Beware the Wolves, A Soviet WWII Story by Victor Moss follows two young lovers through the horrors of the war-torn Soviet Union. It focuses on Captain Vladmir Moskalkov, a doctor recruited to practice medicine at the western front, and his young wife Vladyslava (Slava) as they struggle to survive German invasion and occupation. Seperated by the war, they must find one another against incredible odds and suffer atrocities that can turn men into animals.
Victor Moss based Beware the Wolves on the lives of his parents, as a tribute to their heroism and their will to live. The story is well researched, a fascinating historical account of the struggle to keep the Germans from reaching Moscow by way of Vyazma and Yelna - two major cities on the main highway, M1, between Poland and Moscow. It is an indictment of the inhumanity of totalitarian nations, both German and Soviet, and a tribute to the humanity of people in desperate situations. In response to a question from Vladmir asking why the Soviets always take defensive positions even when the Germans have stretched themselves too thin, Captain Markov, a drunk complains of Stalin's control over the battle, "You better ask that of Comrade Stalin, who is telling our generals how to run this war."
Moss discusses the weaknesses of the ill-prepared and poorly directed Soviet army. He talks about the low morale of the soldiers and Stalin's unwillingness to let his generals lead. He explores the dehumanizing tactics implored by the German soldiers that enabled them to turn their prisoners into animals, making their enemy easier to slaughter for the boys acting as soldiers. "All this time as he crawled on the ground on all fours, he heard laughter from the guards. The German soldiers repeatedly referred to the captives as subhuman. Because they were so, they could be treated like animals." Moss also occasionally explores the confusion, the loneliness, and the contradictions that the German soldiers feel as occupiers among civilian Soviets.
Beware the Wolves is a fast-paced book with plenty of battle scenes and detailed descriptions of war-time medicine. There are moments where the writing is stiff and the dialogue is at times awkward. Nevertheless, the story propels the reader to turn the pages and read on to the end. At its core, Beware the Wolves is a story of lovers and of survival against the odds, and it is well worth the read.
