Book 5

Night Of The Long War

Written by Jean Richeleau in 1957, this novel charts the battle of young French soldier Maximillion Suddart as he fights against the German Invaders in the second World War.

Synopsis

Suddart moves from his home to join the army. He trains for some time before meeting his friend, Pierre, who talks to him regularly about their dream of one day returning to Paris. Their captain, Grenuioux is a bitter old man who spits in their drinks regularly and makes them do a lot of physical exercise.

When out on a mission, Pierre and Suddart are seperated and almost killed by a German U bomber, only barely escaping thanks to an elderly British soldier who has, "Seen things."

The three become allies behind enemy lines and soon find themselves in Austria where they coordinate an attack to blow up a German Tank. The three meet a young Jewish Officer who is inexperienced in the field but wants to join them. At first the group turn him away, but when the elderly soldier falls ill and dies, Pierre and Suddart have no choice. The three head to their base to find the soldiers all dead, including Grenuioux. The Jewish soldier is captured by Germans, but the French pair free him. Forced to camp out overnight, the three manage to hold off the attacking Germans and take back their fort. The Jewish soldier is killed in a shootout.

As the final wave of soldiers swarm the camp, Suddart uses a mine and sacrifices himself to blow up the attackers, saving the camp and Pierre.

The final chapter, set in 1945 tells that Pierre returned to Paris and standing under the Eiffel Tower, takes out a photo of Suddart, upholding the promise that the two would one day make it home.

Trivia

On page 214 of the novel, the character of Suddart had his name written as Suddard. This may have been a typing error but has led to the wide belief that this is a canon Old Man Suddard novelization, despite it being written eighteen years prior to the creation of the franchise.