Review: Devil's Guard - George Robert Elford

This was not the front cover of the book I've read, the book I've read were far older, either way the content is the important...

Well... now this is a book about war...

This is a rare book, which is not edited anymore... my friend bought it for 60£ and as I've seen in some places, like amazon or ebay it was a commom price for this book... There are two more which I saw they were even rarer...

This book reminded me of the books written by Sven HaSSel, the swedish soldier who fought for the germans in WWII. Vivid images and you feel like you are right there fighting and suffering along side them.As well as Sven Hassel books this book has disputed autentic... Nobody knows for certain if they existed but I say you this.. I read a lot about wars, fantasy, real and history and I must say that this two books have some particular not found in the others ones... The reality is so brutal that for me both are true. Sven Hassel books is another story.. He was in war but I think he used not only his stories but others soldiers stories.

First of all...I do not hide that I am fascinated by the german machine of war. They were the true aryan in the art of war. Nobody could defeated them. Nazism is other story... I do not defend nazism but I have some similaries beliefs which I could be accounted with them.. I believe in my people and in my fatherland. I don't like foreigners nor do I like mixture between races. But, I wouldn't kill a person because he is different. I don't think me of a superior being but I believe that there are differences between all races....they have different creeds and religions, diferent states of goverment, different history.. and others things... for all this I am against mixture of races and the "global community". Again I must say I don't believe myself superior to other human. If this feelings are what you call them nazis, then I am one of them. But I ask you this... didn't you ever have a thought or act of racism? No? I doubt it...Another question... would you die for your country? would you kill for it? No? That I can believe... but I ask you something else, would you die for your family and love ones? Don't even start the answer with an N...

There were several things that went wrong with the second world war... First - I don't agree with the persecution of the jews, but I don't believe the numbers the allies and the communist gave us of the killing of them.. first in 1946/47 they said that were around 7 milions, now in the worst scenario, you can read on any website (history website, not pro-nazi nor against-nazi) and in our history books that they were around 3 milions... what happened with the 4 milions?
Don't forget, who build the armament of the war machine? It was the prisioners and the jews.. they wouldn't kill them all.. but okay, I am not defending the nazis, I am just saying that the victor write history, even propaganda history...Second - I didn't like Hitler, but one thing you(well any person who is not stupid and closed minded) that he when came to power, he arose the country to a top country of the world.. He built the country from the ashes of the WWI and built a war machine more powerful than any country of the world. German was bankrupted never forget that... ahh, and in those times, in the earlies 30's there weren't prisioned jews, so don't blame with them.. they evolved so rapidly that the world became scared again... who were the first one to have highways? who were the first one to have a event broadcast all over the world and even beyond (olympics)? who were the first to have jet planes (Even if they were stupidly not to used them) .. they were undoubtly the most technological advanced country of the world... for that I must take my hat for hitler... and then I would smite him with my hat and anything else.. He was Stupid beyond belief.. He picked the jews, the world powerful jews.. Enfin... What I am nazi for saying this? Well do you like what the isrealits are doing? so shut up please and continue reading...

Now, why I hate Hitler and NSDAP... they were fanatical beyond belief... first off, hitler tried to grabed the land which was stolen since the first world war... that i don't condemn, it was their land, poland had capture some parts who belong to germany (or prussia).. then they went west to france for revenge and puff... 3 months... if only they had stop there.. Now it enters the part were I hate the nazis... until the invasion of france, holand and belgium the generals were in command... afterwards Hitler wanted to be in command.. I don't know if he became maniac, or if it was influentia of other party menbers like himmler or goring... but afterwards the undeafeated war machine became crumbling..first the stupid invasion of england and then the worst thing of all.. the alliance with Japan.. If they had not allied nor tried to invade england, and concentrated the war efforts against russia they probably would succeced.. but alas it didn't.
So they fell... Well, history over... now back to the book...

