well I felt like I was their too. A must read for anyone who wishes to see the war from German eyes.

Firstly, before launching yourself into this excellent book please take the time to read the introduction by Dennis Showalter as it will help explain the style of writing to be found in this book. The book was originally written for the survivors of Bidermann's regiment and division, not for the general public. Bearing this in mind you will have a better understanding and feeling for the author's account of his experience of fighting on the Eastern Front during WW2. At times you might find the narrative old fashioned and even cliched but this is definitely not the case, it has to be taken in context of when and why this book was first written. This is a great story, on par if not better than Guy Sajer's `Forgotten Soldier'. This is a combination of a combat history of the 132nd Infantry Division and the author's role and experiences in the fighting on the Eastern Front. The author, Gottlob Herbert Bidermann, won two Iron Crosses, the Crimea Shield, the Close Combat Badge, the German Cross in Gold, the Gold Wound Badge (wounded five times), the Honour Roll Clasp and the Tank Destruction Badge. What is remarkable is that the author survived five years of combat on the Russian Front fighting in Crimea, Leningrad and later in the Courland Pocket. I found his stories about his early years fighting with an anti-tank section using the Pak 37 "doorknocker" very interesting, I had always believed these weapons to be next to useless on the Russian Front however I was surprised. You can trace the change in the author from a novice who still cared about human beings, even his enemy to one whom has been brutalised by warfare to a point past indifference to death and destruction. I have taken the liberty to include below a short section of the text from the first chapter to give you an idea of the author's style of writing:"The NCO was grasping one of the wheels of the Maxim carriage, his sightless eyes peering forward at the ammunition belt where it fed into the chamber of the weapon. Another held his rifle clenched in cold fists, his head resting against the ground as if asleep, the olive-colored helmet secured tightly under his chin. Hartmann slipped past me and slowly approached two other figures lying closely together, side by side. One of the figures had draped an arm across the other in a last embrace, as if attempting to comfort a dying comrade. As Hartmann neared, a cloud of flies rose in protest, breaking the deadly silence and I moved forward to join him in surveying the ghastly scene. Moving silently among the carnage, Hartmann suddenly turned and slipped past me without speaking, heading in the direction from which we had come. Carefully avoiding the eyes of the dead, I quickly followed him. In this abode of death, only the trees, still and quiet, appeared to be survivors and witnesses to the struggle that had occurred, hidden within this wooded glade".I found this book to be a very fascinating account of the