Winner American Fiction Best Book Awards and Readers’ Favorite Book AwardsSOLDIERS OF FREEDOM is the true story of the 1944-1945 War in Western Europe and the final Allied struggle to conquer Nazi Germany. The story is told through the eyes of William McBurney, a tank gunner in the 761st Tank Battalion, the first African-American tank unit in U.S. history; dynamic General George S. Patton, Jr., … U.S. history; dynamic General George S. Patton, Jr., commander of the U.S. Third Army; and Angela Lange, a sixteen-year-old German resistance fighter with the anti-Nazi Edelweiss Pirates in Cologne. While Patton’s forces liberate France and Belgium, fight in the grueling Battle of the Bulge, and cross the Rhine to conquer Germany, U.S. tanker William McBurney and his Black Panthers must fight two wars at once: one against the German army, the other against the racism of their fellow white soldiers. Meanwhile, as the Allies drive into Germany, Edelweiss Pirate Angela Lange must survive the Allied bombing of Cologne while she engages in fierce resistance against the Hitler Youth and Nazis and is hunted down by the Gestapo.
Fans of Beneath A Scarlet Sky, Adam Makos’s Spearhead and A Higher Call, and the WWII novels of Ken Follett (Winter of the World, Jackdaws, Eye of the Needle) will enjoy the real-life heroism of the 761st Black Panthers and legendary Patton to liberate Europe, and the Edelweiss Pirates to combat Nazism, in this historically accurate tale of the final epic struggle in WWII Western Europe.
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In Soldiers of Freedom: The true story WWII Story of Patton’s Panthers and the Edelweiss Pirates, Samuel Marquis mixes his ability to capture authentic dialogue with his massive amounts of research to give societal issues and the human condition during the time not only by the obvious racial aspect but by nation and society ruled by a dictator and his self-important official and citizen followers.
Marquis gives the experiences of the soldier as a person with thoughts and feelings beyond being in a war simply to be following orders and killing the enemy, but the rest of his life the experiences of war touches. This carries over to the military command level as well as citizens in the home nation of the Nazi regime.
With a book set in WWII Europe and involving the 761st Tank Battalion, there must be sensory loaded descriptions of battles; the roar of guns, the smoke, the smells, the confinement, but more than that, I am given the emotional mindset of a tank gunner, and his comrades-in-arms as they fight against the Nazi regime. Marquis does not stop there, he gives a taste of what it’s like to be a black man in the 1940s and how that translates to being a soldier at war, while at the same time outranking white soldiers who show disdain for them.
I then read about the physical and emotional state of a teenage German girl, who is resistance fighter with the Gestapo dogging her every step, a situation more treacherous than any man would face. She shows me not every German is a Nazi, a Nazi supporter, or innocent of having blood on their hands.
The dialogue and action of the military and resistance fighters draw you in and give you a sense of being a part of a war environment, not just the battlefield of soldiers, but the battlefield of citizens fighting their own government.
Soldiers of Freedom is told through the voices of three people; SARGENT WILLIAM H. BURNEY, a black man from Harlem on Manhattan Island, New York who is a part of the 761st, GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON Jr, commander of the US THIRD ARMY, and 16/17-year-old ANGELA LANGE, daughter of a German Colonel, and member of the EDELWEISS PIRATES.
“But it struck him as ironic that he and his fellow Negro tankers were about to cross the same ocean their African ancestors had crossed in chains; and that, in taking part in the struggle against Nazism, they were about to fight a war in the name of freedoms neither the men of the 761st nor their forbearers had ever enjoyed.”—Sergeant William H. McBurney, Tank Main Gunner, U.S 761st “Black Panthers”
I enjoy the sharing of the experience the tankers both in battle and in the everyday life of a soldier. The difficulty the drivers and gunners have using these machines is incredible. How although the tanks can be lions, they can also quickly turn into lambs. I haven’t come across another book, of any kind, describing with such honesty what a soldier goes through in the confines of a war machine, regardless of the genre. Then there is what McBurney reveals about German towns and the citizens they come upon.
“Lord help us,” [Patton] said, pulling out a fresh cigar. “And Lord help me when this war is over.”
“Why’s that, sir? I would think you would celebrate.”
“No, Codman. With nothing to do, I’m going to be a … and an absolute nuisance to my wife.” – Major Charles Codman and General George S. Patton Jr, Freedom Soldiers
That sampling of dialogue is just a little taste to help you get in the spirit of General George S. Patton Jr.
Patton is as flamboyant and audacious as I thought. Using diaries and letters, Marquis gives me the colorful language and stories Patton liked to tell, but more importantly, his feelings about soldiers under his command, as well as the Generals and commanders he must work with. I laughed reading old Blood and Guts Patton’s exchanges with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, as well as other generals, and his thoughts on the British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. And the honest opinions of Eisenhower, at least through research, are eye-opening. What is revealed about the politics, perceptions, and egos of war and how they play out on the battlefield is not necessarily surprising, but are brutal when laid in front of you and you can’t help but see it and think about the outcomes.
The resulting command structure and atmosphere of the European Theater following Patton’s removal for slapping two shell-shocked soldiers in Sicily are painful to watch with Patton demoted then later given command of the US Third Army. How the war would have been different if not for his believing the soldiers were just trying to avoid fighting. No one had heard of PTSD in the 1940s. The press had a field day, but Patton had a powerful fan and ally waiting in the wings to help get him back in the war.
