Download or read book 5th SS Wiking at War 1941 1945 written by Ian Baxter and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-03-30 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A photographic documentation of the German foreign volunteer unit—“a valuable addition to any enthusiast’s library of WWII military history books” (Firetrench). Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs, the 5th SS Division Wiking 1941-1945 is the 5th book in the Waffen-SS Images of War Series by Ian Baxter. The book tells the dramatic story of the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking at War. The men of the division were recruited from foreign volunteers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Belgium under the command of German officers. Not all were collaborators—the choice they were all too often presented with was join up or be locked up—or worse. During the course of the war, the division served on the Eastern Front in 1941. It surrendered in May 1945 to the American forces in Austria. “The photos are mostly unpublished before and give an excellent impression of Wiking at war. We see a good variety of conditions over the 5 years of their war, from the height of summer to the depths of winter. We see fine detail of their uniforms and personal equipment as well as the development of larger equipment from motorcycles and early Panzer IVs, to the larger Panthers of the final period. There is also good coverage of anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons as well as heavier artillery. There is a good spread of detail in here which will interest the historian as well as the reenactors, militaria collectors and modelers alike.”—Military Model Scene

Download or read book SS Wiking written by Rupert Butler and published by Spellmount, Limited Publishers. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This military history examines the SS-Wiking, one of Germany's top fighting units in WWII, whom were largely recruited from foreign volunteers of German occupied countries. The author provides us with a full combat record, describing their service on the Eastern Front for the Nazi cause.

Download or read book SS Wiking written by Rupert Butler and published by Waffen-SS Divisional Histories. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in WWII. SS-Wiking is an in-depth examination of one of the most notorious, the Wiking division, which was largely recruited from foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries in Europe after 1940. Despite their non-Germanic background, the Norwegians, Dutch, Danes, Belgians, Finns, and other nationalities, often motivated by an extreme anti-Communist zeal and believing that the Soviet Union was their real enemy, fought hard on the Eastern Front for the Nazi cause, and won considerable praise for their bravery. SS-Wiking explores the background to the unit's formation during the war, its propaganda value to Nazi Germany, the men it recruited, the key figures involved in the division, and its organisation. It also looks at the specialist training of the Waffen-SS, and the uniforms and insignia that the members of the division wore. SS-Wiking also provides a full combat record of the unit during its existence. The book describes the unit's service in on the Eastern Front, including the invasion of Russia, the capture of Rostov, the hard-fought defensive battles of 1943, the breakout from the Cherkassy pocket, and the defence of Warsaw, to the fruitless attempt to relieve Budapest and the unit's effective destruction by the war's end. Illustrated with rare photographs, and with an authoritative text and detailed appendices, 'SS-Wiking' is a definitive history of one of Germany's top fighting units of WWII. 110 b/w photographs

Download or read book SS Wiking written by Rupert Butler and published by Amber Books Ltd. This book was released on 2012-07-16 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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. 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.

Download or read book 6th SS Mountain Division Nord at War 1941 1945 written by Ian Baxter and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-11-30 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord 1941 - 1945 is the 6th book in the Waffen-SS Images of War Series compiled by Ian Baxter. The book tells the story of the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, which was formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord (SS Battle Group North). The Division was the only Waffen-SS unit to fight in the Arctic Circle when it was stationed in Finland and northern Russia between June and November 1941. It fought in Karelia until the Moscow Armistice in September 1944, at which point it left Finland. It suffered heavy losses in the Operation Nordwind in January 1945 and in early April 1945, the division was destroyed by the US forces near Budingen, Germany.

