Few Returned: Twenty-Eight Days on the Russian Front, Winter 1942-1943

by Carlo D'este, Peter Edward Levy, Eugenio Corti

Release Date: May, 1997

Edition: Paperback

Price:

More Info

Truth surpasses fiction

They say that one writes best about that which one knows best and has experienced. This is true specially of accounts of war told by those in the front lines. This book is Corti's first person account of the retreat of the German and Italian forces from the Russian front during December 1942 - January 1943, under inhuman conditions and against all odds of survival. Corti's own diary written at the time of the events provides the material used and provides us with an accurate and honest account of the events described, the people involved, the emotions felt and the entire human experience of war. Better yet, Corti's perspective is from an Italian fighting someone else's war, and therefore has an objectivity lacking in many other accounts of similar events.

Yet, the value of this book is more its insight into the human soul in times of great distress. Corti is one of those rare human beings that underwent suffering beyond words and were able to talk about it accurately, as a lesson for those of us who want to hear. To read this book as a historical account only, would be to miss Corti's point. The lesson imparted is the inhumanity of war, and its effect on those directly and indirectly involved. It is also a song to the heroism of those unsung and forgotten Italians sent to fight someone else's war, ill-equipped and for reasons they did not share, but whose sacrifice was not in vain in the eyes of God.

Italians in the East

This book provides a very unique view of the Eastern Front. Not only is it a personal narrative of the great retreat from Stalingrad, but it was also written by an Italian. This means that it offers something very different from what most are used to reading--the German or Russian points of view. The Italian Army on the Eastern Front is not frequently written about in any detail and, therefore, this book would make a fine addition to any collection about the war in the east. Corti's personal narrative offers vivid description of the retreat few authors would be able to achieve. It's a good read.