George Elford (the writer) meets the ex-French Foreign Legionnaire Wagemueller (the mian character) when both are having a friendly conversation about hunting rifles at a range. Wagemueller says he was a kopfjaeger and he agrees to give a series of interviews to George Elford. The total time of these tapes covers nearly 18 days. Indeed, there is so much information that this information is covered in the books of Devils Guard II and III. (which I haven't read it)

This fantastic story of conflict was written by George Robert Elford and was based on the first-hand interviews with "Hans Josef Wagemueller", a former Waffen SS "kopfjaeger" (head hunter) who miraculously survived the horrors of the Eastern front in World War II.
Hans led a large group of German Waffen SS troops through Russian lines trying to reach Western Europe after he learned of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. The march through Russian lines to Germany started with over one battalion of soldiers. Most didn't make it, only about one out of six, and those that did escape from the Soviets joined the French Foreign Legion along with Hans.
The Germans were helped in a small "Odessa" like organization, an underground German organization that did try to help German War Veterans. However, this organization was quickly crushed by the Allies by 1947 at the latest. Most of the Waffen SS who joined the French Foreign Legion were a step ahead of the Allied hangman.
Note: Wagemueller's journey through Russia to Germany is the stuff of legends. A prequel novel of this adventure should have been written. Hans treats the journey as not much more than an arduous side note to the greater tale of Vietnam. Hans is brutally honest in his opinions about the Allies in WWII.
He thought the Soviets were sub-human, Communism was a blot on humanity, and the Americans were nearly as bad as the Soviets in the debasement of Germany and its citizens.

These facts are not found in your typical Russian, American, or German history books. The plain truth in Germany after WWII was it was the first war in which the common soldier was held responsible for collective crimes as individuals. So, the American Army held the whole Waffen SS as guilty of war crimes in the prisoner massacrers during the Battle of the Bulge. The French Foreign Legion was fighting a bloody war in Indochina. The Foreign Legion has a policy of ignoring the past of any enlistee (it's done to this day). So, Hans joined the Foreign Legion and spent the next five years fighting against the fiercely determined Viet Min guerrillas. At first the French have old war hatred against the ex-German solders (soldats). However, after a French Foreign Legion battalion is destroyed to the last man by the Communists the commanding officer of the German Legionnaires, Colonel Hassong, gives the German Waffen SS a free hand in offensive operations. The Germans, when out of the French Garrison fort, actually adopt their old rank structure again and address each other in German. The French Waffen SS adopt their old anti-terrorist Soviet tactics against the Viet Min. Colonel Hassong drily comments that the reason why the German Waffen SS were so hated by the Allies was not because of war crimes but because they are so darn good at their jobs. When the French would put the Waffen SS into a sector the insurgent activities would quickly die off, either the Communists would flee or be killed. Indeed, the French Waffen SS does some amazingly good attacks on very little effort.

The Germans "think outside of the box" when fighting the Communists. Few other units would be their equal. This book will quickly explain why the USA lost the war in Vietnam and could lose the war on Islamic Terrorists. Bluntly, war is war and there are few real innocents in any area. Strumfuerher Wagemueller and his Waffen SS soldats knew the score; terrorists must be hunted down and exterminated. Presently, Western Civilization, with its many P.C. encumbrances, may not be up to the task of eliminating the true threat that all of terrorism is making toward civilization. Conversely, Wagemuller tolerated no rape nor individual war crimes in his command. (which was a pratice in the German War Machine... Rommel was one of the old general breed which didn't tolerate raping or other crimes. It is docuument as several german soldiers die after raping or so...)Several soldiers who admitted to a rape and were nearly summarily executed.

