The 29th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division "italienische Nr.1": And Italians in Other Units of the Waffen-SS
The 29th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division

Author: Massimiliano Afiero

Publisher: Schiffer Military History

Published: 2022-01-28

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9780764362958

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The Italian government signed an armistice with the Allies on September 8, 1943, but that did not mean the war was over in Italy. Italians continued to fight on both sides for the duration of war. This study is focused on Italian volunteers in formations of the Waffen-SS. These include the SS Legion "Italiana" and 29th Waffen Grenadier Division "Italienische Nr. 1." Beyond the explicitly Italian units, handfuls of men found their way into other divisions, such as the 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Polizei," 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reichsführer-SS," the Karstwehr Battallion (later 24th SS Gebirgsjäger Division "Karstjäger"), and even the famous 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte." This work includes histories of the Italian Legion and the 29th division, extensive interviews with Italian SS veterans from various units, and many excellent photographs from private collections in Europe.

Hitler's Armed SS
Hitler's Armed SS

Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones

Publisher: Pen and Sword Military

Published: 2022-09-15

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1399006940

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The Waffen-SS was one of the most formidable German military formations of the Second World War – feared for its tenacity and ruthlessness in battle, notorious for the atrocities it committed. As a distinct fighting force derived from the Nazi Party’s SS organization, it stood apart from the other units of the German army. Its origins, structure and operational role during the war are often misunderstood and the controversy still surrounding its conduct make it difficult today to get an accurate picture of its actions and its impact on the fighting. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this concise and fluently written account, provides an absorbing and clear sighted introduction to it. He traces its development under Himmler from modest beginnings in the early 1930s as Hitler’s personal protection squad of elite soldiers to a force which eventually amounted to thirty-eight divisions. Towards the end of the war many Waffen-SS units were formed from foreign volunteers and proved to be of poor quality, but its premier panzer divisions thoroughly deserved their reputation as tough fighters. Through accounts of the Waffen-SS’s major battles on the Eastern Front, in Normandy and finally in defence of Germany, a detailed picture emerges of the contribution it made to the German war effort, especially when Hitler’s armies were in retreat. The parts played by the most famous Waffen-SS formations – Das Reich, Totenkopf, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler among them – and their commanders – men like Dietrich and Hausser – can be seen in the wider context of the war and Germany’s defeat.

The Waffen-SS (4)
The Waffen-SS (4)

Author: Gordon Williamson

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-03-20

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 1780965788

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In 1944–45 the Waffen-SS formed many nominal 'divisions' from a motley range of sources, whose battlefield value was as varied as their backgrounds. The best were built around existing Western European volunteer regiments; some, raised from Central Europeans and Russians, were strong in numbers but weak in morale; some were of negligible size, scraped together from remnants and trainees; and some were sinister 'anti-partisan' gangs, assembled from the military dregs of the Eastern Front. Illustrated with rare photographs from private collections and meticulous colour artwork, this final title in our sequence details their organisation, uniforms and insignia, and summarises their battle records.

Galicia Division
Galicia Division

Author: Michael O. Logusz

Publisher: Schiffer Military History

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13:

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This new book is a historical account of the 14th Waffen-SS Galicia Division (also known as the 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army). In 1943/1944 a determined group of young men and women in Galicia volunteered to serve in a combat division destined for eastern front combat. Their goal: to engage and destroy the Soviet hordes menacing their homeland and to counter Nazi Germany's subjugation of their country. Although initially Galicia's Volunteers would serve in a German sponsored military formation, in actuality the volunteers of the Galicia division wanted to engage all hostile ideologies-both from the east and west-in order to secure a free independent Ukraine. The division's history is presented along with a human aspect of what the soldiers endured during the brutal battles on the eastern front.

Hitler's Foreign Divisions
Hitler's Foreign Divisions

Author: Chris Bishop

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in World War II, but some of the most fanatical of these were not even German. SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions is an in-depth examination of the approximately 350,000 foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries who opted to fight for the Third Reich as members of the Waffen-SS. The book explores the background to their recruitment and describes-on a unit-by-unit basis-their history, structure, and combat record in the war. Despite their non-Germanic background, the Norwegians, Dutch, Danes, Belgians, Latvians, Estonians, Cossacks, Ukrainians, and other nationalities-often motivated by an extreme anti-Communist zeal- fought hard on the Eastern Front for the Nazi cause, even when their position was hopeless. Often treated badly by their German commanders, the foreign SS units were not all excellent combat formations, however. some, like the British and Indian volunteers, were used for propaganda purposes only, while others, like the notorious Dirlewanger Brigade, who helped brutally suppress the Warsaw Rising, were nothing more than murderous criminals in uniform. Other divisions-such as the Russian-recruited 30th Waffen- Grenadier Division der SS, formed in the final months of the war-never reached a functional strength, and were disbanded before they saw action. Illustrated with rare photographs and written by an acknowledged expert, SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions is a definitive history of the foreign SS units who fought for Hitler and Germany in World War II.

