Under False Flags

Forced into the brutal Battle of the Bulge of 1944, two soldiers on opposing sides find the courage to desert a war gone sour.

For both American GI Wendell Lett and German seaman Holger Frings, the relentless bloodbath of World War II has become a treacherous prison and a curse. Just as Wendell Lett meets Heloise, a wise Belgian woman who offers him a chance of deliverance from the physical and emotional carnage of war, he is pushed into a reckless false flag mission. At the same time behind enemy lines, Frings becomes a forced volunteer for a similar German operation that takes him to a breaking point. The two enemies’ destructive fates collide in the surprise Ardennes counteroffensive—the 1944 Battle of the Bulge—and both have to finally confront the war that betrayed them.

As Lett tries to find his way back to his beloved Heloise, he and Frings team up to desert their savage overseers while the battles rage around them. In Under False Flags, the absurdity of war is brought to brutal light as each side—whether friend or foe—attempts to disguise their cannon fodder in enemy uniform. This is a gritty war tale that turns conventional notions of valor, heroism, and prestige on its head.

Under False Flags is the prequel to The Preserve, the second book featuring Wendell Lett.

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Steve Anderson was a Fulbright Fellow in Munich, Germany. His thorough research on the early US occupation in 1945 inspired him to write Liberated, his first novel. Anderson is the author of The Preserve, as well as two bestselling Kindle Singles. He lives with his wife, René, in Portland, Oregon.

“The author clearly brings forth the thoughts, fears, and hopes that run through a soldier’s mind. The dangers and horrors of being a soldier, a civilian living under occupation, or a resistance fighter are well-defined in this book. I liked how the GI narrative voice … kept the realism alive.” —Historical Novels Review, Historical Novel Society

“Steve Anderson’s Under False Flags is a piece of raw meat cut out of real life. From its opening on we are thrust into the brutal climactic frontlines of WWII’s Western Front. From Normandy to the Ardennes we are there with the dogface GIs and their increasingly desperate adversaries—men on both sides who ‘just want at the enemy.’ Anderson’s intertwined stories of US Army Sgt. Wendell Lett and his equally noble German counterpart Holger Frings—two men for whom battle is all they now know—supply the plot, but the book’s true topic is men pushed to their absolute limits. Blastingly realistic, impeccably researched—Anderson is not afraid of heroes.” —John Enright, author of Fire Knife Dancing

Praise for The Preserve

"A gripping and intelligent adventure thriller that takes us to an unknown but fascinating part of history, and to exotic but deadly locations, with plenty of lively action, and with characters I instantly liked." —Guido Eekhaut, award-winning author of Absinthe and Purgatory

 “Readers will root for Wendell, with his unrelenting demons, as he soldiers on, fighting for his sanity and his life.” —Publishers Weekly

"The Preserve artfully blends post-WWII Hawaii with a treasure hunt. Exciting from the beginning, the author takes us into scenes of the Big Island and the tortured mind of a soldier suffering from 'combat fatigue,' what we now know as PTSD. Highly atmospheric and a great read for military buffs and those interested in a ​​thrilling story." —Ron Lealos, author of Pashtun

“In The Preserve, Steve Anderson once again paints a compelling and page-turning thriller with the men and women treated almost as expendable tools for post WWII intrigue and violence. Once you read this story, the background of the almost coup d’état by MacArthur becomes all the more plausible--and frighteningly possible even today.” —Peter Riva, author of the thriller series featuring expert safari guide Mbuno and wildlife television producer Pero Baltazar.

“The author clearly brings forth the thoughts, fears, and hopes that run through a soldier’s mind. The dangers and horrors of being a soldier, a civilian living under occupation, or a resistance fighter are well-defined in this book. I liked how the GI narrative voice … kept the realism alive.” —Historical Novels Review, Historical Novel Society

“Steve Anderson’s Under False Flags is a piece of raw meat cut out of real life. From its opening on we are thrust into the brutal climactic frontlines of WWII’s Western Front. From Normandy to the Ardennes we are there with the dogface GIs and their increasingly desperate adversaries—men on both sides who ‘just want at the enemy.’ Anderson’s intertwined stories of US Army Sgt. Wendell Lett and his equally noble German counterpart Holger Frings—two men for whom battle is all they now know—supply the plot, but the book’s true topic is men pushed to their absolute limits. Blastingly realistic, impeccably researched—Anderson is not afraid of heroes.” —John Enright, author of Fire Knife Dancing