Download or read book Waffen SS Armour on the Eastern Front 1941 1945 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-01-31 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated history of Nazi Germany’s Panzer units along the Eastern Front during World War II. Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union, codename Operation Barbarossa, was arguably the pivotal moment of the Second World War. Initially the onslaught was staggeringly successful with, as the superb contemporary images in this book show, Waffen-SS armored divisions leading the charge. But the Nazis had underestimated the Russians’ determination to defend their homeland and the logistical problems compounded by the extreme winter weather conditions. After early victories such as the recapture of Kharkov in early 1943 and the Kursk offensive, commanders and crews of armored vehicles such as Pz.Kpfw.I, II, III, IV, Panther, Tiger, King Tiger, assault and self-propelled guns had to adapt their tactics and equipment to what became a desperate defensive withdrawal eventually back across a scarred and devastated Eastern Front. Even during the last months of the war as the Panzers withdrew through Poland and into the Reich, these exhausted elite units, broken down into small battle groups or Kampfgruppen, fought to the bitter end. With authoritative text supported by a plethora of rare fully captioned photographs, this classic Images of War book informs and inspires the reader revealing the key role played by Waffen-SS Panzer units in this most bitter campaign.

Download or read book 7th SS Mountain Division Prinz Eugen At War 1941 1945 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-01-30 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume of rare WWII photographs presents a pictorial history of the Nazi mountain infantry division that fought in Croatia and the Balkans. Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs, this book tells the story of the 7th SS Mountain Division during the Second World War. Formed in 1941, it consisted of both volunteers and conscripts from the Banat, Independent State of Croatia, Hungary and Romania. The Prinz Eugen SS Division fought a brutal counterinsurgency campaign against the communist-led Yugoslav Partisan resistance forces in occupied Serbia and Montenegro. It was given the title Prinz Eugen after Prince Eugene of Savoy, a 17th century military leader of the Habsburg Empire. Covering the Divisions history from formation to the end of the war, this volume includes chapters on Operation Weiss, guerilla warfare, and other topics.

Download or read book SS Das Reich at War 1939 1945 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2017-06-30 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1933 and 1939, the strength and influence of the SS grew considerably with thousands of men being recruited into the new ideological armed formation, many into units known as the SS-Verfgungstruppe (Special Disposal Troop). These troops saw action in Poland before switching to the Western Front in 1940. Out of this organisation the SS Das Reich Division was created.This book, with its extensive text and over 250 rare and unpublished photographs with detailed captions describes the fighting tactics, the uniforms, the battles and the different elements that went into making the Das Reich Division such a formidable fighting force. The chapters reveal the Division as it battled its way through Poland, the Low Countries, the Balkans and the Eastern Front. Finally the Das Reich defended Normandy before falling back to Germany.The Division gained its fearsome and notorious reputation for its fighting ability, often against vastly numerically superior forces, as well as its fanatical zeal.

Download or read book European Volunteers written by Peter Strassner and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book SS Foreign Divisions Volunteers of Lithuania Latvia and Estonia 1941 1945 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2021-12-08 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs SS Foreign Divisions & Volunteers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia 1942 - 1945 describes how the occupying Nazis recruited Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian conscripts into the Waffen-SS. Unlike her Latvian neighbor, Lithuania had no plans to provide Germany with a National Legion. Although volunteers came forward, the majority did not. This was not the case for Latvia and Estonia, which undertook huge recruitment programs, and thousands of men were drafted into their own foreign legion of Waffen-SS Grenadier divisions. After intensive training, these divisions saw action on the Eastern front, around Leningrad, in the Ukraine, before vicious defensive operations as the Red Army smashed its way through the Baltic States in 1944. Even in the last dying weeks of the war, what was left of the Baltic soldiers of the 15th, 19th, and 20th Waffen-SS Grenadier Divisions, continued to fight alongside their Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS counterparts until they were either destroyed or surrendered. The story of these divisions is graphically told with detailed captions and text together with many contemporary images in true Images of War style.

Download or read book In the Fire of the Eastern Front written by Hendrick Verton and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2012-02-29 with total page 517 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dutch SS accounts are very rare, particularly ones such as this, covering recruitment, training, and frontline service first with 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking', then later with SS Regiment Besslein. He not only informs and illustrates the general politics of the time, but also explains how Dutch views of the Third Reich changed so radically, discusses the founding of the Waffen-SS, the recruitment of Dutch volunteers into it and why so many non-German Europeans volunteered to fight and risk their lives for Germany. His discussion of the intensity of the SS's training is also noteworthy. Of course, the core of the book lies in Hendrik's recollections of his service on the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945, initially with the 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking'. He offers the reader an impressive and fluid account, whether it be describing the midst of battle, surviving 50 degrees below zero, frosts and frozen ground, or traversing a quagmire of roads. Of particular historical interest are his later recollections of service during 1944-45 with SS Regiment Besslein on the Eastern Front, focusing on his participation in the epic defense of Breslau - this siege remains little-known in the West, and first-hand accounts such as Hendrik's are even scarcer, making this title a worthy addition to the literature on the Second World War.

