Book Review of
The German Infantryman on the Eastern Front
Men-Battles-Weapons Series
Authors: Simon Forty & Richard Charlton-Taylor
Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 978-1-64634-361-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2023
MSRP: $28.95
ISBN: 978-1-64634-361-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2023
MSRP: $28.95
HISTORY:
The German Army was all-conquering until late 1941, when, only a few miles short of Moscow, it ran out of steam. Maniacal to realize it, the German forces wouldn’t advance further on this front.
While they continued their offences into 1942, Soviet defense's had stiffened. Its equipment-notably the T-34-had improved and the Germans had lost too many of their best men, the savvy NCOs and experienced junior officers that gave the Wehrmacht its edge over the opposition.
They had lost their moral compass as well. Complicity in the massacres of the SS-Einsatzgruppen, the barbarity of the anti-Partisan operations and summary execution for those who flagged, were the hallmarks of the German Army’s fight for survival against people considered less than human.
Outnumbered, under attack on many other fronts, their homeland bombarded unceasingly from the air, the German servicemen endured the hell of the Eastern Front, until their enemies were destroyed in 1945. While the morality of the regime the fought for and its reprehensible actions should never be forgotten, what cannot be denied is the indefatigable courage of the German infantrymen.
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publishers is both a book distributor of other company’s books and a publisher of their own books, based in Havertown, PA.
This book is of soft-cover, with a flap on the front and rear covers.
The front cover shows a black and white photo of a large group of German infantrymen marching down a road. On the left, at the bottom, there is a color photo of a German infantryman. He is kneeling on his right knee and firing his rifle. He wears a field-grey uniform, cloth field cap with a bill and low black shoes. The next black and white photo to the right is of a German cannon. Below that photo is another black and white photo of two German soldiers that are laying prone in the snow with a machine gun and rifle. Both are dressed in white parkas.
The back cover shows 3 black and white photos. At the top left is a photo of 2 German officers in a railyard. They are reading documents out of a cardboard box. The photo on the right at the top shows 2 Germans kneeling atop the turret roof of a German tank and aiming their MP40 sub machine gun and 98K carbine, another man stands behind the tank. At the bottom there is another black and white photo that shows 7 German infantrymen, marching down a road. They all wear camouflaged tarps down to their waists, steel helmets and field grey pants.
The book is in 7” x 9 ¾” page format. It contains 128 pages, 123 black and white photos (including the cover arts) & 19 color photos. There are 11 color photos of medals, many black and white photos of German infantrymen, 2 charts, 10 posters, vehicles and tanks, weapons, horses pulling equipment and 12 maps.
The box ends with a 2 page CONCLUSION, a 1 page FURTHER READING list and a 1 page INDEX.
The back cover’s flap has 3 book cover illustrations of other Casemate books:
The Soviet Infantryman on the Eastern Front, The Waffen SS In Normandy, The Winter War 1939-40 & The 3rd SS Panzer Regiment.
THE EDITORS:
Educated in the north of England and at London University, Simon Forty has worked in publishing for over 40 years as editor, publisher and author. He has written some 25 books, primarily on military history, most recently “Red Army Into the Reich”.
Richard Charlton-Taylor has been a schoolteacher, light infantryman and businessman. A collector and teacher in WWII militaries, he has worked with Simon on a number of projects sourcing images and providing detailed military knowledge of weapons, equipment and tactics.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. All Casemate books can be viewed on their website at:
The German Army was all-conquering until late 1941, when, only a few miles short of Moscow, it ran out of steam. Maniacal to realize it, the German forces wouldn’t advance further on this front.
While they continued their offences into 1942, Soviet defense's had stiffened. Its equipment-notably the T-34-had improved and the Germans had lost too many of their best men, the savvy NCOs and experienced junior officers that gave the Wehrmacht its edge over the opposition.
They had lost their moral compass as well. Complicity in the massacres of the SS-Einsatzgruppen, the barbarity of the anti-Partisan operations and summary execution for those who flagged, were the hallmarks of the German Army’s fight for survival against people considered less than human.
Outnumbered, under attack on many other fronts, their homeland bombarded unceasingly from the air, the German servicemen endured the hell of the Eastern Front, until their enemies were destroyed in 1945. While the morality of the regime the fought for and its reprehensible actions should never be forgotten, what cannot be denied is the indefatigable courage of the German infantrymen.
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publishers is both a book distributor of other company’s books and a publisher of their own books, based in Havertown, PA.
This book is of soft-cover, with a flap on the front and rear covers.
The front cover shows a black and white photo of a large group of German infantrymen marching down a road. On the left, at the bottom, there is a color photo of a German infantryman. He is kneeling on his right knee and firing his rifle. He wears a field-grey uniform, cloth field cap with a bill and low black shoes. The next black and white photo to the right is of a German cannon. Below that photo is another black and white photo of two German soldiers that are laying prone in the snow with a machine gun and rifle. Both are dressed in white parkas.
The back cover shows 3 black and white photos. At the top left is a photo of 2 German officers in a railyard. They are reading documents out of a cardboard box. The photo on the right at the top shows 2 Germans kneeling atop the turret roof of a German tank and aiming their MP40 sub machine gun and 98K carbine, another man stands behind the tank. At the bottom there is another black and white photo that shows 7 German infantrymen, marching down a road. They all wear camouflaged tarps down to their waists, steel helmets and field grey pants.
The book is in 7” x 9 ¾” page format. It contains 128 pages, 123 black and white photos (including the cover arts) & 19 color photos. There are 11 color photos of medals, many black and white photos of German infantrymen, 2 charts, 10 posters, vehicles and tanks, weapons, horses pulling equipment and 12 maps.
The box ends with a 2 page CONCLUSION, a 1 page FURTHER READING list and a 1 page INDEX.
The back cover’s flap has 3 book cover illustrations of other Casemate books:
The Soviet Infantryman on the Eastern Front, The Waffen SS In Normandy, The Winter War 1939-40 & The 3rd SS Panzer Regiment.
THE EDITORS:
Educated in the north of England and at London University, Simon Forty has worked in publishing for over 40 years as editor, publisher and author. He has written some 25 books, primarily on military history, most recently “Red Army Into the Reich”.
Richard Charlton-Taylor has been a schoolteacher, light infantryman and businessman. A collector and teacher in WWII militaries, he has worked with Simon on a number of projects sourcing images and providing detailed military knowledge of weapons, equipment and tactics.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. All Casemate books can be viewed on their website at:
Highly recommended.