"This is the illustrated history of the Waffen SS on the Eastern Front. The life and death of the Waffen SS can be traced in the surviving photographs, and the brooding saga of the decline from triumph into disaster is told through these powerful images which clearly document the reality of combat on the Russian Front. These rare images capture the optimism of opening stage of the war and the challenges of Barbarossa more clearly than words can ever tell. The seasons of mud and the white hell of a Russian winter are encapsulated in this excellent selection of evocative images introduced and described by historian and author Nicholas Milton. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the course of the war in the East and the role played by the Waffen SS."
This is the illustrated history of the Waffen SS on the Eastern Front. The life and death of the Waffen SS can be traced in the surviving photographs, and the brooding saga of the decline from triumph into disaster is told through these powerful images which clearly document the reality of combat on the Russian Front. From 1943 to 1945 the Waffen SS in the East were engaged in a long and bloody retreat against a numerically far superior enemy. As they fell back across the vast plains of the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary and ultimately Germany itself, death or ignominious defeat at the hands of the Red Army became their fate. But the Waffen SS, true to their character, fought a fanatical rearguard action to the end. In the process they showed utterly heroic if increasingly futile acts of bravery against overwhelming odds. These events are encapsulated in this excellent selection of evocative images introduced and described by historian and author Nicholas Milton. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the course of the war in the East and the role played by the Waffen SS.
“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 With extensive text and in-depth captions with many rare and unpublished photographs, it is an absorbing analysis of the part they played on the Eastern Front.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
They were the soldiers sworn by an oath of loyalty to follow Hitler into a maelstrom of genocidal barbarity. They were the elite of the German military in World War Two. They were the Waffen-SS. On June 22, 1941, before dawn, German troops invaded Russia. The Barbarossa campaign included some of the greatest episodes in military history: it also allowed Hitler's ideological warriors, the Waffen-SS, to give full vent to their ideological way of war. It provided the killing ground in which some of the worst atrocities seen by humanity were committed. In Valhalla's Warriors, author Dr. Terry Goldsworthy, meticulously chronicles what has become one of the most famous fighting elites in World War Two. Discovering the truths behind the legend by drawing on hundreds of sources - including first hand accounts of Waffen-SS veterans - and spanning five years of research Dr. Goldsworthy leads the reader through the events that occurred on the Eastern Front, both on the front lines and behind. This book is an exploration of the Waffen-SS, and by necessity of evil. The Waffen-SS are commonly regarded as the elite of Germany's armed forces during World War II. They gained much of this reputation whilst fighting on the Eastern Front in Russia. Germany's war against the Soviet Union in World War II, in particular the role of the Waffen-SS forms much of the subject matter of this book. The death and destruction during this conflict would result not just from military operations, but also from the systematic killing and abuse that the Waffen-SS directed against Jews, Communists and ordinary citizens. This book provides a clear, concise history of the Waffen-SS campaign of conquest and genocide in Russia by looking at the actions both on and behind the front lines. By drawing on the best of military and Holocaust scholarship, this book dispels the myths that have distorted the role of the Waffen-SS, in both the military operations themselves and the unthinkable crimes that were part of them. The conventional wisdom that the Waffen-SS in World War II fought a relatively clean fight, unsullied by the atrocities committed by the Nazis, is challenged-and largely demolished. Focusing on the Eastern Front, the book contends that the Nazi vision of a racial-ideological death struggle against Slavic hordes and their Jewish-Bolshevik commissars resonated with soldiers of the Waffen-SS, steeped in traditional anti-Semitic and racist dogmas. In doing so this book clearly shows that the Waffen-SS was an organisation that committed widespread atrocities, and were truly soldiers of evil. Dr. Terry Goldsworthy is a Detective Senior Sergeant with over 23 years policing experience in Australia. He specialises in the investigation and management of homicides, rapes, armed robberies and other serious crimes as well as general crime. Dr. Goldsworthy has completed a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Laws, Advanced Diploma of Investigative Practice and a Diploma of Policing. As a result of his law studies Dr. Goldsworthy was admitted to the bar in the Queensland and Federal Courts as a barrister in 1999. Dr. Goldsworthy then completed a Master of Criminology at Bond University. He later undertook his PhD at Bond University focusing on the concept of evil and its relevance from a criminological and sociological viewpoint. In particular Dr. Goldsworthy looked at the link between evil and armed conflicts using the Waffen-SS as a case study. Dr. Goldsworthy has had a number of journal articles published in journals such as the Australian Police Journal and also the Journal of Behavioural Profiling. He has also contributed a chapter to the tertiary textbook, Serial Crime, published by Academic Press.
The Waffen-SS was the military branch of the Nazi Party's SS organization. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. During the closing years of World War II, the panzer divisions of the Waffen-SS fought a magnificent series of battles on the Eastern Front. Waffen-SS Panzers is an account of these battles and covers the period from the recapture of Kharkiv in early 1943, when I SS Panzer Corps prevented the collapse of Army Group South, to the last desperate attempts to hold the Red Army before Berlin in 1945.
A detailed account of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front 1941-1945. The author examines their ideology and the military consequences of viewing the Russians as sub-humans, beginning with Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 to the final offensives in Hungary and Germany in 1945
The Waffen-SS was the military branch of the Nazi Party's SS organization. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. During the closing years of World War II, the panzer divisions of the Waffen-SS fought a magnificent series of battles on the Eastern Front. Waffen-SS Panzers is an account of these battles and covers the period from the recapture of Kharkov in early 1943, when I SS Panzer Corps prevented the collapse of Army Group South, to the last desperate attempts to hold the Red Army before Berlin in 1945.
The Waffen-SS was the military branch of the Nazi Party's SS organization. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The Waffen-SS grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II and served alongside the Heer (regular army), Ordnungspolizei (uniformed police), and other security units. Originally, it was under the control of the SS Führungshauptamt (SS operational command office) beneath Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. With the start of World War II, tactical control was exercised by the High Command of the Armed Forces (OKW), with some units being subordinated to Kommandos Tab Reichsfuhrer-SS (Command Staff Reichsfuhrer-SS) directly under Himmler's control. This book is a detailed account, enhanced by more than 100 exciting black and white photographs, of every aspect of the Waffen- SS war on the Eastern Front: its battles, its organization, tactics, and equipment. However, this book is more than an account of the battles and campaigns of the Waffen -SS in the East: it also examines the recruitment and organization of those foreign legions of the SS that fought on the Eastern Front. Buy now.