Wagemueller's ways of waging war are hinted at in the director's cut version of the movie "Apocalypse Now". Marlon Brando's character, playing the mad Colonel Kurtz, says that he could win the war in Vietnam if he had "250,000 of the right kind of soldiers". Kurt's character was actually referring to the dedicated, tough, and determined Germans who crushed the Communists in the early 1950s. Wagemueller had mostly contempt for America's way of waging war. The American soldiers were ill trained. The officers were poor leaders who often were just "ninety-day-wonders" with little more training than the common troops. I consider this book a clear introduction to the mental psychology needed to wage an anti-terrorist war.
First, you must have well trained soldiers to wage a successful anti-terrorist war. Activated Guard units with a limited tour of duty soldiers are not the equal of well trained and well led anti-terrorist fighters like Wagemueller's Waffen SS Legion. Second, you must have a "hearts and mind" program. Wagemueller and his people actually debated a Communist Commissar.
The people of the villages will listen to a reasoned debate. Third, the sources of terrorist activity must be destroyed. Hans and his Waffen SS battalion were fantastic at finding terrorist bases, destroying them and exterminating the terrorists. More than one raid was made into Communist China and destroyed millions of dollars worth of supplies. Last, the anti-terrorist military army must be backed up by a willing government and press. Unfortunately, the French government and French press both undermined the Waffen SS war on the French war on terror.
In less than five weeks in 1953 the press cut off support for the successful anti-terror operations. In less than three years the French lost Indo-China. Wagemueller and his Waffen SS soldiers all resigned from the French Foreign Legion. Most returned back to Germany. Many, like Wagemueller, took Asian wives and lived in their new adopted homeland. The Fatherland was destroyed in 1945 and they had no wish to return to something wrecked and violated.

This is a book about warriors.

Now I will put some references at how to fight terrorism...

The unawareness of existence of communism, but patriotic fighting, the white man bring misery, rape and diseases. (this was how many commissars told the backwards people of vietnam who were the white people... this reminds me of how the native american saw the europeans..)

They did a contest between a commissar (chinese) and a german. The war of mind...
The interview of the german to newspappers. The pressure of information.. sometimes it's not good to have so much information... We see it each day... (in a couple of weeks ago, the pope was debating something in a university and quote some medieval literature, the media to sell newspapers and audiance, told and show only that part.. that provoked some stupid resistance from the arabs and even kill some people on the progress, who were the evil doers? the arabs or the journalists?)

Some tactics of the German to Viet Min -
- Arsenic in water and rat poison
- They put women and children from a village which they knew they were colaborators for the terrorists in their trunks and start yelling the name of their husbands and sons, telling them their sons and womens were in the cars.. so they would kill them also.
- When leaving a place like headquarters or a garrison to strike the terrorists, they left in the wrong direction and then went into the jungle and move into the right direction.
- Other was to make a fake camp in a place then sleep around the it.
- The communist song to elude the viet mi and catch them anaware...
- The constant regards against the french generals, which don't win a war since napoleon-
- Leaving behind some snipers when the main army passed a field or a town... if the peasents try to contact the guerrila they would be shot

Viet Min to French
-They cut their right and then their left arms, then broke their legs, and then shot them in the head.
- They went into a garrison, and kill them all, and strip them off. Afterwards they would put bombs in everything, in the corps, and things laying around. One effective was to put excrements in a well to poison them.
- The old people fighting and the use of childs to catch anaware the french soldiers
- The kill of innocent, even people with a red cross in plain view.
- And the worst of all, the use of propaganda... When a village was killed by a plague or if the communist kill it, they would put them in some horrific way, then take shots with a camera and blame the germans nazis.. the publish in all newspappers and sent to the "free World"

One thing he said that I enjoyed a lot..... Hans had a theory... if they wanted to fight communists the free world would have to build Iron Walls around all the countries of communist and then stop broadcasting, signalling, and talking with them.. they should block everything. When the journlist asked what about the french and everywhere communists? Well if they liked it so much they should be sent to communists countries... they in their countries had everything, a job, free speech and everything all, (everything the communists don't go well with)... the communists in the free world are stupid, because they didn't live in a communist world, so they are living a illusion..

Well.... this was a great book, everything was great, I would give it 100%.
I suggest this book to everyone, special the united states generals and military.
This book must be put in practise if the world want to fight terrorists... (as the american should have done in the vietnam war and in the afegnistan and Iraq... oh well...

Book Review: The 47 Ronin Story - John Allyn

I found this story, which is little known outside of Japan to be a most impressive example of the ideals of the elite warrior class of Japan known as Samurai. In Japanese, it is entitled "Chushingura" which translates as "Vengeance" The Forty-Seven Ronin Story probably ranks as one of my favorite books about history ( and I have read many). Unlike other historical situations where men were faced with death, these men had a choice between life and death and they chose death with honor. The warriors were driven by allegiance to their code of chivalry known as "Bushido" which emphasizes a fanatical loyalty to their lord, tempered by the serenity and wisdom of Confucianism and Buddhism.

