The Second World War is usually remembered as a political endeavor intended to promote a specific set of ideals. Personal experiences are often omitted from historical accounts, with many authors focusing on tactical maneuvers and legislative principles. Two books take a different approach when evaluating these events. The first is Company Commander by Charles MacDonald, which highlights the U.S. Army Captain’s experiences as a military leader. It is vital to note that the author avoids detailing the government’s schemes and tactics associated with the war. Instead, he focuses on pain, anguish, and fatigue experienced by a young commander who loses soldiers on the battlefield. The second is Frontsoldaten by Stephen Fritz, which details the experiences of German soldiers on the battlefield. The author uses personal documents from the men on the Russian front to create a richly textured narrative of the war, which illustrated the challenges of daily life. Even though Fritz and MacDonald focus on personal perceptions when evaluating the impact of war on soldiers, they employ different analytical strategies to highlight the ideological struggles the men face.
Company Commander emphasizes how the author questions his decisions while at war. MacDonald is woefully unprepared for the responsibilities and challenges associated with being a commander and points out that his training was “pitifully inadequate”1. Despite the challenges, he led his company to Luxemburg, where the soldiers were insufficiently equipped and sickened by the bad weather. On the contrary, Frontsoldaten notes how the German soldier tries to hold on to the illusion of decency as he recounts the terrible crimes he committed in support of National Socialism2. The author reveals the intricacies of the conflict through the viewpoint of the soldiers.
Fritz compares the German soldiers to their American counterparts, thereby revealing certain common aspects in their character. In contrast, disparities in ideological intensity, discipline, and group unity are highlighted. The author narrates how the soldier’s idealism led to a cruel war waged in the name of a racist leader focused on promoting a twisted version of the national community. Despite the fact that the soldier was proud of his spirit and talent, his stubborn demeanor resulted in needless destruction.
MacDonald starts his account at the European battlefront and expresses admiration for seasoned veterans under his command and wonders whether he will be a competent leader. It is worth noting that the book proffers a restricted point of view of an army commander. He aims to offer a personal and authentic perspective on the war. He intended to expose the audience to the daily challenges, fears, and horrors by exposing them to the soldiers’ blunt testimonies of the frontlines. This is similar to Fritz’s account that effectively expresses the soldiers’ individual experiences and their feelings of abandonment. It is important to mention that their physical and emotional discomforts are explicated in detail. The excruciating loneliness of the battlefield is explained in the book’s chapters. Many soldiers hope for death or a severe injury to escape the wretchedness. They dealt with their fears by consuming alcohol, engaging in sex, and focusing on religion. Despite their indulgence in these activities, their lives remained relatively miserable. They characterized the frontline as a place of endless “natural disasters”3 where hope was extinguished. The authors note that the war affected the soldiers immensely forcing them to adopt irresponsible behavior in an attempt to cope with stress.
MacDonald applies vividly descriptive prose in his narration of the men’s experiences in battle as the Allies fought to free the European countries from oppression by the German military. He recounts how the men were forced to march in the cold rainy weather without a change of clothes or a chance to bathe. In addition, the soldiers consumed cold rations because they feared giving away their position to the enemy, who would not hesitate to bombard their camp with heavy artillery. The author also chronicles the fear the company felt when facing the German Tiger tanks with little armored support4. Frontsoldaten provides details of training, the living conditions, and the battlefield. In addition, it evaluates the stress associated with war and the bonds formed through warfare. Personal accounts of battle give audiences new perspectives on the intricacies of conflict.
It should be stressed that MacDonald balances the tone by including a few cheerful moments. For instance, when a captured German soldier tells the company that Hitler’s forces in Leipzig were willing to surrender, the commander debates whether or not to carry a white flag, but later decided to leave it because it would send the wrong message5. On the contrary, Fritz’s tone is rather grim because the audience is constantly reminded that even though the soldiers are victims, they perpetuate vicious acts of cruelty. The servicemen express some delight in destruction. Some of the soldiers recount feeling exhilarated while on the battlefield. Many of them did not fear death and were generally gleeful about taking other people’s lives because they felt freed from restraint.
MacDonald was always conscious of how the war impacted his men. He notes that they always smiled and joked despite the harsh conditions. The author explains how the soldiers’ spirit and cheer motivated him to become a better leader because they accepted him and acknowledged his position. It is essential to specify that as the war continued, MacDonald demonstrated important leadership qualities. A soldier’s death is usually an overwhelming experience for his commanding officer. When a medic is killed in the front lines, the commander is calm and remarks that the event was overshadowed by the brutality of the war effort.
Fritz takes a different approach by helping the audience understand the ideological roots of the German soldiers’ determination to defend their socialist beliefs. He notes that the soldiers saw the war as an opportunity for redemption after the failures associated with the First World War6. The author explains the soldiers’ loyalty and expounds on the nature of men in battle. The author skillfully combines individual experiences with historical analysis to create an interesting and detailed evaluation of historical evidence. Fritz focuses on the soldier’s everyday experiences as well as their motivations and the techniques they employed to cope with the challenges of war. He highlights how the National Socialist state boosted the soldier’s morale.
In Company Commander, the commander’s men made their way through Germany and were in Czechoslovakia when the war came to an end. MacDonald points out that the people were happy to be free. The author realizes that their mission was to bring freedom to the oppressed and give them the opportunity to lead normal lives. In Frontsoldaten, the German soldier was motivated by the desire to create a classless society free of conflict. The author points out that many of the soldiers had their doubts confirmed while in Russia as they finally accepted the apparent truth in Nazi propaganda. They believed that their efforts on the battlefield would lead to the creation of a nation where burdens were shared by all.
Both the Company Commander and Frontsoldaten show readers an aspect of war that is often obscured by politics and ideological rhetoric. The authors propound the lives of the soldiers in ways hitherto unseen. Audiences get to understand how the loss of life and the brutality of conflict affect the soldiers’ psyche. The men on both sides contemplate their mortality as they fight in defense of their principles. MacDonald and Fritz explain the evolution of the Second World War from the soldiers’ perspective and underscore the challenges associated with battling in the trenches.
The Company Commander is a wartime memoir that furnishes readers with a rare look into a field-grade officer’s life during combat. The narrow point of view devoid of politics and tactical details is interesting to read because the author is not focused on the justification of actions or the fortification of his reputation. MacDonald presents an authentic narrative derived from his memories of the battlefield. The author pays tribute to the men that lived through the brutality and those that lost their lives in the front lines. On the other hand, Frontsoldaten is a demonstration of how Fritz evaluates daily occurrences by applying analytical strategies to facilitate the comprehension of historical and social realities. It focuses on individual perceptions and their impact on creating environments in which societies develop. The book demonstrates how ideologies promoted by the National Socialist state blended with personal experiences of warfare to develop an environment in which German soldiers defended a criminal state’s actions. The author highlights how the victims of war perpetrated cruel acts because they believed they were creating a classless society in which every individual shared burdens and responsibilities.
Bibliography
Fritz, Stephen G. Frontsoldaten: The German Soldier in World War II. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1997.
MacDonald, Charles B. Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II. New York: Burford Books, 1999.
Footnotes
- Charles B MacDonald, Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II (New York: Burford Books, 1999), 49.
- Stephen G Fritz, Frontsoldaten: The German Soldier in World War II (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1997), 71.
- Fritz, Frontsoldaten, 119.
- MacDonald, Company Commander, 45.
- MacDonald, 45.
- Fritz, Frontsoldaten, 117.