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.?

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #328791 in Books
• Published on: 1997-05
• Original language: Italian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 253 pages

From Library Journal
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, Detroit
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

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Customer Reviews

Soldiers View of The Russian Front
Corti who was a twenty-one year old artillery officer on the Stalingrad front, was part of the Eighth Italian Army that was cut off when Zhukov sent in the pincers that surrounded the Sixth German Army. His group was in a pocket northeast of Stalingrad that was made up of Italian and German soldiers.

Out of the 30 thousand Italians who held the front at the Don north of Stalingrad, less than four thousand made it out of the pocket and up to one thousand of those died from their wounds and exposure. Corti doesn't pull any punches as to what happened in the pocket or who was to blame.

Many of the Italians had just come to the front over the last two weeks. They were totally unprepared for what was going to become a retreat over one hundred kilometers while constantly under Russian fire. They had to walk most of the way in inadequate uniforms and boots while the Germans requestioned horse and mules and sleds for their own use.

Corti speaks of how the Germans were much better organized and kept their military lines-or-command intact, whereas the Italians in many cases became a mob without any reason or understanding of the situation. At times no one was in charge of taking care of the wounded or giving out provisions. While the German Luftwaffe dropped food and ammunition by parachute, the Italian Air Force was conspicuous by their absence.

The story is straight forward and brutal. Corti does not try to make excuses for anyone (including himself) in the treatment of fellow soldiers or of civilians. It was survive at any cost.

Zeb Kantrowitz

An almost unknown story of the Eastern Front in WWII
I have always been interested in the Second World War and especially the little known battles and actions of that war.
Lately; I have delved into the Italian part in this conflict and the tragic consequences to their brave soldiers.
"Few Returned", gives you a first hand glimpse of what it was like for man, pack animals and equipment, fighting and struggling to survive on the Eastern Front.
You will wonder how anyone returned from that winter retreat.
The author Eugenio Corti also gives the reader a good feel for the national differences between the Italians, Germans and Russians.
Combat is sporadic throughout the retreat, but again Corti gives you a good feel of how it was for all sides.

Good Diary on the horrors of War & Italian perserverance
This book is different from others in that it does not glorify War,it does not tend to over exaggerate what happened in battle, it does'nt even try to blow up the truth with nonsensical war heroics recounted ( like many german or British books, dare I say).
Its a straight forward recount in diary form of how onw Italian officer and his brave troops dared all to fight back the Russians, the bitter cold and the odds of making it back on foot without decent rations , heavyweapons or transportation which were rendered useless in battle or just plainly nevr had their ammo resupplied by the faster retreating better equiped self serving Nazis.
It si common for the uneducated armchair historian or plainly ignorant war hobbyist to brand the Italians as cowards, however when one delves deeper into the actualities of WW2 and gets to the events as they really happened unaltered by propaganda and rascist reporting then we really see that the Italians which were up against it from the start, put in as brave a performance as any fighting man could and beyond that in many a case.

I recommend this book to all for the honesty and open portrayal of the horrors of War and the true nature of men when faced with the harshness and desperation of survival.
Its not a novel as anyone who's half literate can plainly see, but a diary of man brave man and his troops that fought their way thru the russians, the elements and evn the Nazis cruelty to survive!
Enjoy the read! A must have for the war historian at heart.