has anyone else read the series of books by sven hassel, i think that they are a great read, not sure how much is truth and how much is fiction, there seems to be some controversy over his biography as to what he actually did during the war, and how much is imagined. but the books certainly are a great read, and unusually do not glorify war from the german point of view.
has anyone else read the series of books by sven hassel, i think that they are a great read, not sure how much is truth and how much is fiction, there seems to be some controversy over his biography as to what he actually did during the war, and how much is imagined. but the books certainly are a great read, and unusually do not glorify war from the german point of view. Complete rubbish and false.He never experienced war and his CV is purely fictional
Read 'em all as a kid, good fun. Would never deny that they're essentially rubbish and certainly fiction but there is a place in my heart for them as 'Quality shite', like the occasional action Film that's utter balls but still strangely enjoyable. They remind me of Childhood holidays in Scarborough, buy 'em in the morning for 10p and finished by the evening. Favourite title has to be; "The Bloody Road to death". I seem to remember that most of the books are extrapolations of the first one? The amount of times Porta & co. get killed is probably the best indication that nobody's writing history here. Cheers, Adam.
The book "Wheels of Terror" is the most biographical of them all but it was still fiction. All the others from a historical point of view are utter tosh and Harry is bang on the money in his response. Having said that, like a Tom Jones Record there was a guilty pleasure in reading them but now - I need to use my time better!!
i read them all as a kid too. Haven't re-read them for many years , but I have fond memories of them and remember them being an enjoyable read. I used to buy them from a bookstall on a local market that was run by German Ww2 veteran. He thought they were great and he really put me on the path to ruin! (All my pocket money went on them! ). Don't know if I went back endlessly for the actual books or whether it was just to listen to his stories for an hour or so every Saturday morning though! Dave.
Ah well, it's another excuse to bring up one of Sven's lesser known works, probably about as historically useful as his more mainstream offerings :
Nice one Von Poop. Top marks and gold star! (I was going to say: it looks like a T34 to me but I'll give it a miss---it's only a story ya know)
You have passed the test. The ww2 pedant test... you are not alone . Sven Hassel's 'official' site: Including alleged photos of 'Tiny' et. al. Interesting read as he confirms or denies nothing other than sales of 52,000,000 books worldwide. Smoke and mirrors with hint of controversy obviously do booksales no harm. He's writing a new one apparently. Cheers, Adam.
Peter Rabbit: Tank killer - remember kiddies, to mention it to mum and dad for Christmas. A joint production of Sven Hassel and Beatrice Potter - must have missed that one!!!
has anyone else read the series of books by sven hassel, i think that they are a great read, not sure how much is truth and how much is fiction, there seems to be some controversy over his biography as to what he actually did during the war, and how much is imagined. but the books certainly are a great read, and unusually do not glorify war from the german point of view. Have read them all. Legion of the damned, correct me if I am wrong - it was donkey's ago when I last read them,is the omnibus of all the books. Read that and you have the gist. When I think back to them some of the details were conflicting. Look at them as war fiction and no one gets offended. I like them better than a lot of war fiction that I've read. After a bit I was rooting for the likes of Porta, Tiny, and the Legionnaire. I can't doubt that they are fiction, but one thing is for certain they don't glamourise the war, no flag waving or bands playing. Alright to pass the time with if you have nothing else to read. Harry,VP and Gotthard have about hit it it on the head with their synopsis.
I used to read Sven Hassel's "rival" for German Army pulp-fiction also (it was a pen-name of Charles Whiting, but I've forgotten what he was calling himself!). I always thought that the Hassels won hands down on the WW2 stuff for pure "readability", but Whiting's range in history made his series interesting (imagine Hassel's characters continuing into the French Foreign Legion and fighting in Algeria, Indo-China, etc - it was great!) Dave
I used to read Sven Hassel's "rival" for German Army pulp-fiction also (it was a pen-name of Charles Whiting, but I've forgotten what he was calling himself!). "something" Kessler? (Leo Kessler? perhaps?) Dave
Thats not a Tiger!! Its a JSII!!! Look at the Wheel Base. I knew we couldnt trust Beatrix Potter, her work is full of Inaccuracies!!! Stephen Ambrose, Thy name is Beatrix Potter!!!
"something" Kessler? (Leo Kessler? perhaps?) Dave aka all three Duncan Harding - John Kerrigan & Leo Kessler View attachment 2920 View attachment 2921 View attachment 2922
Well done GH. You've not only passed the test, you've moved onto the next level of 'Uber-pedant'. Nice one.
Surely the running gear suggests JS 3? As for Sven, hated his stuff. Had a mate who had them all. I preferred James Rouch. edit: just noticed this thread has 2 pages. GH already got JS lookalke.
Not sure if its been done here. Seen it yet? I recomend this one to the WW2 types here and you less ww2 interested other halfs. Good film. Kev
I think it must have been a JS3. Why would he have shot at a Tiger with a Panzerfaust and a Schmeisser? (Very funny though )
Do you think Sven Hassel books are true or are just all fiction. Was Sven Hassel a collaborator to the Nazis in Denmark or a Panzer soldier like he claims to be. Do Tiny, Porta, the Legionnare exist or not ??? I think Sven Hassel is not a fraud and all his characters all real, but i must admit its quite impossible for him or his pals to have experienced so many extremely odd, hillarious and dangerous things
