Correct.
My other first thought was that I had read a book named "The Forgotten Soldier" about the Eastern front several decades ago, but that was a novel and not a memoir, as the book by Sajer appears to be. So I am no help on that one.
The book's authenticity is hotly contested but I believe plausible explanations exist for every argument I've read against the book.
As those who have read the book know, Sajer's account becomes especially intense starting with Operation Citadel. With Operation Citadel set to commence on these threads, it would be interesting to hear any opinions about the book from thread followers.
Because the first section of the book dealing with boot camp and his service in a supply unit contrasts so sharply with his experience in a combat unit, I would not be surprised if the first part was Sajer's own account while the second part was the experience of someone else who Sajer was ghostwriting for.
That a portion of the book may have been ghostwritten whose cuff-title may have been worn on the left sleeve does not in my opinion take away from the account.
I think we’ve already had some discussions of “Forgotten Soldier.” Sajer did indeed purport to be an Alsatian with French as his primary language and a very limited German vocabulary. However, he apparently acquitted himself well enough in combat that his German comrades were more than willing to overlook that.
Assuming that the account is correct.
We have discussed the issue of authenticity of the account. The author may have experienced all, most or some of what took place. The balance may have been ghost written. The balance may have been based on the experiences of others. Whether the accounts in the book actually happened to one person, or whether the book is a compilation of the collective experiences of more than one person does not really matter to me. I accept the content as an accurate portrayal of life in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.
When it comes to military memoirs, historical accuracy is always an issue. One example that comes to mind is Mitsuo Fuchida’s “Midway, the Battle that Doomed Japan.” Having been written by a key participant, for many years his book was accepted in the United States as gospel for the Japanese account of that battle. It was even the basis of that really bad Charleton Heston movie. In Japan, however, serious historians of the IJN debunked a lot of the statements he made in his book. For example, Fuchida states that the American dive bombing attack came as the strike planes were on the decks of the carriers, warming up and ready to take off. Historical analysis though shows that the Japanese planes were actually still in the hangars being serviced, and had not been spotted on the flight decks. The best recent work on this issue is Parshall & Tully’s “Shattered Sword; The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway.” I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to know a detailed account of this battle, and exactly why the Japanese lost.
So as for Sajer, I consider it as I would any other memoir. Compared to Fuchida, it may actually be more historically accurate, even if it didn’t actually happen. Try to digest that one for a while.