The Sledge Patrol: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival, and Victory

Rating:
Summary: Another side to the Big One
Review: "The Sledge Patrol" is set in eastern Greenland during World War 2. Yes, that conflict even extended to the remote Danish colony. Greenland was strategic because weather patterns for Western Europe and surrounding waters form there. This was of obvious and vital interest to the American, British and German navies. Early in the War, the Danish colonial weather stations had broadcast reports "in the clear". Anyone, including the Germans could pick them up. Two critical events take place: Eske Brun, the Danish colonial head decides he had the power to resist German interest in his territory- and formed the Greenland Army with a force of 9 men. Then the Danish weather reports are sent in cipher so that the German navy can no longer eavesdrop. The Germans land a force to establish their own weather station. This the background to SP. What follows is almost as much a tale of personal honor and battling/surviving the Arctic elements than of military action. There is much dashing to and fro on sledges (dog sleds) to the point where this reader lost track of who was going where. The sides vie to avoid each other more than to engage in combat. And since there is minimal fighting and hence no real "bad guys", I found myself losing track of who was on which side. In fact, most of the men on both sides appear as nice, solid guys. The ending is almost academic. Readers will receive an excellent sense of the fierce and beautiful Greenland geography and Eskimo tradition. Mr.Howarth is an excellent writer and interest in his books appears to be going through a well-deserved revival. But one has to be cautious in recommending SP. It is simply too hard to keep track of the action. Furthermore, the maps are inadequate, adding to the confusion. A positive note: SP is well laid out in an eye pleasing typeface and paper stock. So many of us take such for granted but a tip of the hat to an anonymous graphics person is in order. Cautiously, I'm giving out 4 stars, but 3 may be more appropriate due to my frustrations with the maps. It really would have helped to know where these guys were rather than "somewhere in eastern Greenland".

Rating:
Summary: Another side to the Big One
Review: "The Sledge Patrol" is set in eastern Greenland during World War 2. Yes, that conflict even extended to the remote Danish colony. Greenland was strategic because weather patterns for Western Europe and surrounding waters form there. This was of obvious and vital interest to the American, British and German navies. Early in the War, the Danish colonial weather stations had broadcast reports "in the clear". Anyone, including the Germans could pick them up. Two critical events take place: Eske Brun, the Danish colonial head decides he had the power to resist German interest in his territory- and formed the Greenland Army with a force of 9 men. Then the Danish weather reports are sent in cipher so that the German navy can no longer eavesdrop. The Germans land a force to establish their own weather station. This the background to SP. What follows is almost as much a tale of personal honor and battling/surviving the Arctic elements than of military action. There is much dashing to and fro on sledges (dog sleds) to the point where this reader lost track of who was going where. The sides vie to avoid each other more than to engage in combat. And since there is minimal fighting and hence no real "bad guys", I found myself losing track of who was on which side. In fact, most of the men on both sides appear as nice, solid guys. The ending is almost academic. Readers will receive an excellent sense of the fierce and beautiful Greenland geography and Eskimo tradition. Mr.Howarth is an excellent writer and interest in his books appears to be going through a well-deserved revival. But one has to be cautious in recommending SP. It is simply too hard to keep track of the action. Furthermore, the maps are inadequate, adding to the confusion. A positive note: SP is well laid out in an eye pleasing typeface and paper stock. So many of us take such for granted but a tip of the hat to an anonymous graphics person is in order. Cautiously, I'm giving out 4 stars, but 3 may be more appropriate due to my frustrations with the maps. It really would have helped to know where these guys were rather than "somewhere in eastern Greenland".

Rating:
Summary: World War Two out where the sidewalk stops
Review: Greenland, a Danish colony, found itself in an odd spot after the mother country was occupied by the Germans during World War Two. Technically, the colonial government, headed by Eske Brun, should have followed the instructions from Copenhagen, i.e. the Nazi occupiers. But, Brun decided to take Greenland into the camp of the Allies. Thus, he formed the Greenland Army, to which he gave instructions to patrol the virtually uninhabited northeast coast of the huge island, and be on the lookout for (and shoot at) any German forces attempting to land. This instance of a "mouse that roared" serves as the milieu for this story, first published in 1957.

In fact, the Germans did "invade". A small, armed force under a naval officer named Ritter made landfall for the purpose of establishing a meteorological station tasked with broadcasting weather reports to the Kriegsmarine's U-boats operating in the North Atlantic. This "base", out beyond the last human settlement, subsequently came to the notice of THE SLEDGE PATROL, commanded by Ib Poulsen, which represented the entire 9-man Greenland Army. (Yes, that's right. Nine!)