Download or read book SS Polizei at War 1940 1945 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2018-01-30 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Formed in 1939 SS-Polizei Division were not considered initially as an SS fighting force, and this status was reflected in the quality of the equipment they were issued. Following operations in France, Greece and then Russia, it was not until 1942 the division was transferred to the Waffen-SS, and eventually upgraded to a Panzergrenadier division, the 4th SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier Division.The book describes how the SS-Polizei Division fought across the Low Countries, the Eastern Front, before deploying to the Balkans and Greece where it committed numerous atrocities. During the last days of the War it was assigned to Army Detachment Steiner defending Berlin where many soldiers fought to the death.This book is a unique glimpse into one of the most infamous fighting machines in World War Two and a great addition to any reader interested Waffen-SS history.

Download or read book Norwegian Waffen SS Legion 1941 43 written by Massimiliano Afiero and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-03-21 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the Nazi occupation of Norway in 1941, the Waffen-SS began recruiting volunteers to serve in their ranks. Initially formed into small volunteer units, these developed into large divisions by 1943, referred to as 'Legions' in Nazi propaganda. Early volunteers were promised that they would not leave Scandinavia and that they would serve under native Norwegian officers – but after the German invasion of the Soviet Union they were deployed to the Leningrad front alongside Dutch and Latvian units, in the 2nd SS Infantry Brigade. These units combined to form the nucleus of a whole regiment within the new 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division 'Nordland'. Fully illustrated with detailed artwork depicting the uniforms and equipment of the volunteer soldiers, this fascinating study tells the little-known story of the Norwegians who fought with the SS in World War II.

Download or read book Kampfgruppe M hlenkamp written by Douglas E. Nash and published by . This book was released on 2015-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Viking Panzers written by Ewald Klapdor and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2011-04-05 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • Classic World War II unit history of the 5th SS Panzer Regiment, part of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Viking" • The unique 5th SS Panzer Division was made up largely of volunteers from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Belgium • This regiment served on the Eastern Front from 1942 to the end of the war, including action at Kharkov and Warsaw • Draws heavily from the eyewitness testimonies of the 5th's members • First time in English

Download or read book Wiking A Dutch SS er on the Eastern Front written by Henk Kistemaker and published by Eyewitness 1939 - 1945. This book was released on 2019-02-14 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Henk Kistemaker wrote a unique report about his war experiences as a member of the Waffen-SS. Percentage wise most volunteers for the German Waffen-SS, about 25,000 men, came from the Netherlands. The first division in which a contingent Dutch men served, was the SS Division Wiking. This division was deployed shortly after the invasion of Russia in 1941. She fought among others in Ukraine. During the summeroffensive of 1942 Wiking was able to penetrate deep into the Caucasus. In 1944 the Russian encirclement at Tsjerkassy was broken. In May 1945, most Wikingers became American prisoners of war. Also the 18-year-old Henk Kistemaker volunteered, in a thirst for adventure and on the advice of his German-minded father, to be a participant in this war. On the Eastern Front he experienced the heavy and gruesome battles; first as an infantryman and later as a member of a Panther tankcrew. He was wounded three times. At the age of 22, when the war has ended, he was a warveteran. In the years before his death, in 2003, Henk Kistemaker wrote his memories. It became a fascinating and shocking report about a young Dutchman in the vortex of the war.

Download or read book SS Leibstandarte written by Rupert Butler and published by Amber Books Ltd. This book was released on 2015-10-08 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Führer’s bodyguard, the men it recruited, the key figures involved in the division, its organization, training, uniforms and insignia.