Monday, August 13, 2018

Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, Knight’s Cross Paperback – February 25, 2016 by Albrecht Wacker (Pen and Sword)



Sniper on the Eastern Front is the heartrending biographical memoir of Josef “Sepp” Allerberger, an Austrian farmboy who served as a marksman (a word preferred over "sniper" by Wermacht soldiers) in the German Wermacht Alpine Division on the Eastern Front. This book is outstanding on two levels. First, as a biographical memoir of the Eastern Front during WWII, it's a brutally honest portrayal of a 19 year old soldier's loss of innocence and youth as an infantryman in a doomed army. As such, the ugliness of war and the graphic twin evils of Fascist Germany and Soviet Russia at each other's throats are plainly described using the unique vehicle of viewing life through the telescopic perspective of a German sniper. And secondly, this book is a genuine historical relic of sniper development, capabilities and techniques in the German Army circa WWII. For these two reasons I can happily award this book by German historian and arms expert, Albrecht Wacker, five stars. The book does have a few shortcomings. There are a few cases where incorrect English military words are used. The German Army disliked the term "sniper" and used the German word for "marksman" in its place. American military veterans, for whom the word "marksman" merely denotes basic competency with a rifle, will take a while to get used to this substitution. And there is one glaring moment when the POV shifts unexpectedly from a third person historical narrative to a first person personal narrative. Both of these issues may be the result of difficult translation work from the German to the English language. Also, this is a "warts-and-all" view of life as a soldier. No veteran would be shocked by the way soldiers discuss issues like defecation, sex and killing. But some people won't get it and may find the descriptions to be too over the top for their sensitivities. Albrecht Wacker has done a real service in recording Mr. Allerberger's experiences. This book is highly recommended for students of war, sniper operations, WWII history and for those who just love a good, historical war story. Highly recommended.

No comments:

Post a Comment