A German Deserter's War Experience (Classic Reprint)


Book Description

Excerpt from A German Deserter's War Experience The following narrative first appeared in German in the columns of the N em Yorker Volkszeitung, the prin cipal organ of the German speaking Socialists in the United States. Its author, who escaped from Germany and military service after H months of fighting in France, is an intelligent young miner. He does not wish to have his name made public, fearing that those who will be offended by his frankness might vent their wrath on his relatives. Since his arrival in this country his friends and acquaintances have come to know him as an upright and truthful man whose word can be re lied upon. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.




A German Deserter's War Experiences


Book Description

A firsthand account of a German soldier’s horrific experiences fighting in France and Belgium, culminating in his escape from military service. In 1913 Julius Koettgen, a pacifist and a socialist, was drafted into the ranks of sapper battalion No. 30. He dutifully fought in the ranks of the Kaiser’s armies during 1914 and 1915 and saw action in France and Belgium where he describes the terrible events which were to become known as “the rape of Belgium” and also details the extent of the fighting including being forced to form part of a firing squad, crossing the Meuse under heavy fire, using corpses as road building materials, annihilating a cavalry charge, hand-to-hand bayonet fighting, and the awful events of the disastrous German retreat from the Marne. Koettgen also experienced the horrors of trench warfare and the famous Christmas truce of 1914. In 1915 he decided that enough was enough and escaped military life by deserting the colors and slipping through the lines to neutral Holland. His was memoirs were published by a gleeful allied press under the title A German Deserter’s War Experience. This English translation—edited and introduced by Emmy Award™-winning historian Bob Carruthers—provides a rare primary source of insight into the German side during the crucial opening battles of the war and is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Great War from the German perspective.




A German Deserter's War Experience


Book Description

In 1913 Julius Koettgen, a pacifist and a socialist, was drafted into the ranks of sapper battalion No. 30. He dutifully fought in the ranks of the Kaisers armies during 1914 and 1915 and saw action in France and Belgium where he describes the terrible events which were to become known as the rape of Belgium and also details the extent of the fighting including being forced to form part of a firing squad, crossing the Meuse under heavy fire, using corpses as road building materials annihilating a cavalry charge hand to hand bayonet fighting, and the awful events of the disastrous German retreat from the Marne. With the onset of trench warfare Koettgen also experienced the horrors of trench warfare and the famous Christmas truce of 1914. In 1915 he decided that enough was enough and escaped military life by deserting the colors and slipping through the lines to neutral Holland. His was memoirs were published by a gleeful allied press under the title A German Deserters War Experience. This English translation, edited and introduced Emmy AwardTM winning historian Bob Carruthers provides a rare primary source insight into the German side during the crucial opening battles of the war and is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Great War from the German perspective.




ALL SOLDIERS RUN AWAY


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The story of Alan Juniper who deserted twice from the British Army during the Second World War.




A German Officer in Occupied Paris


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Ernst Jünger was one of twentieth-century Germany’s most important—and most controversial—writers. Decorated for bravery in World War I and the author of the acclaimed western front memoir Storm of Steel, he frankly depicted war’s horrors even as he extolled its glories. As a Wehrmacht captain during World War II, Jünger faithfully kept a journal in occupied Paris and continued to write on the eastern front and in Germany until its defeat—writings that are of major historical and literary significance. Jünger’s Paris journals document his Francophile excitement, romantic affairs, and fascination with botany and entomology, alongside mystical and religious ruminations and trenchant observations on the occupation and the politics of collaboration. While working as a mail censor, he led the privileged life of an officer, encountering artists such as Céline, Cocteau, Braque, and Picasso. His notes from the Caucasus depict the chaos after Stalingrad and atrocities on the eastern front. Upon returning to Paris, Jünger observed the French resistance and was close to the German military conspirators who plotted to assassinate Hitler in 1944. After fleeing France, he reunited with his family as Germany’s capitulation approached. Both participant and commentator, close to the horrors of history but often distancing himself from them, Jünger turned his life and experiences into a work of art. These wartime journals appear here in English for the first time, giving fresh insights into the quandaries of the twentieth century from the keen pen of a paradoxical observer.




Frontsoldaten


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Alois Dwenger, writing from the front in May of 1942, complained that people forgot "the actions of simple soldiers.I believe that true heroism lies in bearing this dreadful everyday life." In exploring the reality of the Landser, the average German soldier in World War II, through letters, diaries, memoirs, and oral histories, Stephen G. Fritz provides the definitive account of the everyday war of the German front soldier. The personal documents of these soldiers, most from the Russian front, where the majority of German infantrymen saw service, paint a richly textured portrait of the Landser that illustrates the complexity and paradox of his daily life. Although clinging to a self-image as a decent fellow, the German soldier nonetheless committed terrible crimes in the name of National Socialism. When the war was finally over, and his country lay in ruins, the Landser faced a bitter truth: all his exertions and sacrifices had been in the name of a deplorable regime that had committed unprecedented crimes. With chapters on training, images of combat, living conditions, combat stress, the personal sensations of war, the bonds of comradeship, and ideology and motivation, Fritz offers a sense of immediacy and intimacy, revealing war through the eyes of these self-styled "little men." A fascinating look at the day-to-day life of German soldiers, this is a book not about war but about men. It will be vitally important for anyone interested in World War II, German history, or the experiences of common soldiers throughout the world.




Christabel


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A German deserter's war experience


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A firsthand account of World War I trench warfare from a German soldier who ultimately defected to the United States. This memoir is a raw and unfiltered chronicle of the brutality of war. The author spares no detail, describing the dispatching of wounded enemy soldiers, the execution of prisoners of war, the murder of unpopular officers, the shooting of civilians, and the rampant looting of food and valuables from the civilian population. A must-read for those interested in military history, this book shatters any romantic notions of war and lays bare its darker side.




Infantry in Battle


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Hessians


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Between 1776 and 1783, Britain hired an estimated 30,000 German soldiers to fight in its war against the Americans. Collectively known as Hessians, they actually came from six German territories within the Holy Roman Empire. Over the course of the war, members of the German corps, including women and children, spent extended periods of time in locations as dispersed and varied as Canada in the North to West Florida and Cuba in the South. They shared in every significant British military triumph and defeat. Thousands died of disease, were killed in battle, were captured by the enemy, or deserted. Collectively, they recorded their experiences and observations of the war they fought in, the land they traversed, and the people they encountered in a large body of letters, diaries, and similar private and official records. Friederike Baer presents a study of Britain's war against the American rebels from the perspective of the German soldiers, a people uniquely positioned both in the midst of the war and at its margins. The book offers a ground-breaking reimagining of this watershed event in world history.