"This was a principle [of Killing or Being Killed] to which I remained true throughout. If I had an enemy in the crosswires of my telescopic sight and"This was a principle [of Killing or Being Killed] to which I remained true throughout. If I had an enemy in the crosswires of my telescopic sight and a finger on the trigger, his fate was sealed. In youthful pride at my success I used a pocket-knife to make notches in the stock of my rifle, a trial I kept while I had my Russian sniper-rifle, and not until the death of a fellow sniper in action a year later did I abandon this suicidal habit." pg 25
This was a detailed and graphic account of an Austrian conscript in the Gebirgsjäger nd deployed to the Eastern Front. There was much personal account of the mission, camaraderie, and the psychological aspects associated with war. The end offered the intrinsic of moral injury and post-traumtic combat stress response:
Was it right, what we did? Under the circumstances was there some alternative? These questions to which a private soldier in the German military can probably find an answer. The simple infantryman never had a choice. It was simply a matter of fight, or die. We were soldiers, and we did our duty, and that was all there was to it. pg 140
This was engaging and i never lost interest while reading. I would recommend this to anyone interested in wartime personal accounts in and out of combat. Thanks!...more
This was a solid overview of armored warfare on the Eastern Front and in my opinion is a good introduction & all-enconpassing read on the subject. TheThis was a solid overview of armored warfare on the Eastern Front and in my opinion is a good introduction & all-enconpassing read on the subject. The book opened with a solid introduction to Panzerwaffe, blitzkrieg, and the strategic & tactical changes made in the German military post-WW1 to the 1930s. A chapter was dedicated to each numbered tank Army and detailed battles & engagements, leadership, logistics, and lots of pertinent information about each Army's area of responsibility. The author gave a good opening introduction, maps, and appendices of commanders & orders of battle at the end of the book.
I thought this was great for the new reader and enthusiast because it was written clearly, not overloaded in detail, and was highly readable. I would recommend this to anyone interested in this subject. Thanks!!...more
This was a good overview history of the creation, evolution, training, etc, of the German Panzer units, commanders, battles, and key figures from thisThis was a good overview history of the creation, evolution, training, etc, of the German Panzer units, commanders, battles, and key figures from this time. The opening two chapters provided history of German tank warfare, the Wehrkreise, and the subsequent chapters have a history of the many tank formations during World War II. Overall this was a great all-encompassing history of the German tank in World War II. I would recommend this to anyone interested in panzer and armored warfare. Thanks!...more
This was a detailed narrative about the second Battle of Kharkov in 1942. This was a Soviet counteroffensive that attempted to push out Axis forces anThis was a detailed narrative about the second Battle of Kharkov in 1942. This was a Soviet counteroffensive that attempted to push out Axis forces and secure both the city and the eastern part of Soviet Ukraine. David Glantz did a terrific job of explaining all the elements of the engagement both strategically and tactically on both German and Soviet leadership angles.
Among the other numerous shortcomings [from the Soviet leadership] during the planning phase of the operation were the failure to organize sufficient fire support, weak intelligence collection and processing, poor force concentration, inaccurate assessment of the correlation of forces, clumsy employment of mobile forces, ineffective co-operation between units, lax combat training and poor use of communications. Once the operation commenced, these faults were exacerbated by weak control of forces in battle, poor and untimely decision-making, and a list of lesser tactical errors. pg 237
This overall was a well-written and detailed account of an important battle and I would recommend this to anyone interested in the Eastern Front of World War II. Thanks!...more
This was a detailed historical narrative about the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division (VGD). The author explained the creation and inception of VGD's as tThis was a detailed historical narrative about the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division (VGD). The author explained the creation and inception of VGD's as they were different from a regular and traditional Wehrmacht & Panzergrenadier units. These volk, "of the people" units were created in 1944 from older reconstituted veterans, reactivated and/or redesignated active duty Sailors and service members into a conventional ground force, and even younger citizens were drafted. The intent of the name itelf was to boost morale and reinvigorate nationalism as pressures from Allied advancements steadily encroached into Europe. This narrative followed the 272nd VGD that was deployed along the Siegfried Line to stop the Allied push from the Low Countries in to Germany. Overall this was a highly information and well-written account of the war in Europe from 1944 to the end. I would recommend this to anyone interested in World War II history. Thanks!...more
"The constellation of beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that contributed to the German leadership's willingness to fight a war of conquest and genoc"The constellation of beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that contributed to the German leadership's willingness to fight a war of conquest and genocide: faith in their own superiority; loathing of Jews amd Slavs; fear and hatred of Marxism and conflation of it with Jewishness; belief in existential struggle and in Germany's right to use any means to win; attachment to ideals of brutality and ruthlessness; a desire for another war and the assumption that such a war would be "total"; particular hostility toward the Soviet Union; and principles of leadership that would, in effect, act to facilitate criminal behavior. The last ingredient would be the war itself, in which all these factors would work together to produce effects that even the most cynical generals had not foreseen. pg 10"
This was a good overall history of the opening campaign of Operation Barbarossa and the subsequent racial warfare that followed the Wehrmacht and SS push to Moscow. The forst chapter was a good lead up to WW2, the rise of Third Reich Germany, and the overall societal aspects of the intra-WW1 to World War II time frame. The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 is instructive on at least two levels. First, it highlights the combination of ruthlessness and prejudice that informed military strategy and occupation policy. Second, it demonstrates how interconnected ideology, culture, politics, economics, and warfare can be. (pg 149)
The author gave again overall details on the invasion, the Einsatsgruppen and ethnic cleansing operations, extermination of Jewish local nationals within the USSR, and the Nazi Germany Final Solution. The book covered the 1941 time frame with residual case and effect from as early at the 1920s to the ends justifying the means of Operation Barbarossa as fulfilled by Hitler and his edicts from Mein Kampf.
