Author: Leo Kessler (aka Charles Whiting)First Published: 1974
Pages: 192
I was surprised how much I had enjoyed the opening title of the SS Wotan series by Charles Whiting, writing as Leo Kessler. SS Panzer Battalion set the scene very competently for the long running SS Wotan series, introducing us to the soldiers and officers of The Bodyguard. This second book (chronologically that is) takes Von Dodenburg, Shulze, Schwarz, Metzger, and their commanding officer The Vulture, out to the Eastern Front to face the horrors of battling the Russians during a bitter winter.
Surprisingly Death's Head starts with a botched invasion of England, with the SS Wotan battalion being repelled by the British, leaving them weary, devastated and Von Dodenburg in a field hospital with a mild head wound. Whilst there he is treated by a sympathetic nurse, the Belgian, Simone Vannenberg. Upon recovering he continues a brief romance with her. She is an interesting character - despite her sympathies to the injured soldiers of the Reich, she is honest enough to admit that she stills regards them as her enemies. Von Dodenburg is eventually well enough to rejoin Wotan on active duty and they part.
It is clear the failed attempt to invade Britain is a setback, but Hitler has other plans and the SS are soon training the new recruits and gearing up for another operation. To their surprise they are presented with thier first (according to my reading order at least) set of armoured vehicles. Mark IV tanks with monstrous 75-mm guns. They begin to train with them, but are unaware of the real purpose of the mechanised weapons; they are trained in climbing very steep muddy banks, and it is not till they witness the freaky spectacle of a Mark IV emerging from the water, after being completely submerged that they understand what they have been preparing for. An assault over a river, which will require them to travel below the surface before scaling the banks of the opposite side!
It is during a short episode here, that we encounter the Death's Head Corp of the books' title. Sinister men who are given the role of executioners. During this time we also get a bit of comedy relief, when Schulze sets up Metzger, who is suffering from a lack of libido following an incident in the previous story, to "get some treatment" from a particularly 'strict' woman. The book is littered with these funny moments involving Metzger, and its clear that this is going to be his role going forward. They provide a nice balance from the horrors of the battles.
Soon we are reintroduced to Simone, who rekindles her relationship with Von Dodenburg. He is only too happy to be able to seek some relief from the stress of war and command. But it's clear that he is being a bit naive, and that things won't end well for the Belgian nurse, especially with the Death's Head Corp so prevalent.
Part two of the book takes us to Poland and the start of operation Barbarossa, June 1941. This section contains some great action; tank on tank exchanges, tank versus foot soldiers, tank storming ravaged Polish and Russian towns etc. Very satisfying and bloody.
Death's Head allows us a bit more interaction with Commanding Officer Grieir, known as the The Vulture. He is an interesting character, and it felt good to see him get more scenes. Von Dodenburg and Schulze are the two key figures, but the supporting cast are still very well written and there are also other characters that get introduced, some for not very long at all, but the way Whiting provides just enough of them without going into detail is a skill some authors struggle with.
Eventually SS Wotan find themselves entrenched in the horror of the Eastern Front as winter takes hold. They are ill prepared to hold out for so long, and against a Russian opposing force used to the extreme cold, they really do not have much hope as we all know from our history lessons. Whiting describes the effects on the German troops sparingly, but with little touches that bring home the circumstances and effects of the time they had to endure due to the madness of Hitler, it is not surprising that the finale sees them facing the tough decision to withdraw or freeze to death.I enjoyed this book just as much as the first. However, in retrospect it felt lacking in a coherent plot strand running through it. Which might sound weird seeing as it is about historical events - but this is because the events in the book happen relatively quickly (the plot line involving Simone, for example), and therefore reads more like a sequence of battles to be fought, with nothing necessarily tying them together barring the fact it concerns the same group of characters. It leads me to thinking this book is only half a story. We shall see because I will certainly continue reading the series.
The eBook cost me £2.98. Good value for money. There were some minor spelling mistakes through the scanning process I guess. But nothing to spoil the reading experience.