Waffen-SS: Hitler's Army at War

Description

From an award-winning and bestselling historian, the first comprehensive military history in over fifty years of Hitler's famous and infamous personal army: the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was one of the most feared combat organizations of the twentieth century. Originally formed as a protection squad for Adolf Hitler it became the military wing of Heinrich Himmler's SS and a key part of the Nazi state, with nearly 900,000 men passing through its ranks. The Waffen-SS played a crucial role in furthering the aims of the Third Reich which made its soldiers Hitler's political operatives. During its short history, the elite military divisions of the Waffen-SS acquired a reputation for excellence, but their famous battlefield record of success was matched by their repeated and infamous atrocities against both soldiers and civilians. Waffen-SS is the first definitive single-volume military history of the Waffen-SS in more than 50 years.... Himmler's Army -- Foundation Stones -- Creating an Elite -- The March to War -- The Destruction of Poland -- Deployment in the West -- Invading the Netherlands -- The Assault on France -- France Defeated -- Transition and Expansion -- Balkan Diversion -- The Greatest War in History -- Operation Barbarossa -- Advance on Leningrad: Army Group North -- Across the Ukraine: Army Group South -- Drive on Moscow: Army Group Center -- Holding the Line: Eastern Front -- At the Edge: Eastern Front 1942-43 -- Kharkov Counterstroke -- Kursk: Clash of Armor -- A Call to Arms -- An Army of Europeans -- Defending the Ukraine -- Battle in the North -- Shoring up the Line -- Partisan Wars: The Eastern Front -- Partisan Wars: The Balkans -- War in the West -- Battle for the Beachhead -- Unequal Struggle -- Collapse and Recovery -- Final Gamble in the West -- Fight to the Last -- Disaster in Hungary -- The Waffen-SS Destroyed -- Aftermath.