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| UK Sphere 1976 edition |
First Published: 1976
Pages: 192pp
Publisher: Sphere
Not currently available in eBook format
I've read a number of Charles Whiting's books about SS Wotan that were published under the pen name of Leo Kessler. So this time when I had a hankering for another, I decided to try something different, and sample a novel that didn't concentrate on the German side of World War II for a change. I had a look at the number of books he had written in this vein and decided to look into one of the series currently unavailable in eBook format.
Despite the fact that a lot of Whiting's work (under his own name and those using pen names) have been published electronically, there are still a few series and individual novels that seem to be either being ignored, or just haven't got round to being converted yet. There is the Destroyer series, the Russian series (as Klaus Konrad) and the Special Boat Service series (as John Kerrigan) to name but a few. T-Force is another and consists of a four book series told from the perspective of the American military, and covers the exploits of a crack team of soldiers operating under the direct command of General George Patton during World War II and beyond. The original run of paperback books were published in a single year, 1976. I'm not sure if they saw publication in the U.S. at all, but from my own feeble attempts at internet researching - it doesn't seem to appear so. The fourth and final book in the sequence, The Last Mission is clearly labelled and described on the back cover as the final book in the quartet, so it looks like the deal with his publishers was for this limited run and nothing further ever planned.
Whiting may have based the concept of T-Force on General Patton's infamous "Task Force Baum", a secret Company commanded by Captain Abraham Baum in late 1945. Task Force Baum was given a mission to penertrate behind enemy lines and liberate the prisoners of war in camp OFLAG XIII-B, near Hammelburg, Germany. Secrecy surrounds the true nature of the operation but some believe it was designed to rescue Patton's son-in-law. It was a complete failure with most of Baum being either killed or taken prisoner themselves. All of the tanks, jeeps, and other vehicles were lost in the course of the assualt.
The Big Breakout fuses historical facts surrounding the American Army's push into the countryside of Normady, France following thier D-Day landings on the beaches, with the fictional concept of a Task Force under the control of Patton, that he uses to circumvent orders he'd rather not follow, or strategies he wants to impose that aren't necessarily accepted by senior staff.
T-Force consists of elite soldiers from Patton's Third Army, a hotch-potch collection of GIs from various parts of the United States, suitably lead by Major Harry Hardt, known as "Hairless Harry" due to a burn wound inflicted in an engagment that left him completely bald and with scarring across his skull. The name of the outfit was a suggestion put to Patton by Hardt; he was so fed up with the idea of the Force being denied to him with the phrase "Tough titties, Major" that he tells his commanding General that is what the "T" stands for.
In this book, Patton needs his men to sneak past the German line and make their way to a place called Pontaubault by way of Avranches. There, they will find a bridge that needs to be protected against the threat of demolition. The bridge at Pontaubault will provide a huge advantage to the American military as they will be able to move freely between Normandy and Brittany, and eventually push their way towards Paris. T-Force must move ahead of schedule, before General Bradley's First Army begin their own push south. This manouver goes against the orders Patton has received, he has been told not to move till 1 August, but he wants Major Hardt and the men of T-Force to disobey orders and secure the bridge before the Third Army Sherman tanks can possibly get to Pontaubault.
Of course, T-Force agree to the mission, one in which they would effectivly be out on a limb with no offical support. Hardt and his men, 'Duchie', van Fleet, 'Triggerman', 'Big Red' and (rather strangely) the English cockney 'Limey', along with the rest of the GIs in their band of brothers begin thier frantic race through the deadly french countryside.
On the oppoing side, we have SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Traugott Todt (what's with the "t's" in peoples' names in this book? Some sort of in-joke because its 'T'-Force?). Todt is a fanatical Nazi supporter, who is in Normandy at his own behest, trying to do what he believes is right and on a mission for the organisation he is atached to. He has lost his left hand, and now sports a black gloved tin hand to replace it. He has as his assistant the German NCO Jean, a Frenchman fighting for the Nazi cause, not necessarliy an unknown thing at the time. Together they are here to liaise with the local French sympathisers to try and bolster the fightback against the Allies.
I'm a fan of Whitings books. I like the SS Wotan series, and I was hoping for something along those lines but from a different angle. However, that's not what totally transpires in The Big Breakout. We are given a lot more insight into the German reactions and thier officers struggle with the knowledge that they might be fighting a lost cause. I initially felt a little dissapointed with this - the book is presented clearly as a book about the Allied experience, this includes the blurb on the back cover. But I have to admit that as the story developes it serves to enhance the action and the conflict.
The characters that he populates his books with tend to have very little in terms of growth or expansion, and this is evidenced again with some shallow sterotypes including those within the ranks of T-Force who are not really given much time to evolve. Surprisingly, this style applies to the American forces more than the Germans. Obersturmbannfuhrer Todt is served much better in my opinon than Major Hardt. By his own actions, his purpose and his experiences in the story I felt much more attuned to the German SS officer than I did to any of the GIs.
It's not all negative though. The final quarter of the book is quite frenetic, and contains a solid passage of action as the opposing armies converge on Avranches and then the bridge at Pontaubault. There are some great secenes involving gruesome exchanges between German Tiger tanks and American Shermans. The appearance of flame throwers, both man-held and tank-born, make for some thought provoking events in the action that make you wonder how young men faced such terrifying weapons.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It didn't pan out like I had hoped it would, but was saved by one good character and a suitably action-packed finale. I'd recommend this one to WWII aficionados and any Whiting fan who is looking for one of his lesser known pieces. Not sure why there are no eBooks of them at this time. On the positive side, the paperbacks seem to be relatively easy to find in the UK.