Overall this was a solid overview style narrative and touched a lot on the basics. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in Operation Barbarossa and the hard open of the Eastern Front. Thanks!...more
This was written in a day-to-day style focusing on both the German and Russian maneuvering and advancements. I have to agree with other reviewers as tThis was written in a day-to-day style focusing on both the German and Russian maneuvering and advancements. I have to agree with other reviewers as the content was written choppy. I felt the authors intent was to deliver the information with brevity and in a succinct format that it came across on choppy and sometimes difficult to follow. The information was good, the maps were colored and clear, and the appendices were loaded with unit tables of organization and equipment. Overall there was lots of information but had some awkward and redundant moments that took away from the smoothness of the writing. I would recommend this as a reference source for Operation Citadel and combat on the Eastern Front. Thanks!...more
This was a well-written and researched work covering the entirety of Operation Citadel on the Eastern Front in 1943. The narrative gave a detailed accThis was a well-written and researched work covering the entirety of Operation Citadel on the Eastern Front in 1943. The narrative gave a detailed account of German offensive operations in the Kursk salient that included the largest tank battle in history, the Battle of Kursk (4-11 July), and the subsequent battle for Prokhorovka (12-17 July). The author did an excellent job of delivering the details of maneuvering, combat, logistics, Luftwaffe action, and the tank warfare that encapsulates the images of Kursk.
Overall I thought this was superb. The writing, information, and photos all were well put together to make an excellent history book. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the Eastern Front and warfare of the time. Thanks!!...more
This is a cleaned up and colorized maps to the first two volumes in the series. The maps are readable and correspond to which chapter and volume they This is a cleaned up and colorized maps to the first two volumes in the series. The maps are readable and correspond to which chapter and volume they came from. Though not necessary it did provide some visual aid reference to the not so clear maps in the previous volumes. Recommended for completists I would suppose! Thanks!!...more
The author described this as the documentary companion to the fist two volumes as the intent to "challenge conventional wisdom" with massive research The author described this as the documentary companion to the fist two volumes as the intent to "challenge conventional wisdom" with massive research and archival materials discovery to restore a significant "forgotten battle". Additional context included ten key documents (directives and krders) prepared by the German High Command of the Armed Forces (OKW), High Command of the Fround Forces (OKH), and the Army Group Center. The companion also supplements the 201 operationally and regional maps included in the narrative volumes with eleven archival maps taken from the collections of documents compiled by the Red Army General Staff.
Overall an extensive and fine-tuned research undertaking. David Glantz delivered a tome of information and detail about the opening campaign of Operation Barbarossa and the Battle of Smolensk. Recommended for readers of the Eastern Front! Thanks!...more
This was a continuation of the first volume that detailed the second half of the German offensives, and the Soviet counteroffensive. David Glantz contThis was a continuation of the first volume that detailed the second half of the German offensives, and the Soviet counteroffensive. David Glantz continued the dense, heavy-handed details & day-to-day maneuvering, combat, and outcomes. As previously reviewed there were extensive tables of organizations and equipment, orders of battle, and some rough maps. These books are relatively expensive but worth a glance-through if you can get your hands on a copy. Recommended for Eastern Front war enthusiasts. Thanks!!...more
This was a dense, super-detailed, and highly informative read into the opening campaign of the Eastern Front of World War II. Honestly, the density anThis was a dense, super-detailed, and highly informative read into the opening campaign of the Eastern Front of World War II. Honestly, the density and information overload made it hard to read. This was a not a narrative but an in-depth (almost forensic analysis) of the Battle of Smolensk. The author loaded detailed daily accounts, listed numerous German & Russian tables of organization & equipment, and offensives & counterstrokes during the time frame of 10 July to 10 September 1941. This was the first major engagement once Operation Barbarossa commenced on 22 June 1941.
