It Would Be A Sin Not To Read "Sinner's Cross".

For fans of World War II fiction, military fiction, historical fiction or just good old fashioned action adventure, “Sinner’s Cross” by Miles Watson is a must read book. And, as the research for it is so good, it may appeal to amateur military historians too.
 
I have to issue a “trigger warning” however. The scenes of combat and bloodshed depicted in the book are not for people with a weak stomach. The descriptions are quite graphic in parts. I’m sure the author would make no apology for that because, let’s face it, war is not pretty and not for the faint hearted.
 
However, in terms of its storytelling, this book earns the five stars I have awarded. To be honest, I almost feel like breaking with tradition and awarding six stars.
 
The story is set against the backdrop of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, which took place between 19th September 1944 and 16th December 1944. It should be a battle that is far better remembered but was somewhat overshadowed by the Battle of the Bulge which started on the day the Battle of Hürtgen Forest officially ended. The Battle of Hürtgen Forest cost the lives of around 33,000 American soldiers, with another 55,000 wounded and it also took the lives of 20,000 German soldiers.
 
There are also political implications to the battle which may be why it isn’t so well remembered. The battlefield was of very limited strategic value, certainly not enough to warrant the death toll, but it somehow became an obsession for the American generals to capture this obscure bit of forest, which lies to the east of the Belgian/German border and the German city of Aachen. Aachen was the first German city to fall to the Allies, which may have exaggerated the importance of the nearby forest.
 
The story is told in three parts, with each part being seen through the eyes of a different protagonist.

First we have Sergeant Edward T Halleck, a hard bitten former cowboy from Texas who has been in almost constant combat since the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria in November 1942. His war weariness is such that he hardly bothers to memorise the names of the men sent to replace the casualties from his platoon, because he knows their chances of survival make it barely worth his while.
 
The second point of view (POV) is from one of those replacements, “butter bar” 2nd Lieutenant Robert Breese. Breese believes he shouldn’t be in the Army and, if he must be, then his talents would be best used making Army recruitment films back in New York. He has no idea what he is doing in the Hürtgen Forest and even less idea of what he is supposed to do now that he is there.
 
The final POV is from the German side of the battle. Major Martin “Zengy” Zengen is a veteran paratrooper who has fought in every engagement in which the fallschirmjäger have taken part since 1940. He has lost count of how many friends he has lost to the war but, until now, his dedication to duty has been unquestioning. His epiphany, when it comes, takes an unusual form (which I won’t reveal) but it is so deeply moving for him that it completely reshapes his thinking.
 
Each part of the book stands alone, so there is no switching back and forth between POVs, but characters from one part do pop up in the others, so that some of the consequences of some of their actions can be observed.
 
What makes this book so enthralling isn’t the characters, though they are well drawn, it is the story telling as a whole. I found myself living and breathing the combat almost as though I was there. The reader feels every explosion, hears every bullet cracking past their ear and smells the smoke and blood of battle. It is quite unnerving at times just how deeply it is possible to get drawn into this story – hence the trigger warning issued above.
 
The historical detail is exemplary and Miles Watson is obviously a keen scholar of World War II history. He pays attention to the minutest detail, but at no point does he ever cross the line into geekiness.
 
There is a sequel to Sinner’s Cross (the title comes from the scene of much of the action) called The Very Dead of Winter. I have to confess that I read that before Sinner’s Cross (see review in the blog archive) which is why I came back to read the first book. Knowing which characters survive to reappear in the later book, however, made this book no less enjoyable. I can only hope that Miles Watson finds time to write a third book for the series.
 
I cannot recommend “Sinner’s Cross” by Miles Watson, highly enough. To find out more, click here.
 
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