“For the ugly truth was that every German was ultimately guilty for allowing Hitler and the Nazis to rise to power and hiding their head in the sand and turning their backs when the regime began singling out Communists, Jews, clergymen, and other racial, political, and social enemies of the Reich.” – Angela Lange, Soldiers of Freedom
Angela Lange is loosely based on real-life Edelweiss Pirate Gertrud Koch, but with elements drawn from events experienced by her comrades. I learn through Angela’s authentic filled voice and view, just how naïve and young these Edelweiss Pirates are in the beginning, but also how fast they grow up. Their main target is the Hitler Youth that patrols the town and enacts harsh punishment on those they deem conducting criminal or disloyal acts. The demented Criminal Commissioner Ferdinand Kütter of the Cologne Gestapo along with his interrogators enjoy nothing more than torturing Germans and enemies alike until they get confessions of real or fake crimes, information, or death. I witness the innocence, naivete, love, pain, tragedy, hope, despair, spirit, and determination throughout this young woman’s story and all while battling with the Gestapo.
As important as Patton’s story is, the 761st story is bigger, and as big as their story is Angela’s story is the one that delivers a reality punch. We don’t think much about resistance within Germany unless we think of the Jews who hid from death and helped others escape it. Here we see German citizens fighting against the Nazis, not to help the Allies, but to take back the Germany they once knew.
WHAT I LIKED:
• facts about unheard of people
• a sensory experience from each view of the war
• the action of the tank soldiers
• how the 761st put aside bigotry for country
• revealing details of the German citizens’ attitudes and the towns the 761st encounter
• Patton’s loyalty and love for his men
• the camaraderie among the US Generals in Europe
• learning of and about the Edelweiss Pirates
• continuing to learn about the types of Nazis through Marquis’ books (They aren’t cookie-cutter and all fall-in-line Nazis.)
• the afterword information and further details of what happened next for these people
WHAT I LIKED LESS:
• The book isn’t quite as smooth as I am accustomed to with Sam’s books, (I’ve read all the WWII series books, amazing series.) I put this down to the massive amount of action that takes place during this important period covered. Transitions within the three views sometimes take a moment to become clear as to who is speaking. I know the setting because that is clear at the beginning of each chapter. I just at times don’t know the individual speaking or spoken to. That could be me.
• There are one or two, what I will rudely call minor, battles that I could do without the description of the battle, just given the information that the 761st wins and why it is important. This happens with several battles after the war turns heavily into the Allies’ favor. I always want the wins, losses, and strategic information. There are simply a few scenes where I feel like I’m reading the same scene from earlier, with minimal differences. Tanks do what tanks do, and similar battles occur, but at times there is a battle, though important, as every battle in WWII is, that can be told with just the telling of its victory and its strategic importance. Sam gives a few hugely important battles brief mentions, but we see their importance. In these cases, if Marquis went into detail, we would have more books to read.
COMPARABLE TO:
Others have compared Samuel Marquis’ writing style to New York Times #1 Bestselling author, Ken Follett who has seen some of his books turned into movies and TV series. Also, another name mentioned is Adam Makos, another New York Times Best Sellers list author.
As for me, there is an author who wrote many historical fiction novels, the late British author John Gardner, an ex-Royal Marine commando, and Anglican Priest before losing his faith. I’ve read over 20 of his books, perhaps that is one reason I enjoy Sam’s books so much. Gardner’s historical fiction work includes the five-book Herbie Kruger Series of action encompassing WWII, the Cold War as well as subsequent events inspired by the two, and there is also the three-book Railton Family Series, which has ties to the Kruger books. If you are a James Bond fan, he wrote 15 novels, beginning in 1981 with License Renewed and ending in 1996 with Cold/Cold Fall. All of us know him for the 007 book GoldenEye, in who’s film adaptation Pierce Brosnan made his Bond debut. I’ve read most of them.
As one review states:
“Marquis is a student of history, always creative, [and] never boring…A good comparison might be Tom Clancy.”—Military.com
I thoroughly enjoyed this thrilling, eye-opening, and factually-based tale that brings to life the final Allied struggle to conquer Nazi Germany. General George S. Patton marches across the pages in his determined quest to liberate France and Belgium and defeat the Nazis, while sixteen-year-old German resistance fighter Angela Lange secretly works to undermine the Nazi’s cause and U.S. tanker William McBurney and his fellow Black Panthers battle not only the German enemy but blatant racism as well. An interesting, informative, and engaging read and one of the top WWII books of 2020. Patton, the 761st Tank Battalion, and the German Edelweiss Pirates youth resistance fighters truly were heroic soldiers of freedom.
An incredibly well-crafted book that puts you right in the middle of the action. The back and forth between the viewpoints of the three fighters from different sides of the war gives a unique and unbiased account of what the war was like. Marquis’s research into WWII is thorough and captivating, and his action-packed writing will thrill any reader!
Any military history buff will love this thrilling account of WWII told from every side. Marquis’s depiction of sixteen-year-old Angela Lange who serves as a German resistance fighter is especially powerful for those who don’t think about women being an important part of the war. His commitment to historically accurate storytelling is clear, and his delivery left me on the edge of my seat. I can’t wait to see what he writes next!
Marquis’ storytelling talents blew me away again in “Soldiers of Freedom,” the fifth installment in his WWII series. I was fascinated by the Edelweiss Pirates, and felt particularly drawn to the character Angela Lange. It’s so rare to see a character like hers -women’s voices, especially young women’s voices, are too often ignored. Additionally, I think everyone should read a book (preferably this one!) about the unsung heroes in the 761st Tank Battalion. What a remarkable group of people, whose stories need to be shared with the world. This title should be required reading for anyone interested in WWII history!