Ordinary citizens drawn from all walks of life filled the ranks of the 305th Pioneer Battalion. The unit arrived on the Eastern Front in May 1942. Leading it into battle was a combat-tempered firebrand, but the rest of the officers, such as Oberleutnant Richard Grimm, were reservists. As everyone had a relative, friend or acquaintance already killed in the Soviet Union, they were under no illusions, yet still believed in ultimate victory. Months of monotonous marching, interspersed with terrifying encounters and set-piece attacks, led them inexorably towards Stalingrad... and their grim fate.
Drawing on an incredible trove of documents, diaries, letters, photo albums and interviews, Jason Mark recounts the ill-fated odyssey of a band of ordinary German men drafted to fight for their country. Through their eyes, the unbridled ferocity of the clash between Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union is revealed.