Publisher: Sphere
Not currently available in eBook format
I've read a number of Charles Whiting's books about SS Wotan that were published under the pen name of Leo Kessler. So this time when I had a hankering for another, I decided to try something different, and sample a novel that didn't concentrate on the German side of World War II for a change. I had a look at the number of books he had written in this vein and decided to look into one of the series currently unavailable in eBook format.
Despite the fact that a lot of Whiting's work (under his own name and those using pen names) have been published electronically, there are still a few series and individual novels that seem to be either being ignored, or just haven't got round to being converted yet. There is the Destroyer series, the Russian series (as Klaus Konrad) and the Special Boat Service series (as John Kerrigan) to name but a few. T-Force is another and consists of a four book series told from the perspective of the American military, and covers the exploits of a crack team of soldiers operating under the direct command of General George Patton during World War II and beyond. The original run of paperback books were published in a single year, 1976. I'm not sure if they saw publication in the U.S. at all, but from my own feeble attempts at internet researching - it doesn't seem to appear so. The fourth and final book in the sequence, The Last Mission is clearly labelled and described on the back cover as the final book in the quartet, so it looks like the deal with his publishers was for this limited run and nothing further ever planned.
Whiting may have based the concept of T-Force on General Patton's infamous "Task Force Baum", a secret Company commanded by Captain Abraham Baum in late 1945. Task Force Baum was given a mission to penertrate behind enemy lines and liberate the prisoners of war in camp OFLAG XIII-B, near Hammelburg, Germany. Secrecy surrounds the true nature of the operation but some believe it was designed to rescue Patton's son-in-law. It was a complete failure with most of Baum being either killed or taken prisoner themselves. All of the tanks, jeeps, and other vehicles were lost in the course of the assualt.
The Big Breakout fuses historical facts surrounding the American Army's push into the countryside of Normady, France following thier D-Day landings on the beaches, with the fictional concept of a Task Force under the control of Patton, that he uses to circumvent orders he'd rather not follow, or strategies he wants to impose that aren't necessarily accepted by senior staff.
T-Force consists of elite soldiers from Patton's Third Army, a hotch-potch collection of GIs from various parts of the United States, suitably lead by Major Harry Hardt, known as "Hairless Harry" due to a burn wound inflicted in an engagment that left him completely bald and with scarring across his skull. The name of the outfit was a suggestion put to Patton by Hardt; he was so fed up with the idea of the Force being denied to him with the phrase "Tough titties, Major" that he tells his commanding General that is what the "T" stands for.
In this book, Patton needs his men to sneak past the German line and make their way to a place called Pontaubault by way of Avranches. There, they will find a bridge that needs to be protected against the threat of demolition. The bridge at Pontaubault will provide a huge advantage to the American military as they will be able to move freely between Normandy and Brittany, and eventually push their way towards Paris. T-Force must move ahead of schedule, before General Bradley's First Army begin their own push south. This manouver goes against the orders Patton has received, he has been told not to move till 1 August, but he wants Major Hardt and the men of T-Force to disobey orders and secure the bridge before the Third Army Sherman tanks can possibly get to Pontaubault.
Of course, T-Force agree to the mission, one in which they would effectivly be out on a limb with no offical support. Hardt and his men, 'Duchie', van Fleet, 'Triggerman', 'Big Red' and (rather strangely) the English cockney 'Limey', along with the rest of the GIs in their band of brothers begin thier frantic race through the deadly french countryside.
On the oppoing side, we have SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Traugott Todt (what's with the "t's" in peoples' names in this book? Some sort of in-joke because its 'T'-Force?). Todt is a fanatical Nazi supporter, who is in Normandy at his own behest, trying to do what he believes is right and on a mission for the organisation he is atached to. He has lost his left hand, and now sports a black gloved tin hand to replace it. He has as his assistant the German NCO Jean, a Frenchman fighting for the Nazi cause, not necessarliy an unknown thing at the time. Together they are here to liaise with the local French sympathisers to try and bolster the fightback against the Allies.
I'm a fan of Whitings books. I like the SS Wotan series, and I was hoping for something along those lines but from a different angle. However, that's not what totally transpires in The Big Breakout. We are given a lot more insight into the German reactions and thier officers struggle with the knowledge that they might be fighting a lost cause. I initially felt a little dissapointed with this - the book is presented clearly as a book about the Allied experience, this includes the blurb on the back cover. But I have to admit that as the story developes it serves to enhance the action and the conflict.
The characters that he populates his books with tend to have very little in terms of growth or expansion, and this is evidenced again with some shallow sterotypes including those within the ranks of T-Force who are not really given much time to evolve. Surprisingly, this style applies to the American forces more than the Germans. Obersturmbannfuhrer Todt is served much better in my opinon than Major Hardt. By his own actions, his purpose and his experiences in the story I felt much more attuned to the German SS officer than I did to any of the GIs.
It's not all negative though. The final quarter of the book is quite frenetic, and contains a solid passage of action as the opposing armies converge on Avranches and then the bridge at Pontaubault. There are some great secenes involving gruesome exchanges between German Tiger tanks and American Shermans. The appearance of flame throwers, both man-held and tank-born, make for some thought provoking events in the action that make you wonder how young men faced such terrifying weapons.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It didn't pan out like I had hoped it would, but was saved by one good character and a suitably action-packed finale. I'd recommend this one to WWII aficionados and any Whiting fan who is looking for one of his lesser known pieces. Not sure why there are no eBooks of them at this time. On the positive side, the paperbacks seem to be relatively easy to find in the UK.
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