Armoured Warfare and the Waffen-SS, 1944–1945

Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473877962
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 219

Book Description
Over 150 wartime photographs give a graphic snapshot of the dramatic tank battles fought by the Waffen-SS panzer and panzergrenadier divisions during 1944-5 on both the Eastern and Western fronts. By this stage of the Second World War these formations were at the height of their powers and took part in major armoured operations in Russia, France, the Netherlands, and Poland. As the Wehrmacht retreated the Waffen-SS played an increasingly important role. Most notably their panzers prolonged the war by staving off defeat at Arnhem and Wolomin, stabilizing both the Western and Eastern fronts at critical points in the fighting.The photographs and the accompanying narrative record the contrasting conditions they faced on each battlefront and the weapons and equipment they used, especially the armored vehicles, including the Tiger and Panther tanks, which were among the best designs the Germans produced. But they also record the crimes committed by members of the Waffen-SS against civilians and captured enemy soldiers during the series of brutal, often desperate operations mounted to stave off German defeat.Anthony Tucker-Jones's photographic history is a fascinating introduction to these elite units during the final phase of the fighting in Europe.

Armoured Warfare and the Waffen-SS 1944-1945: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives

Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781473877955
Category : HISTORY
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description

Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS

Author: Will Fey
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0811769178
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

Book Description
The Waffen-SS were considered the elite of the German armed forces in the Second World War and were involved in almost continuous combat. From the sweeping tank battle of Kursk on the Russian front to the bitter fighting among the hedgerows of Normandy and the last great offensive in the Ardennes, forever immortalized in history as the Battle of the Bulge, these men and their tanks made history.

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

Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399090046
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 191

Book Description
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.

Waffen-SS Armour in Normandy

Author: Norbert Számvéber
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1910294144
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
Waffen-SS Armour in Normandy presents the combat history of SS-Panzer Regiment 12 and SS-Panzerjäger Abteilung 12 in the Battle for France from June to the end of August 1944 based on transcriptions of their original unit war diaries from the Military History Archives in Prague. Both armored units belonged to the 12.SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. SS-Panzer Regiment 12 was fully equipped with Panzer IV and Panther tanks. The main AFV of SS-Panzerjäger Abteilung 12 was the Jagdpanzer IV L/48 tank destroyer. The structure of the volume is partly source publication (documents of SS-Panzer Regiment 12) and partly study (the deployment of SS-Panzerjäger Abteilung 12). The text was written and footnoted by the author based upon original wartime files in Prague that have remained almost unknown. The book starts with the story of the units' establishment and training in 1943/1944, including, for example, the shipments of equipment, orders of battle and tactical numbers of the tanks. After this introduction, a highly detailed daily chronology of the combat actions is provided, from 12.SS-Panzer Division traveling to the Caen sector to Operation Totalize and the withdrawal to the Seine River. Documents from SS-Panzer Regiment 12 presented in the book include the following: combat reports, list of knocked-out enemy tanks, German personnel and tank losses, combat orders, summary of acquired combat experiences and others. This is an impressive look at tactical-level events and command decisions, highlighting the armored combat tactics that were able to stop Montgomery's Army Group from breaking through the German lines near Caen for two months. The study includes a number of detailed maps and excellent photos. In addition, the book has benefited from the contribution of rare information, photographs and documents from the archive of noted Waffen-SS historian Mark C. Yerger.

SS: Hell on the Eastern Front

Author: Christopher Ailsby
Publisher: Spellmount, Limited Publishers
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Book Description
Gives an account of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, its battles, organisation, tactics and equipment.

Armoured Warfare in the Battle of the Bulge, 1944–1945

Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526701774
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
The Battle of the Bulge took the Allied armies by surprise in 1944. It was a result of the extraordinary recovery of Hitlers panzer divisions following crushing defeats on the Eastern and Western fronts. In a daring offensive he hoped his panzers would unhinge the American and British push on the Rhine by charging through the Schnee Eifel, thereby prolonging the war. The consequence was one of the best-known battles of the entire conflict, and Anthony Tucker-Jones's photographic history is the ideal introduction to it. The story is told through a sequence of revealing contemporary photographs and a concise text. They give a sharp insight into the planning and decision-making, the armored forces involved, the terrain and the appalling mid-winter conditions, the front-line fighting and the experience of the troops involved. The armored battle, which was critical to the outcome, is the main focus. Through a massive tank offensive the Germans aimed to cut through the US 1st Army to Antwerp and Brussels, in the process trapping three Allied armies. The confusion and near collapse of the Americans as their defenses were overrun is vividly recorded in the photographs, as is their resistance and recovery as the German spearheads were slowed, then stopped.

Waffen-SS on the Western Front, 1940–1945

Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473829917
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
This book in the popular Images of War series covers the deeds of the Waffen-SS on the Western Front during the Second World War. With extensive text and in-depth captions with many rare and unpublished photographs it describes the fighting tactics, the uniforms, the battles and the different elements that went into making the Waffen-SS such an elite fighting unit. It traces how the Waffen-SS carefully built up their assault forces utilising all available reserves and resources into a ruthlessly effective killing machine. It depicts how this awesome military formation grew to be used in offensive and then in defensive battles, and provides much historical information and facts about the weapons and all the components that fought on Western Front. The reader learns how the Waffen-SS battled their way through the Low Countries and the Balkans. After D-Day they played a key role in Normandy and fought at Arnhem, in the Ardennes and shifted from one disintegrating part of the front to another in a drastic attempt to stabilise the crumbling war effort.The Waffen-SS on the Western Front 1940 1945 provides an excellent insight into one of the most effective fighting formations in military history.

Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1943–1945

Author: Robert Forczyk
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473880920
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Book Description
The author of Case White offers an extensive history of German and Soviet armored warfare toward the end of World War II. By 1943, after the catastrophic German defeat at Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht’s panzer armies gradually lost the initiative on the Eastern Front. The tide of the war had turned. Their combined arms technique, which had swept Soviet forces before it during 1941 and 1942, had lost its edge. Thereafter the war on the Eastern Front was dominated by tank-led offensives and, as Robert Forczyk shows, the Red Army’s mechanized forces gained the upper hand, delivering a sequence of powerful blows that shattered one German defensive line after another. His incisive study offers fresh insight into how the two most powerful mechanized armies of the Second World War developed their tank tactics and weaponry during this period of growing Soviet dominance. He uses German, Russian, and English sources to provide the first comprehensive overview and analysis of armored warfare from the German and Soviet perspectives. This major study of the greatest tank war in history is compelling reading.

Panther Tanks: German Army and Waffen-SS, Defence of the West, 1945

Author: Dennis Oliver
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526755912
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 140

Book Description
A guide that blends the history behind the German World War II tank with resources for military vehicle modeling enthusiasts. In late 1944 and 1945, the Panther tank played an important role in Germany’s desperate efforts to stem the Allied advance on the Western Front. The Panther, perhaps the best armored vehicle produced by Germany during the Second World War, was a key element in the Wehrmacht’s defensive tactics, in rearguard actions and counterattacks, and it took a prominent part in the last German offensive of the war, in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. So it is an ideal subject for Dennis Oliver’s latest volume in the TankCraft series. He uses archive photos and extensively researched color illustrations to examine the Panther tanks and units of the German army and Waffen-SS panzer battalions that struggled to resist the Allied onslaught. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined providing everything the modeler needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic tanks. Praise for Panther Tanks “A great book, especially for beginners and intermediate modelers, or those building their first Panther tank.” —AMPS “Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined providing everything the modeler needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic tanks.” —Military Vehicles