Mortar Gunner on the Eastern Front: The Memoir of Dr Hans Rehfeldt. Volume 1: From the Moscow Winter Offensive to…

Great first person account. While not an adventure a day type book. The book does have some crude author drawn maps. He does show the mundane side of war fare, as well as, the battle. While Guy Sajer’s book The Forgotten Soldier is probably one of the best reads, mortarmen trail the panzer grenadiers. If you notice the perspectives of both books are from 18 year old frontline soldiers. Too many readers think the Eastern Front War was one massive atrocity laden war, that all Germans committed. The reality of the situation from there perspectives is a little different. They billeted with the locals, most Ukrainians, and treated them indifferent most of the time. Most frontline troops are conscripts and young men, just as every country had and has.Yet I digress. The book does a great job on seeing the misery of the common soldier in warfare. The depredations the lack of food, cold, and dangers faced to stay well stocked with ammunition. A good read to glean more insight intro the life of a common foot soldier on the Eastern Front. A recommended read.

I've literally read dozens of books which are first-hand German and Russian accounts of the war on the Eastern Front. So far, this is one of the best. Unlike some memoirs "Mortar Gunner on the Eastern Front", is written without any ideological judgments. The author's experiences come strictly from his diary and have a ring of unadulterated authenticity to them. Following the exact locations he was at were usually (but not always) a simple task using Google Search and Google Maps. I will say that Rehfeldt was an extraordinarily lucky soldier to have lived through all the battles he participated in largely unscathed. I've only gone through part 1 of the book and he has already survived several engagements in which the great majority of his comrades have fallen. The one criticism I will make about the book is that it didn't need to be published in two volumes. It just isn't that long. With so many pages devoted to photos, I got through Part 1 in 3-4 hours. Having the pay a hefty amount to download the rest of the book on my kindle is something I'm not willing to do right now, in spite of the excellence of the material.

Hans Rehfeldt, a mortarman in the Grossdeutschland Regiment, then division, uses his wartime diaries as a foundation for this 'memoir.' Most of the text reads like diary entries but there are a few instances of foreshadowing that make it evident the author has made additions to the text. Having read quite a few WWII memoirs (mainly German and Soviet) this volume is best for those with an intimate knowledge of the Eastern Front. Many of the entries focus on mundane activities but there are also more than enough examples of the type of fighting the Wehrmacht encountered on the Eastern Front.Rehfeldt participated in some of the most well-known and bloodiest engagements that occurred during the Soviet-German encounter. He first found himself fighting outside Tula in the winter of 1941, the city was Guderian's target and one step too far for his Panzer Group. Rehfeldt documents the fighting he experienced in the lead up to the Soviet counteroffensive in December of 1941 and the ensuing retreat in terrible winter conditions. By early 1942, the author is continually suffering from wounds sustained from frostbite and his battalion is eventually disbanded due to the heavy casualties it sustained. After recovering, Rehfeldt participates in battles on the Don and outside Rzhev as well as in the retaking of Kharkov and then the Kursk offensive.There is no lack of action, and some of the included maps created by Rehfeldt himself will help readers understand some of the situations he found himself in. The photos (dozens of them) included are also a nice addition. Where the book suffers is from a lack of maps that would help track the progress and movements of the author's battalion/regiment/division. Without these maps much of the actions the author is involved in become hard to track or contextualize. An additional weakness is a lack of self-reflection, something many memoirs contain but which authors undoubtedly don't have time for when keeping a diary at the front and when they constantly find themselves in the midst of battle. Otherwise, this is a fairly detailed and informative account of a soldier who found himself on the Eastern Front.

Books about warfare an battles are rendered practically pointless without good maps. The book itself is a real eye opener in that it lays out the stunning hypocrisy ingrained in Germans. The part where his company rounds up and presumably slaughter an entire village and then pray. Vile stuff.

The author pulls no punches in this review of total warfare on the Russian front. The German invaders were stopped in their tracks by a brutal Russian winter that gave the Soviets time to regroup and reequip. The conflict was deadly and virtually non stop with enormous losses on both sides. The reader is given a close look at the enormity of the task confronting the German invaders. Inadequate resupply and impossible road conditions simply brought the German offense to a stop and then it became a deadly game of survival. This book will hold your interest from beginning to end!

Hans was fortunate to have been able to survive & record his experiences during WW2.However, it was unfortunate that he was required to endure the horrendous conditions of both combat & weather.We realise that military history is propaganda written by the victors. That is why it is so important to read the autobiographies of the combatants - like Hans.

I enjoyed the book written by a German soldier and his notes and drawings. It was a well written and through story

This book gives an in depth description of the life of mortar a German infantrymen on the Eastern front during WWII. It vividly describes what action was like against the Russian army. I found it enlightening.

Hope volume two is as good as volume one

An in-depth account of the authors service. Without the blood and gore, usually associated with the Eastern Front. A factual read interspersed with humour. Just waiting for part 2 now.

He was a lucky guy. Now all we need is Volume 2 at the same price of £1.99 and i'll buy it

Honest in his memoirs. Very detailed and accurate which shows the belief of the solder and the hopeless mess the eastern front became.

Well written or translated account of a GrossDeutschland Soldier who was in mortars. A rare account of a German on the eastern Front during the first terrible winter. What's unusual is that the author doesn't just say it was an anti tank gun or it was a tank he actually gives what type of gun, tank, mortar or other equipment he used or saw. After the war he obtained technical books to identify that which he did not know. A good read and I have already ordered volume 2.