My only gripe was the maps were hard to read, almost all of them. But other than that, it was a too detailed and kinda boring. It was definitely tailored as a war studies resource instead of leisurely reading. Recommended if you are able to get your hands on a physical copy. Thanks!...more
This was an excellent photographic display of the German forces on the Eastern Front. These clear and highly detailed pictures come from the co-authorThis was an excellent photographic display of the German forces on the Eastern Front. These clear and highly detailed pictures come from the co-author Ian Spring's collection from PIXPAST Archive. These photos are all from the combat cameraman and the introduction explained the utilization of the Agfa camera and the use of the Zeiss Lens. The book is divided into three parts:
The Ground War: panzers, supply trucks and logistics movements, infantry columns, marches, artillery formations and equipment on both sides of the Germans and Russians. [image] [image] [image] War In the Skies: Luftwaffe, destruction and downed aircraft, dive-bombers, air defense duties. [image] [image] Behind The Lines: interactions with the locals, prisoners of war, partisans, medics, leisure time on the Front, and the harsh Russians winter. [image] [image] The pictures I was able to find online are watermarked and not in higher resolution; the photos in the book are vibrant and very clear. I would highly recommend this book alongside The Onslaught: The German Drive to Stalingrad for colorized accounts of the Eastern Front. Thanks!...more
"The conquest of Lebensraum [German living space taken through warlike conquest, pg 9] in the East had of course always been Hitler's central strategi"The conquest of Lebensraum [German living space taken through warlike conquest, pg 9] in the East had of course always been Hitler's central strategic objective. The threat posed by the Anglo-American alliance, masterminded by the world Jewry, simply made this more urgent and more necessary than ever." pg 462
This was an in-depth analysis of the economic groundwork of the Third Reich. Adam Tooze did a good job of delivering a lot of information without losing me. I had to look up a few things (Gross Domestic Product, Keynesian theory, etc.) because I hadn't heard them since high school. There were concepts I had to pay attention to while reading (bankruptcy, debt, currency reserves, inflation, unemployment, imports & exports, household consumption, etc.) to help understand the big picture.
Post-WW1 economic recovery and sustainmemt took off when Hitler began the rearmamemt process. The budget spending allocated on the military brought jobs and was interesting. German business partnerships that developed with the government were Volkswagen, BMW, IG Farben (chemical industry), Thyssen and Krupp (iron and steel industry), and Siemens were companies (still in existence today) that were essential in stimulating the Nazi economy prior to the war. There was an entire chapter on Racial War and the economic impact of Hitler's vision of colonization of Eastern Europe. Operation Barbarossa become the turning point of the war both militarily and economically. Production pacing and resource allocation became a problem as the German industrial-military complex was outmatched by Allied economic might.
I learned a lot and remained engaged during the entire read. It was a lot to absorb and required me to look things up as I read. I would definitely suggest it to anyone interested in the financial subject of the Third Reich. Thanks!...more
This was a beautiful historical and photographic account of the Battle of Prokhorovka. [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] HThis was a beautiful historical and photographic account of the Battle of Prokhorovka. [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] Highly recommended for WW2 & Eastern Front history buffs. Thanks!...more
This was a good overall history of the German award for bravery, valor, and gallantry, the Iron Cross. This award was first implemented in 20 March 18This was a good overall history of the German award for bravery, valor, and gallantry, the Iron Cross. This award was first implemented in 20 March 1813 as an award for valor by Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia during war against Napoleon's France. Degrees within the decoration itself were seen as Second Class (2 Klasse), First Class (1 Klasse), and The Grand Class (Grosskreuz). The highest class of the Iron Cross, the Star of The Grand Cross, was awarded only once, to Generalfeldmarshall Blücher in recognition of his part in the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. The award was reissued during conflict on four separate occasions from that point on: 19 July 1870 (Franco-Prussian War), 5 August 1914 (World War I), 1 September 1939 (World War II), and 1957 (a new German law was enacted that lessened the prohibition of certain negative images/stigmas associated with the Nazi regime). [image] [image] [image] Each chapter discussed the psychical specifications of each medal (length, width, ribbon color sequence, etc.) and unique improvements made from one year to the next (iron with silver bordering, FW (the Royal Cypher of Friedrich Wilhelm), W (Kaiser Wilhelm), and lastly the centered swastika for the Nationalist Socialist Party). The 1813, 1870, and 1914 ribbon was originally the black and white colors of the Prussian flag. Hitler added the red stripe on the ribbon in Article 4 of his offical decree reissuing the Iron Cross 1 September 1939. Each chapter also listed statistics of awards issued in the wars and gave specific biographies of select recipients.
