This is a worthy addition to the highly popular Images of War series. Himmler had hoped to eventually replace the German Army with SS troops. He failed to achieve that but the Waffen SS became an important element in the German land forces – Highly Recommended.
NAME: Images of War, SS DAS Reich At War 1939-1945, A History of the Division on the Western and Eastern Fronts, Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives FILE: R2594 AUTHOR: Ian Baxter PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: soft back PAGES: 144 PRICE: £14.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War Two, World War 2, World War II, Eastern Front, Western Front, panzer divisions, Waffen SS, war criminals, national heroes, elite forces ISBN: 1-47389-089-6 IMAGE: B2594.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/y9a588sb LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This is a worthy addition to the highly popular Images of War series. Himmler had hoped to eventually replace the German Army with SS troops. He failed to achieve that but the Waffen SS became an important element in the German land forces – Highly Recommended. The SS have several very different reputations. In combat the Waffen SS Divisions were ruthless and prepared to accept heavy casualties to achieve the Fuhrer's objectives. They were also guilty of war crimes, particularly in the bitter fighting of the Eastern Front where neither side gave quarter. To Germans they were often seen as glamorous elite troops. When Germany's most decorated soldier, Stuka pilot and committed Nazi, Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel, was writing his autobiography he referred to his 'brave comrades in the Guards Divisions', he was referring to the Waffen SS Divisions, Grosse Deutchland and Das Reich, but then one of his best friends in war and after 1945 was brilliant SS commando Otto Skorzeny. The excellent images selected for this book provide a comprehensive picture of the SS Das Reich Division through the highs and lows of Germany's European land war. As is typical of this series, text is mainly limited to captions and extended captions but it is concise and informative.