George Mandel (1920–2021)

This is a novel about the reaction of a group of American soldiers to the stress of repeated combat. They are reconnaissance troops for an armoured division, and have to go and find the enemy, and assess their numbers for later attack by the real fighting formations. It doesn't always turn out like that, and they are currently trying to clear a town of Germans who are fighting very tenaciously.
One of their group problems is the scrounging of wax to provide the candles that give them a few moments of comfort in their Hellish environment. Once they vandalize and destroy a statue of Jesus in this quest, things get suicidal. I've never forgotten this book!… (mehr)