Hassel's books are written in the first person, with Hassel himself as a character, though not necessarily the lead character. The books describe the exploits of a 27th (Penal) Panzer Regiment composed of expendable soldiers – sentenced criminals, court-martialed soldiers and political undesirables. In addition to Sven, they include Alfred Kalb, "Legionnaire" (ex-member of the French Foreign Legion); Wolfgang Creutzfeldt, a giant of a man ironically named Tiny (variously Little John in some of the books); barracks fixer and shrewd thief Joseph Porta; older sergeant Willie Beier, "Old Un" or "Old Man"; Julius Heide, a Nazi fanatic, Barcelona Blom, a veteran of both sides of the Spanish Civil War, Gregor Martin, who was a removals man before the war, Chief Mechanic Wolf, and Staff Sergeant Hoffman, a non-commissioned officer. They serve on many fronts, including northern Finland, USSR, Italy (Monte Cassino), Greece (The Bloody Road to Death), the Balkans, and France (Liquidate Paris, set during and after the Normandy Invasion). The majority of the action occurs in the USSR. Due to errors in chronology, the regiment fights in several places, hundreds of kilometres apart, at the same time. In some of the books the 27th Regiment does guard duty for the Gestapo in Hamburg (Assignment Gestapo) and also at the military prison at Torgau (March Battalion). Hassel states that the characters are based on real people and events are related to historical events.[citation needed]
Hassel's view of war is brutal. In his books, soldiers fight only to survive, with the Geneva Convention rarely being observed on the Eastern front. People are killed by chance or with very little reason. Occasional pleasant events and peaceful meetings are brutally cut short. Unsympathetic Prussian officers constantly threaten their men with courts-martial and execute them with little provocation. Disgruntled soldiers occasionally kill their own officers to get rid of them. By graphically portraying war as violent and hopeless in such manner, Hassel's books have been said to contain an anti-war message.
List -
The Legion of the Damned
Wheels of Terror
Comrades of War
March Battalion
Assignment Gestapo
Monte Cassino (The Beast Regiment)
Liquidate Paris
SS-General
Reign of Hell
Blitzfreeze
The Bloody Road to Death
Court Martial
O.G.P.U. Prison
The Commissar
VISITOR COMMENTS (0 )
FILE LIST
Filename
Size
(1953) Legion of the Damned - Sven Hassel.mobi
384 KB
(1958) Wheels of Terror - Sven Hassel.mobi
533.2 KB
(1960) Comrades of War - Sven Hassel.mobi
764.4 KB
(1962) March Battalion - Sven Hassel.mobi
327.1 KB
(1963) Assignment Gestapo - Sven Hassel.mobi
595.5 KB
(1963) Monte Cassino - Sven Hassel.mobi
568.7 KB
(1967) Liquidate Paris - Sven Hassel.mobi
453.1 KB
(1969) SS General - Sven Hassel.mobi
489.1 KB
(1973) Reign of Hell - Sven Hassel.mobi
504.7 KB
(1975) Blitzfreeze - Sven Hassel.mobi
597.8 KB
(1977) The Bloody Road to Death - Sven Hassel.mobi