History Creator / SvenHassel

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Hassel clearly states that the soldiers he serves with have commited rape, although (no doubt because the author realises it would be crossing the MoralEventHorizon for most readers) we never actually see it committed by the main characters. Instead the Old Un averts Tiny's attempts to molest any woman they come across. Porta kindly advises Tiny at first and the rest of the Section when they care to listen "a honest man always does the wise thing and ''pays'' for his piece of female ass".

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Hassel clearly states that the soldiers he serves with have commited rape, although (no doubt because the author realises it would be crossing the MoralEventHorizon for most readers) we never actually see it committed by the main characters. Instead the Old Un averts Tiny's attempts to molest any woman they come across.

* 'The Old Un' or ‘Old Man’ (Feldwebel[[note]]later Oberfeldwebel - he brags about his rank only once, when a policeman admonishes him upon entrance to a tavern-brothel[[/note]] Willie Beier) -- Former carpenter and dedicated family man. He is the leader of 2 Section and respected by both officers and men, though the antics of his section frequently drive him to frustration.

** The whole idea of a penal Panzer regiment in an army desperately short of armour. While often without a tank to its name, on other occasions 27th Panzer has been equipped with rare Panthers and Tigers and even [=SdKfz=] 234 "Puma", which were only allocated to elite Panzer divisions, not a unit that's supposed to be the dregs of the Wehrmacht.
** 2 Section runs into an English SS unit who have [[WhatAnIdiot volunteered to fight on the Russian front]]. While there was such a unit, its size was minuscule and it was mainly used for propaganda.
** The bragging about having the most desirable military decorations in the Reich and from outside the Reich in a penal regiment (which usually got no awards at all, despite whatever heroism they might have shown). Julius Heide gets at one point the Order of the Black Eagle, which has not been awarded ever after 1918 and it was anyway a Prussian order which only the deceased [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany Emperor Wilhelm II]] could award.
** In ''OGPU Prison'', a guy set up to assassinate a mob boss loads his captured Nagant revolver with ammo for a P-38 pistol and blows the gun [[{{Fingore}} and his fingers away]] at the first shot. [[UniversalAmmunition None of the WWII German handgun rounds could even enter the chambers of a Nagant, no matter how hard one pushes.]]

** 2 Section runs into an English SS regiment who have [[WhatAnIdiot volunteered to fight on the Russian front]]. While there was such a unit, its size was minuscule and it was mainly used for propaganda.

** UniversalAmmunition: In ''OGPU Prison'', a guy set up to assassinate a mob boss loads his captured Nagant revolver with ammo for a P-38 pistol and blows the gun [[{{Fingore}} and his fingers away]] at the first shot. None of the WWII German handgun rounds could even enter the chambers of a Nagant, no matter how hard one pushes.

* Obergefreiter Joseph Porta -- A cheeky Berliner with a tendency to engage in rambling tales of doubtful truth. An expert [[TheScrounger scrounger]], tank driver and cook; he can talk his way around anyone and has a knack for getting along with the locals regardless of language and cultural barriers. Often engaged in black market activities, either in opposition or collusion with his rival, Chief Mechanic Wolf.

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Notable examples include "...where [[Moses MosesInTheBullrushes]] got his beer" (sent to Hell), "I'll pull your arsehole up over your ears", "I'll have you shaved with the big razor" (sentenced to decapitation), or the crowning one:

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Notable examples include "...where {{Moses}} got his beer" (sent to Hell), "I'll pull your arsehole up over your ears", "I'll have you shaved with the big razor" (sentenced to decapitation), or the crowning one:

* ViewersAreMorons: Most people with a bit of historical knowledge quickly point out hundreds of absurdities in matters of tactics and weaponry throughout the books.
** In ''OGPU Prison'', a guy set up to assasinate a mob boss loads his captured Nagant revolver with ammo for a P-38 pistol and blows the gun [[{{Fingore}} and his fingers away]] at the first shot. None of the WWII German handgun rounds could even enter the chambers of a Nagant, no matter how hard one pushes.

