This is an addition to the established and very popular Images of War series. The SS have received a great deal of coverage from historians although much of that coverage has concentrated on the many war crimes committed by SS personnel. This new book completes a comprehensive IoW series coverage of the SS. – Highly Recommended.
NAME: Images of War, SS Specialist Units In Combat, Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives FILE: R2716 AUTHOR: Bob Carruthers PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: soft back PAGES: 160 PRICE: £14.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War Two, Second World War, WW2, World War Two, Germany, Nazi, SS, Himmler, Dietrich, Hauser, paratroopers, cavalry, signallers, engineers, bakers, medics, mountain troops, special forces
ISBN: 1-47386-848-3
IMAGE: B2716.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/y7gzjt2g LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This is an addition to the established and very popular Images of War series. The SS have received a great deal of coverage from historians although much of that coverage has concentrated on the many war crimes committed by SS personnel. This new book completes a comprehensive IoW series coverage of the SS. – Highly Recommended. The FIRE Project Reviews often receives email questions from our readers and one that periodically comes up is: “Where does the Images of War series fit in for military history enthusiasts. Its a very good question but much depends on individual readers. The cost of adding illustration to military history books usually results in very economic use of images. The IoW series has become very popular because it provides a great many images of war with some concise text in introduction and in captions. Not only does it provide visual information, but it includes a great many very rare images that have never been used in general publishing. For the military professional and the experienced military enthusiast, the IoW series very nicely complements an existing personal library, providing images that the other books failed to include in their small photo-plate sections and where those using many more images by embedding images through a text have had to produced at small size and sometimes at poor definition. By usually setting one or two images per page in a near A4 book, IoW provides large and clear images that convey so much more information. However, the series appeals to a very much wider readership. Casual readers appreciate these books because they are relatively low cost and provide adequate introductory text with some impressive images. As a result, many new enthusiasts start their interest with an IoW book, making the series very important in encouraging new blood in reader communities. They also serve those who normally watch television and video, avoiding the purchase of books, but having their interest peaked and needing a book of this type to fill in what the video failed to provide. This particular book is specially welcome because it rounds off the typical coverage of the SS and demonstrates something that is often neglected by published works. Himmler saw the development of the SS and the Gestapo as highly beneficial to his own ambitions of becoming Hitler's most powerful servant. He also saw the potential for developing a complete Nazi military machine that encompassed every possible military capability, with the personnel selected on racial purity and commitment to Nazi policies. Like many senior Nazis he distrusted the Army and the Navy. Although the Air Force was commanded by one of Hitler's most trusted supporters, Himmler also distrusted that service. His ambition saw the SS as the complete military and internal security arm of the Nazi Party that would eventually absorb all other military structures after they had been purged. The author has selected some fine images that should show Himmler's ambitions had taken the SS from a small close protection squad, guarding Hitler, to a very efficient land warfare force with smaller units developing out onto the wider field of capability. In particular it shows units of the airborne force which was directly competing with the Luftwaffe's paratroop and glider troops, but it also covers all of the other specialist units that made the SS a comprehensive and capable military force that frequently acquired the best new weapons before they were seen by other parts of the German military.