Watch on the Rhine

[Chairboy]

I'm about 3/4 done with an interesting book.  It's part of the Posleen invasion series, books that describe a massive (on the order of multi-million quickly reaching billion) alien soldier invasion of Earth.

Times are desperate, and the stakes are high.  It takes place in 2004, and some friendly aliens have given some assistance in the form of technology, but it's still a real challenge because of the swarms of alien infantry.  As a result, every nation is building the biggest armies they can, conscripting everyone possible and trying to route as many civilians to underground fortresses.

One of the pieces of technology is rejuvenation therapy.  Anyone with military background, no matter how old, can be brought back into fighting trim.  The military is full of WWI and WWII vets, plus veterans of all other wars that were still alive.  Even the senile can be recovered from nursing homes.

This book, "Watch on the Rhine", chronicles the invasion of Europe.  With the Whermacht as defanged and declawed as it is today, turning it into an effective fighting force is very challenging.  Lacking any other options, the german government has turned to re-activating the last group they wanted: The SS.  Thousands of retired SS soldiers plucked from rest homes and turned into 20 something soldiers again, forming the training backbone for many brigades.  

It's a good read, and funny to see the political ramifications of putting those folks in positions of military power.  

John Ringo and Tom Kratman are the authors.

[FalconSix]

It does sound like it's a bit too much focused on WWII "mythology" like the SS etc. Especially since they (at least you do) call the German forces the Wehrmact. Since the end of WWII the German armed forces has been known as the Bundeswehr.

It may be a good read, but I wouldn't read too much into the author's SS/Nazi/Political story twist. It's just fiction.

[Chairboy]

Well, they call it the Bundeswehr too, I just said Wehrmacht because I'm not perfect, and there are an awful lot of wehrmacht guys that have been rejuvenated as well.

I guess I wasn't clear enough in my description, for which I apologize.  The book is Fiction and should not be confused for a manual on government or a historical text.  I thank FalconSix for mentioning that, otherwise someone might read this book about alien invasion and obviously think it was real.

[FalconSix]

lol, didn't mean to put down your new book Chairboy. I'm just a little tired of seeing the Nazis turned into some form of Egyptian God mythology badguys like Hollyweird does all the time. Bringing the Nazis into fiction is not a good thing IMO.

[ZOSO]

Reading the first of the series now.  He's no David Drake but it's not bad (go read the Hammer's Slammers and Lt Leary series NOW!).  People who haven't served will probably enjoy it more than those who can detect the military cliches, myths, and anachronisms.  I've already picked up the second book.

[Arcades057]

Pick up the WOrld War series by Harry Turtledove.  It's WWII but with an alien invasion and is a seven-book series, following through the war and then the 60s.  Worth picking up and well-written.

[Chairboy]

Agreed, the World War series is excellent.  Got any ginger?

[Arcades057]

For some reason when I've re-read them I get a mental picture of Gollum whenever the lizards are going after Ginger.

Skorzeny's character was great and I almost felt bad for him at the end.

[Gunslinger]

I think I read the first book in that series.  Is the first battle faught in a foreign planet because the aliens assisting don't have the will power to kill or something?

[Gunslinger]

I read a hymn before battle

great book, didn't know it was a series

[Gunslinger]

ahhh I see this is kind of an in between spin off of the rest of the series.  BIG THANKS chairboy.  I forgot what the title and author were when I read the first one in 2001.  I allways wondered if they made it into a series.