The action of the book is principally a series of almost haphazard dog sled journeys across snow and ice-covered bodies of water and land by members of the Greenland Army and the German intruders. At times, as both sides seek each other out, one is reminded of a Keystone Cops episode. Though the climate provides some element of hardship, the damage done by each opposing force to the other is minimal. Indeed, if one views the Germans as the Bad Guys, their nominal leader, Ritter, is hardly the great villain of the piece. As a matter of fact, he's such a nice and ultimately decent guy that he's clearly inept in the role of military commander. Poulsen, as the leader of the Good Guys, is conscientious and responsible in carrying out his duties, but otherwise rather nondescript.

This narrative serves to record the personal heroism and stamina of those men - chiefly Poulsen, Kurt Olsen and Marius Jensen - ordered by the Governor to observe and report back the German presence. And resist, if possible. Of that heroism and stamina the reader is left with no doubts. However, the time at which the events occurred, late winter/early spring of 1943, was also the period seeing an end to the Battle of Stalingrad and the final conquest of North Africa by the Anglo-American armies. Against the backdrop of these pivotal conflicts, the exploits of THE SLEDGE PATROL pale to absolute insignificance. Perhaps that's why their story should be told. Or, perhaps, why bother? You must decide for yourself. As for me, I was left with respect for the defenders' efforts, but otherwise emotionally cold.

Rating:
Summary: Quiet Heroism
Review: Proving that truth is stranger than fiction, Sledge Patrol tells the story of ordinary men accomplishing unbelievable feats under extreme physical conditions and bizarre political circumstances during WWII. Living year-round in the Arctic desolation of eastern Greenland, nine men surreptitiously radioed crucial weather data to the Allies and patrolled the extensive coastline for a Nazi landing. When the Germans arrive, the conflict begins.

The book is exciting and inspiring, with moments that are both touching and funny. One of the highlights of the book is how the unarmed and unaggressive band of Danes, Norwegians and Eskimos can outlast and outdistance the better provisioned Germans who aren't prepared for life, let alone combat, in the frozen north.

Now reissued, Sledge Patrol was originally published in 1957. At that time, the author was able to get to know the parties involved, both Allied and German, adding dimension to the characters and realism to the story.

I loved this book!

Rating:
Summary: A forgotten classic
Review: Recently, books such as INTO THIN AIR, THE PERFECT STORM, and ISAAC'S STORM have captured the imagination of armchair adventurers everywhere. Long before these books went to press, however, David Howarth penned THE SLEDGE PATROL, a remarkable story of survival and adventure. Written only a few years after the war, THE SLEDGE PATROL tells the story of seven Danish and Norwegian hunters and adventurers (and many Eskimos) who patrolled the entire east coast of Greenland during World War II on their own. Hundreds of miles of raw, icy coastline, thousands of square miles of nearly uninhabitable land, mountains, crevasses, driving blizzards, polar bears -- you ask, Why would anyone bother to protect that? The answer, as Howarth tells us so skillfully, is that the weather for the North Atlantic begins in Greeland, and accurate reports from just south of the north pole were vital to the survival of Allied convoys and the success of Axis U-boat patrols.

Seven men patrolled, by dogsled, the dangerous yet beautiful coast of Greenland, sending out weather forecasts to the British while sledding along the shore to report sightings of Germans in the vicinity. These men, who could hardly believe the Germans would or could venture this far north, one day find a strange footprint in the snow -- not theirs, not an Eskimo's. What begins is a 200-page race across the Arctic to evade the Nazis and end transmission of their weather reports back to Germany.

Howard writes of the beautiful danger of the Arctic, of hearty men who lived in harmony in the far north and who could not fathom evil in their midst. A great read.

Rating:
Summary: Bravery and Endurance in WWII
Review: This is a story of bravery and endurance during World War II. I liked David Howarth's account of the Sledge Patrol and its mission to guard the coast of Greenland. Howarth did his research and what the reader gets is a down to earth factual description of the hardships the patrol faced while experiencing severe weather conditions. The sledge patrol alone in a vast wilderness of ice and snow had to survive on their own. This story is a tribute to them. It was interesting to see how the situation created enemies amongst those who might otherwise be friends. The lack of hostility in the Inuit demonstrated the great importance of culture. Howarth is a great author and this book is worth reading.