Heroes, she thought. We are heroes, my clan.
* * * *
The Russians have learned a lot since 1941. They are no longer peasants with simple minds. They have learned the art of war from us.
Colonel General Hermann Hoth,
spoken to Field Marshal Erich von
Manstein after the battle for Kursk
* * * *
AUTHOR’S HISTORICAL NOTE
For ease of reading, this novel refers to all ranks in the German SS in terms of their American or British equivalents. For historical accuracy, the following table of comparative ranks is included.