I remember hearing about a book that was based on the true story of SS and other German troops that were taken in by the French and used against the communists in IndoChina to great success.  It was supposed to be great, and rare.  Something like Devil's Warriors, Devils Soldiers, something like that but I can get a hit on the booksellers, new or used, to match the story line.

Thanks,
jd1

You are looking for "The Devil's Brigade" published in the 60s or 70s.  The former Nazi soldiers had no homes to return to, unless they wanted to live under the hated Russians.  There was a large enlistment into the French Foreign Legion.  Ops

A great story, one that really opened my eyes about how the US was screwing up peacekeeping ops.

Wasn't it "Devil's Guard"?

Yes, here's the Amazon page: [url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440120144/qid=1057013849/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_3/102-5222614-5612161?v=glance&s=books&n=507846[/url]

Oh, the world was going through a de-colonization period then. The European powers ewre abandoning almost all of their former colonies.  Algeria and Vietnam were just part of the tide.

The left in France has always found the Legion and its mission distasteful. There was lots of public opposition to the war in Indochine in France as well as Algeria.

Awesome book. Reads far too much like a memoir to be fiction. I first read it back in the '70s and still have the book in a box in the garage somewhere (I make a point of holding on to books I really like!)

Former SS troopers, hardened veterans of partisan warefare on the Eastern front of WWII, these guys were the real deal. The Viet Minh hated them because they traded terror for terror. In the end, the Viet Minh used the western press to create enough negative public opinion to force the French to remove the German Legionaires.

It is without doubt one of the best books I have ever read on small-unit combat in Southeast Asia. Other good books to read are "Forgotten Soldier," by Guy Sajer, and all the Sven Hassell novels of the Russian Front.

Panzer Out

Didn't the french leave some of the German units behind? I think I read something about it in a old SOF issue. Still fought on till they were all killed or captured .

Click on the amazon link above and check the prices.

$475.00!!!

It's new/unread and sounds very interesting, but c'mon!

Used for $100.00. Hey, that's reasonable.

Is this thing a collectors item due to it's un-pc'ness?

(Un-pc'ness?)