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Elford claims his only contribution to the book is in the capacity of an editor, changing the names of soldiers and military verbiage. Critics point to the fact that much of the military power possessed by the characters is anachronistic. The access to military records should also allow for the exact
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For more than three years, the battalion has run a highly successful and brutal guerrilla war against the insurgent Viet Minh across northern
Indochina, Laos and southern China. In one such case, "the battalion of the damned" escorts a supply column north through enemy-held territory by forcing Viet
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It is debatable as to whether the book is merely exaggerated fact or outright fiction. The book is presented by Elford as the words of
Wagemueller, who lived in Nepal at the time of the book's publication. In the preamble, Elford claims to have met the man and arranged for him to dictate the events
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In
Indochina, Wagemueller and his comrades were incorporated into mixed Legion units that included many French territorial troops. However, under the command of French Colonel Simon Houssong, Wagemueller is put in command of an all-German battalion (around 900 troops) composed of former Nazi troops
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According to the 1985 edition publisher's note, "This book is being published to provide the reading public with a clear insight into the mind and personality of an unregenerate Nazi, to show the dehumanization of men in war, and to illustrate the ironies and hypocrisies to which men are driven in
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It is documented that ex-SS soldiers both joined the French
Foreign Legion and fought in the French Indochina War until approximately 1947 when France began to crack down. But there is no evidence to support the book's claim that a battalion-sized unit composed solely of Germans ever existed.
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during the Second World War. The story begins with the capitulation of
Germany in 1945, while Wagemueller is fighting the Soviets and partisans near Czechoslovakia. Wagemueller escapes the Allied powers in post-war Europe by fighting his way west and using underground connections to reach
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imprint) in 1971. This was the only DG title released in this format. It was subsequently released as a mass market paperback, originally published by New
English Library in the UK in 1972 and reprinted several times thereafter. It was never offered by Dell in the US. All three
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as well as the tactics used by French commando Roger
Vanderberghe, commander of Commando 24 of the French GCMA special forces. For instance, Vanderberghe's use of Viet Minh '"pajama" uniforms' to walk right into Viet Minh camps to attack.
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about
British commandos fighting behind Japanese lines as a source of reference for the Nazi battalion. Many of the tactics used by Wagemueller's troops were taken directly from "
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Minh prisoners and family members to ride in the column's trucks, tanks and jeeps to ensure safe passage. In other situations, poison, torture and natural resources are used.
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in 1954 according to the narrator). Wagemueller ends up fighting for the United States later in the series, after spending time in Tibet (his officers in New
Caledonia).
303:. The book is presented by the author as non-fiction, but is considered untrue by military historians and is usually sold as fiction. In 2006, the online bookstore
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Critics also point to the serialization of the book (it spawned two sequels, despite the fact the original ended towards the end of the war, 700 days from
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defense of their actions. The publication of this book in no way indicates that the publisher agrees with or condones the points of view it expresses."
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tracing of units in which
Wagemueller and his comrades served, but the name of Wagemueller's unit in eastern Europe, the "21st special
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reported that it was among the ten novels most frequently sold to American soldiers in Iraq (the only war fiction in the top ten).
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Par Le Sang Versé - La Légion Étrangère En Indochine, Paul Bonnecarrere, Publisher: Fayard (1968), ASIN: B000JVBNI8
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is a book by George Robert Elford and was published in 1971. The book depicts the story of a former German
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Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
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books were reprinted by St. Petersburg, Florida's Hailer Publishing in the mid-2000s.
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The story is told in the words of "Hans Josef Wagemueller", a former officer in the
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who, like Wagemueller, fled to the Legion. Their mission is to disrupt the
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in their rear supply areas, far from cities and French-controlled zones.
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Book purporting to be about a former SS officer in the First Indochina War
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of his military life into a microphone over the course of 18 days.
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was first published as a hardbound book by Dell (under the
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eastern front and continues into the book's focus — the
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officer's string of near-constant combat that begins on
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