Book Review: Forgotten Soldier

Military Review

THE FORGOTTEN SOLDIER: Guy Sajer, Brassey's, Washington, DC, 1990, 465 pages, $15.95.

There has been much debate about Guy Sajer's The Forgotten Soldier since it first appeared in 1967. Many historians have cited inconsistencies in equipment and weapons, improper display of patches on uniforms, and an inability to find various names on unit rolls as reasons to dismiss the author's claim that this work is autobiographical. Still, Sajer appears to have supporters as well as detractors. Though this debate has been exhausted if not resolved, there is no need to spend a great deal of time questioning whether the book is autobiography or fiction. Instead, a close examination of the text alone and how it might impact Soldiers of today's Army may be of greater value than continuing the debate regarding the book's appropriate genre.

Books are written for a purpose, and Sajer is blunt in explaining his reason for sharing his experiences: "to reanimate, with all the intensity I can summon, those distant cries from the slaughterhouse." He succeeds in doing just that. Sajer's descriptions often focus on fear, hunger, filth, and isolation. He only rarely makes death noble, and even then the courageous soldier who sacrifices himself defending his native Prussia is killed by being run over by a tank - can one think of a more gruesome, less romantic end? Another fellow soldier, whom he refers to as "the veteran," sacrificed himself because he "had had enough of fighting and retreating" and realized there was nothing left for him after the war. A nation needs wholly committed soldiers, but what happens to these warriors when they realize that what they fought for is gone?

The Forgotten Soldier describes war on the Eastern front from 19421945 as seen by a young German soldier. Though from Alsace, Guy Sajer was half-German, born of a German mother and French father. He originally joined the service in hopes of flying, but after failing the Luftwaffe tests, he was sent to infantry basic training and then initially assigned as a truck driver in a transportation unit. He served in that capacity from the fall of 1942 until the spring of 1943 when he volunteered for duty as an infantryman and joined the Wehrmacht 's elite Gross Deutschland division. After initial training with the division, whose camp entrance sign bore the words "We are Born to Die," Sajer served with the Gross Deutschland through several major engagements until he was captured in 1945. The book's value lies in its descriptions of the challenges Sajer and his fellow soldiers faced as the Eastern Front crumbled and the division fought both conventional forces as well as partisans in its retrograde.

The author is an inconsistent and sometimes awkward narrator, often stating that he can remember nothing about certain time periods. At other times, he offers exceptionally vivid descriptions of events. This inconsistency makes a great deal of sense because a young soldier, in intense combat though still in his teens, would not have seen the entire battlefield. His world would be himself, his squad, and at most his company. Perhaps the most heavy-handed moments come when the author forewarns of the death of comrades - rarely does the death of any unit member come as a surprise. This approach does not contribute to suspense, which is one of the few weaknesses of the text (assuming Sajer intended to use such a literary device).

An autobiography is often an exercise in rationalization as the author explains why he was right and the rest of the world was wrong. To his credit, Sajer is candid in assessing his shortcomings and in doing so gains great credibility. He admits failure in his first test as a leader. After being promoted to obergefreiter (roughly equivalent to corporal), he led his anti-tank squad in a defense against a Russian attack. Almost overrun and believing he was about to be captured by Russians, Sajer ordered one of his soldiers to kill him. The soldier refused. As Sajer assessed the situation, he froze in front of his squad, unable to make a decision and, in his own words, "incapable of leading." Clearly his is not a story of selfaggrandizement. He questions his competence and courage throughout the book, revealing a sense of personal uncertainty that captures the reflections of a soldier at war.

Sajer effectively depicts the growing sense of defeat in an army. Initially the expectation was that the German Army would roll to victory. When that became unachievable, the goal shifted to retaining territory. From there, each established defense became essentially a no-penetration line with an ultimate goal that "no Bolshevik will ever tread on German soil." In the end, the Bolsheviks most definitely reached Germany as did all the other allies in theatre, culminating in Sajer's capture by the British in 1945. The author's treatment of the psychology of defeat is instructive even for those who cannot imagine the possibility of losing in battle. The Gross Deutschland is encircled and conducts a breakout, is penetrated and launches counterattacks, and is threatened and executes spoiling attacks. In short, this book addresses major combat operations between large units, a type of warfare many would like to view as anachronistic.

Of significant interest is Sajer's description of the partisan effort against the retreating German Army. Imagine the German plight, retreat- ing from the Russian Army while being picked apart along the way by partisans who were, in Sajer's words, terrorists. The fight was bloody and characterized by atroci- ties, evisceration and emasculation only two partisan methods of many cited. The partisans employed raids and ambushes, and even killed the unit's revered company commander. In fact, the partisan threat was so significant that one-fourth of Sajer's unit was on guard duty at all times. Such constant pressure would surely drain an army, and many methods employed to reduce the partisan threat proved ineffective. One can learn much from Sajer's narrative.

Sajer explains why men join elite units as well as what makes those units fight as one when there seems to be no reason to continue. In the end, his memoir is just that, an account of his personal experiences. That it is not a thoroughly researched history makes it no less significant. This book will remain relevant because it explores the psychology of the soldier at war.

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