Halbe, 1945

Eyewitness Accounts from Hell's Cauldron

By: Eberhard Baumgart, Roger Moorhouse - introduction, Eva Burke - translator

Narrated by: Bruce Mann

In April 1945, German troops withdrawing from the Seelow Heights were encircled by the Soviet Army near the small town of Halbe, south-east of Berlin. Rather than surrender, their orders were to attempt to break out, westward, and join up with the German twelfth Army. A brutal battle ensued, with an estimated 30,000 German and 20,000 Russian soldiers killed, along with thousands of civilians.

This collection of first-hand accounts tells the story of the battle and its aftermath from the German perspective. It is an eclectic mix, containing the recollections of ordinary soldiers, SS-men and men of the Panzer Divisions, as well as civilians caught up in the battle as they attempted to flee ahead of the advancing armies. It brings to life the grim realities of this one-sided engagement, revealing the brutal vengeance of the Soviets and the desperation to escape the slaughter.

Translated into English for the first time, this is an important insight into this devastating and little-known aspect of World War II history.

©2022 Greenhill Books (P)2022 Tantor

THE FOUR HORSEMAN PALE HORSE IS DEATH WITH A VENGEANCE / HALBERSTAM

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC MINDS EYE WAFFEN SS COMBAT NO QUARTER. L. A.H. FEARLESS H.J, CHARLAMINE THE IMORTALS!! FEARLESS WAFFEN SS GOTADAMARON VALHALLA KNIGHTS CROSS CROSS SWORDS OAK LEAF CLUSTER TRADITION! 3rd generation holder

Another book ruined by awful narration

This book *should* be amazing, but instead we have yet another WWII memoir *ruined* by Bruce Mann and his totally bizarre narration. He continues to put pauses where they make no sense, place emphasis where it makes no sense and, quite simply, completely distract the listener to the detriment of the story. We have obscure pronunciation, such as "de...VICES" and "extra...ordinary". One of the most jarring is how he pronounces the German Tiger tank as "teeger" -- in 20+ years of Audible membership I have never before encountered someone so unaware of their material.

If we can, somehow, put this awful narration aside... the story itself is simply incredible. It tells very personal (and often tragic) stories of how they tried to break out of Halbe and reach the western allies at the River Elbe. You really get a detailed view of the traumatic events they lived through.

Towards the end of the book, you also get some insights from the viewpoint of the civilians and how they were left to pick up the pieces of their homes and lives, which is a point of view that we rarely get to see.

So, excellent story, but all Bruce Mann books should be re-narrated by someone else, to give them justice.
I have recently listened to books narrated by Derek Perkins (x2), Nigel Patterson, Matthew Waterson -- they were all excellent and could easily rescue these spoiled and irreplaceable memoirs.

As Steve M says in his review, Bruce Mann should not be allowed to narrate more books (certainly not military histories).

Amazing stories BUT…….

This narrator is so,so bad. So hard to pay attention with this guy’s weird, weird dramatics and tempo.

I keep listening over and over... and over

Excellent Narration

calling it "intense" doesnt even do it justice.

excellent book on a seriously underrated event

Nice

Dramatic feels like you’re there and what a terrible time. It feels like you’re watching a movie because of the many people’s soldiers point of view.