The ribbon and medal on the book cover was the Knight's Cross with crossed silver swords and oakleaves and a set of small diamonds. Recipients of this included Grand Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel, Kapitän zur See Wolfgang Lüth (who inspired the film Das Boot), SS-Leibstandarte Commander Joseph Dietrich. Flying Ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the only recipient for Iron Cross-Golden Cross swords and oakleaves with diamonds. He flew 2530 missions, 519 enemy tanks destroyed, one battleship, one cruiser and one tanker destroyed, and 70 other craft sunk or damaged. He also flew 26 of those kill missions with one leg.
This was an informative and quick read about a highly respected award that I believe still is held in respects by historians today. I would recommend this anyone interested in German history and war. Thanks!...more
This was an excellent account of the Holocaust from beginning and its aftermath. This narrative was portfolio style accompanied with lots of photos (BThis was an excellent account of the Holocaust from beginning and its aftermath. This narrative was portfolio style accompanied with lots of photos (B&W and colorized), maps, and more to aid in the visual experience. The narrative explained everything: the rise of Nazi Germany, the escalation of antisemitism, the ghettos, the concentration camps, the Final Solution, liberation from Allied/Soviet forces, and to the aftermath of post-WW2 Europe.
The book explained and showed all of Europe that was effected by the Holocaust. This included well-known topics like Dachau and Auschwitz to lesser known like murderous antisemitism inside Greece and Bosnia and inside the Baltic countries.
I would recommend this for its beginning-to-end analysis of the Holocaust. Thanks!...more
This was a great overview of the German leadership during WW2. The book broken up into parts to include the German Army and the rise of National SociaThis was a great overview of the German leadership during WW2. The book broken up into parts to include the German Army and the rise of National Socialism from 1932-9, the regalia and uniforms of Hitler's generals, the Mediterranean Front, the Western Front, and the Eastern Front, and the political High Command. Each section included a military objective analysis in each theater and concluded with German generalship.
Each general or Field-Marshal was given a short biography, his area of operation, successes & failures, and information specifically about engagements during his leadership. The author shows how certain decisions had a ripple effect. The author was not pro-German Army but presented the information from a non-biased analytical view point.
Western Front, France and the Low Countries: Field-Marshal Ewald von Kleist (breakthrough into the Low Countries) Colonel-General Heinz Guderian (Panzer corridor through France) Field-Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (coastal defense of France) Colonel-General Sepp Dietrich (Battle of the Bulge)
Eastern Front, June 1941 - February 1943 (Minsk to Stalingrad): Field-Marshal Guenther Hans von Kluge (Minsk Pocket) Field-Marshal Feodor von Bock (Battle for Moscow) Field-Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (surge to Leningrad) Colonel-General Erich Hoepner (retreat from Moscow)
Mediterranean Fronts, North Africa and Italy; Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel (Battle of Gazala) Colonel-General Juergen von Arnim (Defeat in Tunisia) Field-Marshal Albert Kesselring (Battle of Cassino) Colonel-General Heinrich von Vietinghoff (Gothic Line defense)
Eastern Front, February 1943 - May 1945 (Kursk to Berlin): Field-Marshal Erich von Mannstein (Battle of Kursk) Field-Marshal Walther Model (retreat into Poland) Colonel-General Georg-Hans Reinhardt (loss of Prussia) General Otto Woehler (Battle of Lake Balaton) Field-Marshal Ferdinand Schoerner (Last Stand in Czechoslovakia)
German High Command: Field-Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (Hitler's Lackey) Colonel-General Franz Halder ('the Peevish Professional') Colonel-General Alfred Jodl (' the colorless Administrator') Colonel-General Kurt Zeitzler (the 'Last of the Old Breed')
Overall this large book was full of colorized, two-toned, and black and white photos to accompany the text. I would recommend this for anyone interested in a brief overview of German military leadership in WW2....more
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