The Waffen-SS Divisional Histories
3 total works
'Whoever has the youth has the future. My teaching will be hard. Weakness will be knocked out of them. A violently active, dominating, brutal youth - that is what I am after.'
- Adolf Hitler
The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in World War II. SS-Hitlerjugend is an in-depth examination of the unit formed in 1943 from veterans of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Division and members of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) organization. The majority of the recruits were 17-year-old volunteers who were fanatically devoted to the Nazi cause and to Hitler personally. The book explores the background to the unit's formation, the type of young men it recruited, the key figures involved in the division and its organization. It also looks at the uniforms and insignia that members of the division wore to distinguish themselves on the battlefield.
SS-Hitlerjugend also provides a full combat record of the division, which fought on both fronts in World War II. The book outlines the unit's involvement in the defence of Normandy, when Allied troops were shocked by the youth of the enemy and their willingness to accept appalling losses; the battle for Caen and the catastrophe of the Falaise Gap; refitting in Germany before the Ardennes offensive; and its service on the Eastern Front at the end of the war, fighting to recapture Budapest.
Illustrated with rare photographs, SS-Hitlerjugend is a definitive history of one of Nazi Germany's most fanatical fighting units.
- Adolf Hitler
The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in World War II. SS-Hitlerjugend is an in-depth examination of the unit formed in 1943 from veterans of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Division and members of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) organization. The majority of the recruits were 17-year-old volunteers who were fanatically devoted to the Nazi cause and to Hitler personally. The book explores the background to the unit's formation, the type of young men it recruited, the key figures involved in the division and its organization. It also looks at the uniforms and insignia that members of the division wore to distinguish themselves on the battlefield.
SS-Hitlerjugend also provides a full combat record of the division, which fought on both fronts in World War II. The book outlines the unit's involvement in the defence of Normandy, when Allied troops were shocked by the youth of the enemy and their willingness to accept appalling losses; the battle for Caen and the catastrophe of the Falaise Gap; refitting in Germany before the Ardennes offensive; and its service on the Eastern Front at the end of the war, fighting to recapture Budapest.
Illustrated with rare photographs, SS-Hitlerjugend is a definitive history of one of Nazi Germany's most fanatical fighting units.
The 5th SS Division Wiking was the first 'international' - i.e. largely non-German - Waffen-SS division and the only German panzer division comprised largely of foreign troops. Approximately 75 per cent of the division's strength were non-German nationals, all volunteers, and the majority from occupied countries like Belgium, Holland, France, Denmark, and Norway.
The Wiking division operated exclusively on the Eastern Front during World War II, where the division quickly earned itself a deserved combat reputation but also served as a 'finishing school', spinning off a host of additional Waffen-SS divisions. While Germany was on the offensive in the East, Wiking served as a spearhead for Operations Barbarossa and Citadel. Later in the war it served as a defensive 'fire brigade', plugging gaps in the line as needed in response to Soviet attacks: breaking out of the Cherkassy pocket and defending Budapest as part of the Sixth SS Panzer Army, before its tattered remnants ended the war attempting to postpone the inevitable in Berlin.
Part of the SS Divisional Histories series, SS-Wiking is fully illustrated with rare Eastern Front photographs, many of which have never been published before. It also includes numerous maps and biographies of the key personnel, including such figures as Josef Mengele, Leon Degrelle, Felix Steiner and Herbert Gille.
The Wiking division operated exclusively on the Eastern Front during World War II, where the division quickly earned itself a deserved combat reputation but also served as a 'finishing school', spinning off a host of additional Waffen-SS divisions. While Germany was on the offensive in the East, Wiking served as a spearhead for Operations Barbarossa and Citadel. Later in the war it served as a defensive 'fire brigade', plugging gaps in the line as needed in response to Soviet attacks: breaking out of the Cherkassy pocket and defending Budapest as part of the Sixth SS Panzer Army, before its tattered remnants ended the war attempting to postpone the inevitable in Berlin.
Part of the SS Divisional Histories series, SS-Wiking is fully illustrated with rare Eastern Front photographs, many of which have never been published before. It also includes numerous maps and biographies of the key personnel, including such figures as Josef Mengele, Leon Degrelle, Felix Steiner and Herbert Gille.
'I swear to thee, Adolf Hitler, as Fuhrer and Chancellor of the German Reich, loyalty and bravery. I vow to thee, and to the superiors whom thou shalt appoint, obedience unto death, so help me God.'
- SS Oath of Loyalty
The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in World War II. SS-Leibstandarte is an in-depth examination of the first Waffen-SS unit to be formed, the SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler. The book explores the background of the unit's formation, including its origins as the Fuhrer's bodyguard, the men it recruited, the key figures involved in the division, its organization, training, uniforms and insignia.
SS-Leibstandarte also provides a full combat record of the division, which fought on both fronts during World War II. The book outlines the unit's involvement in the fall of France, its service on the Eastern Front, the desperate attempts to throw the Allies out of Normandy after D-Day, and the final, fruitless attempts to relieve Budapest and save Vienna from the Red Army.
Illustrated with rare photographs and written by an acknowledged expert, SS-Leibstandarte is a definitive history of one of Nazi Germany's most effective fighting units of World War II.
- SS Oath of Loyalty
The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in World War II. SS-Leibstandarte is an in-depth examination of the first Waffen-SS unit to be formed, the SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler. The book explores the background of the unit's formation, including its origins as the Fuhrer's bodyguard, the men it recruited, the key figures involved in the division, its organization, training, uniforms and insignia.
SS-Leibstandarte also provides a full combat record of the division, which fought on both fronts during World War II. The book outlines the unit's involvement in the fall of France, its service on the Eastern Front, the desperate attempts to throw the Allies out of Normandy after D-Day, and the final, fruitless attempts to relieve Budapest and save Vienna from the Red Army.
Illustrated with rare photographs and written by an acknowledged expert, SS-Leibstandarte is a definitive history of one of Nazi Germany's most effective fighting units of World War II.