The book provides fascinating insight into the feudal system known as "bakufu" under the Tokugawa shogunate and the influences of Confucianism and Buddhism on Japanese society. While it may be fictionalized or embellished in places, the book is based on a true incident which occurred in 1701.

(A brief synopse)

Revenge and Redemption In a world where change was taking place so rapidly, the 47 ronin of Ako forced themselves to continue the tradition of honor and social control that feudal Japan had once been ruled by. Japan was a place that was in a constant state of flux and change in the beginning of the 18th century. While the Shogun, Tsunayoshi, attempted to further his central control in the country social changes began to take place. The makeup of the social classes was being redefined. A system that was once enforced by the samurai was now increasingly being centralized. Asano and his force of samurai were the exception to this rule of change. For them the most important aspect of their history was duty, honor, and sacrifice. The 47 Ronin Story is a book about honor, revenge and redemption. From the beginning of the story, the concept of honor and redemption is apparent. Lord Asano of Ako is portrayed as an honorable man who is trying to live the laws set forth by the Shogun Tsunayoshi. In obedience to his leader, Asano is readying himself for the ceremonies to take place in the palace of the Shogun. At the same time, an element of tradition and redemption of traditional ways takes place in his preparation. In order for Asano to understand the etiquette for the occasion, he must learn from the Shogun's master of ceremonies, Kira. Kira requires a bribe for his services and Asano refuses to pay the bribe because of his traditional values. In Asano's attempt to protect and redeem himself from the bribery and corruption, he ends up committing a grievous act wherein he injures Kira and seals his fate. Although Asano was allowed to commit seppuku it was, in a way, a disgrace to the honor and tradition of traditional Japanese values. Immediately after the death of the Lord of Ako, the samurai serving Asano, now ronin or masterless samurai, become fixed on revenge, after they learned that Kira had survived his wounds they determined to avenge Asano and redemption of their good names, and the name of their master, Lord Asano, following the Confucian edict that :

No man may live under the same sky with the murderer of his lord.

No longer with a master, and their lands taken over, the ronin of Ako disperse with the knowledge that some day they will hopefully return and avenge the death of their lord, and regain their titles as samurai. With Kira alive the ronin felt they could not redeem themselves without the death of their lord's effectual killer. In the first days after their master's death, almost all of the ronin vowed to someday get revenge. As time passed, however, only the most dedicated ronin were seen to be the ones to take an interest in regaining what was previously theirs. In the attempt to organize their forces, the ronin of Ako would eventually have to do exactly the opposite of what they were planning to do in order to attain revenge, and redeem themselves. The ronin had to totally degrade themselves. The ronin had to let others around them know that they were truly masterless samurai who had lost all of their will to become honorable men through revenge on Kira. One man opened up an archery school, teaching the arts of the samurai to the common people. This was a despicable and dishonorable action to take. Even Oishi, the retainer of the Ako forces had to convince the people around him that he was no longer desirous to seek revenge, and redeem his good name. In his attempt to soil his reputation he divorced his wife, began drinking heavily, spent his time in geisha houses, attended the Kabuki theater, and even started a fight in the theater allowing himself to lose showing his apparent bad sowrdsmanship. While trying to soil his reputation further by living with a mistress from one of the geisha houses, and drinking heavily, some of the ronin under his command began to question his ability in leadership. Fortunately the charade put on by the ronin of Ako was seen by outsiders as a loss in honor and reputation. Spies that once watched the ronin retreated, and the ronin were finally able to plan their final attack on their hated enemy. In the final attack, the men of Ako were a small but committed group of 47 ronin, poised and ready for a surprise attack. Like a tiger stalking its prey, the men were able to attack the residence of the now retired Kira ending the conflict. By this action not only did the men of Ako get revenge on the person who in effect killed their master, but they were able to redeem their names, and the name of the master Lord Asano. Although all 47 ronin were sentenced to death, they were allowed to die in the honorable ceremony of seppuku, or ritual disembowelment. As the men acted together in their common cause they became united in their struggle that eventually lead to their deaths. In their deaths they found peace and comfort in exacting revenge, and redemption and honor in their actions.