* {{Plagiarism}}: ''The Commissar'' rips off ''Film/KellysHeroes'' (Tiny even uses Creator/DonaldSutherland's line: "Cut out those negative waves"), while ''Liquidate Paris'' has a chapter in which a black market pig is smuggled across occupied Paris, clearly taken from the French film ''[[Film/TheTripAcrossParis La traversée de Paris]]'' (1956). Lines from ''Literature/AFarewellToArms'' by Creator/ErnestHemingway can be seen in ''Monte Cassino''.

* KangarooCourt / HangingJudge: 'Special courts' in the field give hasty decisions condemning civilians of being partisans and German soldiers of being deserters, often just for being in the wrong place without proper papers. Also seen on the TheHomeFront where those accused of 'cowardice' or 'defeatism' are judged by tribunals whose sentence has been decided in advance.

Danish author (now deceased) of fourteen UsefulNotes/WorldWarII novels based around the experiences (both tragic and comedic) of [[TheSquad 2 Section]] -- a unit of the 27th Penal Panzer Regiment, made up of court-martialed soldiers and former inmates of concentration camps and prisons, conscripted as expendable CannonFodder for the Nazi cause.

* TheMovie: ''Wheels Of Terror'' (AKA ''The Misfit Brigade'') was made in 1988 with American actors. Has some good scenes, but not regarded by fans as having the quality of ''Film/CrossOfIron'' or ''Film/{{Stalingrad 1993}}''.

* 'Barcelona' Blom -- A veteran of the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, in which he fought for both sides. Carries a dried-up orange in his pocket as a reminder of Spain. Later (after his death) exposed in ''Comrades Of War'' as a fraud who invented the whole Spanish story and learnt Spanish by himself.

Danish author (now deceased) of fourteen WorldWarTwo novels based around the experiences (both tragic and comedic) of [[TheSquad 2 Section]] -- a unit of the 27th Penal Panzer Regiment, made up of court-martialed soldiers and former inmates of concentration camps and prisons, conscripted as expendable CannonFodder for the Nazi cause.

* DieselPunk: Sometimes the story abandons the mask of WorldWarTwo realism and delves into Diesel Noir / Diesel Weird War, from the [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraftian]] character of the Colonel who played cards each evening with Devil and Death (''Reign Of Hell''), through the dashing raid into the heart of the Soviet Union to steal a few tonnes of gold (''The Commissar'').

* WorldWarII: The setting. At various times, the heroes are on nearly every front on which the Germans fought, save only North Africa. (And they would have got there too, had their ship not been torpedoed). Sometimes they're on two different fronts hundreds of miles apart. At the same time.

* DirtyCommunists: A lot of the action takes place in the USSR during JosefStalin's reign, and the Soviets are portrayed as being just as evil as the Nazis themselves.

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Notable examples include "...where [[Moses]] got his beer" (sent to Hell), "I'll pull your arsehole up over your ears", "I'll have you shaved with the big razor" (sentenced to decapitation), or the crowning one:

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Notable examples include "I'll pull your arsehole up over your ears", "I'll have you shaved with the big razor" (sentenced to decapitation), or the crowning one:

* {{Plagiarism}}: ''The Commissar'' rips off ''KellysHeroes'' (Tiny even uses Donald Sutherland's line: "Cut out those negative waves"), while ''Liquidate Paris'' has a chapter in which a black market pig is smuggled across occupied Paris, clearly taken from the French film ''La traversée de Paris'' (1956). Lines from ''A Farewell to Arms'' by Creator/ErnestHemingway can be seen in ''Monte Cassino''.

* DieselPunk: Sometimes the story abandons the mask of WorldWarTwo realism and delves into Diesel Noir / Diesel Weird War, from the [[HPLovecraft Lovecraftian]] character of the Colonel who played cards each evening with Devil and Death (''Reign Of Hell''), through the dashing raid into the heart of the Soviet Union to steal a few tonnes of gold (''The Commissar'').

* NaziGermany: Who they're ostensibly fighting for, no matter how unenthusiastic or cynical they are about the cause.

[[redirect:Main/SvenHassel]]