The Axis Forces 21
The Axis Forces 21

Author: Massimiliano Afiero

Publisher: Soldiershop Publishing

Published: 2023-03-10

Total Pages: 85

ISBN-13: 8893279614

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In this issue: we begin with the deployment of the Wiking Division in the Caucasus regions in the summer of 1942. Following is the biography of Bruno Hinz, an SS officer, who served first in the Wiking Division and then in the Götz von Berlichingen. We continue with the employment of the Italian volunteers who served in the Waffen SS on the Nettuno front in the spring of 1944. We then return to talk about the Polizei Division, dealing with its operational employment on the Leningrad front between the summer of 1942 and January 1943. We conclude with an article dedicated to the Legionary War Cross, intended for French volunteers who fought on the Eastern Front alongside the German armed forces.

SS Hitler's Foreign Divisions
SS Hitler's Foreign Divisions

Author: Chris Bishop

Publisher: Amber Books Ltd

Published: 2012-07-16

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1908273992

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The Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler’s armies in World War II, but the most fanatical were not even German. This is a comprehensive examination of every foreign Waffen-SS formation, including infamous divisions such as Wiking and Prinz Eugen, units such as the Kaminski Brigade and the British-recruited Britisches Freikorps.

Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, 1941–1945
Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, 1941–1945

Author: Ian Baxter

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2014-02-24

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1473834457

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“An incredible up close and personal look . . . [at] the men, machines and operational history of the Waffen-SS.”—MSC Review Connect This book in the popular Images of War series covers the deeds of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. With extensive text and in-depth captions with many rare and unpublished photographs, it is an absorbing analysis of the part they played on the Eastern Front. It reveals in detail how this elite band of men fought during the opening phase of Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia, how it supported and took part in the victory at Kharkov, Demyansk and other battles in the Soviet Union. The book reveals the Waffen-SS’s role at Kursk and how it was forced to withdraw in the face of overwhelming enemy superiority and were rushed from one danger zone to another to plug gaps in the front. Often these troops faced an enemy ten-times their strength, and it was for this reason they were feared and respected by their enemy. Although by early May 1945, the Waffen-SS was all but destroyed, having battled across half Russia and gone on to protect the withdrawals of the rest of the German Army to the very gates of Berlin. “In addition to the images we get a fairly extensive appendix showing the order of battle of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front and details on uniforms, weapons and equipment. The book would be very useful as a visual aid for living history exponents and model makers.”—War History Online

British Boy in Fascist Italy
British Boy in Fascist Italy

Author: Peter Ghiringhelli

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2010-08-16

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0752496778

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Born in England to an Italian Fascist father, Peter Ghiringhelli's turbulent childhood saw him deported to Italy when Mussolini fatefully entered the Second World War. There Peter witnessed the totalitarian regime at first hand and recalls his experiences of cold and hunger, his own role in Fascist rallies as a member of the black-shirted Balilla and the fall of Mussolini, providing a captivating living link to the past. Published for the first time, his childhood memories of this part of war-torn Europe are a fascinating insight into life under terrible oppression by the Republican Fascist party and the invading German army, who selected random Italian civilians for execution as retribution for every German soldier killed during the violent partisan fighting. Although his experiences were typical of many children living in Mussolini's Italy, Peter Ghiringhelli's remarkable recall and vivid memories serve as a unique testament to an extraordinary period of history, placing the reader in his place in a tug of war between life and death, desolation and victory.PETER GHIRINGHELLI was born in Leeds in 1930. After the war he joined the British army and served in the Royal Artillery in Germany and the Far East until 1953. He then worked in the Immigration Service at Folkestone and Heathrow, retiring in 1987. He now lives in Lincoln with his wife Margaret.

Hitler’s Elite
Hitler’s Elite

Author: Chris McNab

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-10-20

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1472806441

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A companion volume to Hitler's Armies and Hitler's Eagles, Hitler's Elite: The SS 1939–45 tells the complete story of the SS at individual, unit and organizational levels. Following an explanation of the SS' complex political and social origins, and its growth within the Nazi empire, it goes on to look at both its war record and its wider role in Heinrich Himmler's implementation of Hitler's vision for the Third Reich. As well as providing a combat history of the Waffen-SS from 1939 to 1945, it also explores themes such as ideology, recruitment, foreign SS personnel, training and equipment. The book's textual history is brought to life with more than 200 photographs and colour artworks from Osprey's series titles. This is a detailed and highly visual insight into one of Hitler's most powerful instruments of policy.