Few Returned: Twenty-eight Days on the Russian Front, Winter 1942-1943
Published in 1947 and now available for the first time in English, this work is a stunning portrayal of the Eastern Front campaigns of World War II written by a common soldier. Corti, an artillery officer, was a member of the Thirty-fifth Army Corps, one of three corps of the Italian Army to serve with the invading Germans in the Soviet Union. He chronicles the destruction of his corps, beginning with the Soviet offensive of December 16, 1942, and the survivors' breakout of the encirclement on January 16, 1943. The monthlong march carried out in subzero weather by troops with little or no equipment or food is terrifying and heroic. This book is on the same level as Guy Sayer's The Forgotten Soldier (Brassey's, 1990, pap.) for its honest depiction of brutality and heroic resistance to defeat. Highly recommended.?David Lee Poremba, DetroitCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.