The loyal retainers were buried with their lord at a temple called Sengaku-ji which is located just outside of the city of Tokyo. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Japanese culture, history or sense of honor. It is one of the most impressive examples of men who refuse to compromise their honor or integrity at any cost.

9.5/10

Book Review: Fell Cargo by Dan Abnett

Fell Cargo is a new Warhammer Fantasy novel that features a lively cast of jaunty pirates, demons, vampires, and zombies, and that's just the beginning in this rousing new fantasy adventure by Dan Abnett. Abnett is perhaps best know for his Warhammer 40,000 novels and his tales of Gaunt's Ghosts but shows he is equally adept at swashbuckling adventure. Captain Luka Silvaro, thought dead by his former crew, returns to challenge his would-be usurper who just happens to be his brother. After defeating his sibling he reclaims his ship "The Rumor" and his rightful place as leader of his band of cutthroats known as The Reivers. Soon the crew is out to sea but not to plunder and pillage this time. Luka and his crew are given a letter of marque from the Prince of Luccini and offered amnesty for the past crimes as well as a thousand gold crowns. All they have to do is find the marauding demon ship known as the Butcher ship and sink her. The Butcher Ship has been attacking ships throughout the seas and taking no prisoners.

Joining the crew is Sesto, a special envoy from Luccini who is working for the Prince to verify that Silvaro's crew follows through with their end of the bargain. The ship is filled with as lusty a band of pirates as one could ever hope to meet and include Tall Willm, Roque, and the creepy Sheerglas, the ship's master gunner. The crew discovers the ship of another notorious pirate Reyno Bloodlock, lying in a harbor seemingly deserted. A small party goes to investigate and discovers what's left of Reyno's crew. As the small band attempts to return to their ship they find themselves pursued and battling a horrific demon as several of the crew are killed. Only the intervention of Tende, a member of the crew familiar with the dark arts, manages to save them. Tende manages to destroy the demon but not before finding out that the demon was none other than Reyno himself, horribly twisted into this foul form but able to at least tell Silvaro who the captain of the Butcher ship is.

Before Silvaro can continue his quest to find the demon ship his crew are running low on supplies and visit the tiny port town of Porto Real to stock up. The Governor of the Island greets them warmly and invites the entire crew to his mansion for a feast. There the Governor relates how the small town is dying because there is no trade coming in thanks to the Butcher Ship. The crew is having a marvelous time until they discover the sinister secret of the island. Will Silvaro and his crew survive to even have a chance to sink the Butcher Ship? Fell Cargo is a marvelous fantasy, combining the fun and adventurism of old Hollywood swashbucklers and colorful, salty pirates, in a fantasy setting very different than what you see in most books. Moving from one adventure to another, Abnett paces the story quickly, allowing the reader to come up for a brief breath of air before plunging into the next thrilling exploit. The book is very character driven with animated dialog and the ever growing shadow of the menace of the Butcher Ship.

Two things i want to add... everyone says.. how this is Jake Sparrow alike.. oh please, give me a break (what a cliché) .. they both are pirates and white, everything else is different.. their attitudes and visions...

The second ... The end was kind of strange... he just throw the amulet overboard and that's it... problem solve... allrighty...

Well there is another thing is the sailors when in the cities didn't went were we would expect.. like brothels and such places eheh... well I don't read books of erotic of sexual content but it would give some kind of .. hmm i think the world is reality or proximity to reality.. i don't know..

I've read a lot of books from warhammer, around 15, and i've almost got them all.. (I think around 120 books) and i've never seen a sex scene.. but gore that is another question..

My question is... thus warhammer books have some... i don't know how you say but there some books or movies that are only allowed beyond some age.. like pg-13 book, or 18 or something like that..

Well for all the gore and actions I would say18.. but i don't know... anyone knows?

Another thing... this is not forgotten realms or dragonlance.. It's more

7/10