Favourite WW2 Books / Publications

JayWhizzle

Morlar wrote: »

Why exclude them ? Do you not think there were ordinary men in those fighting divisions also ?

Yeah of course there was. Have a good DVD here about the two different sections of SS, frontline Waffen SS and the SS that worked in concentration camps. But compared with other units SS committed the most atrocities. But as you say there were ordinary men within the SS divisions as well.

Morlar

JayWhizzle wrote: »

Yeah of course there was. Have a good DVD here about the two different sections of SS, frontline Waffen SS and the SS that worked in concentration camps. But compared with other units SS committed the most atrocities. But as you say there were ordinary men within the SS divisions as well.

As an aside .. . I collect photo albums of WW2 and am currently going through an SS Totenkopf one (they were often made up of former KZ guards), you'd be surprised how normal and down to earth even they and their families were too.

JayWhizzle

Morlar wrote: »

As an aside .. . I collect photo albums of WW2 and am currently going through an SS Totenkopf one (they were often made up of former KZ guards), you'd be surprised how normal and down to earth even they and their families were too.

Very good. You should post some up if you can. Would love to see them.

JayWhizzle

JayWhizzle wrote: »

Very good. You should post some up if you can. Would love to see them.

Or are they actual physical photographs?

Morlar

JayWhizzle wrote: »

Very good. You should post some up if you can. Would love to see them.

It is the man's actual photograph album so they are the physical photos, I scan them and put them online so that they are available for other collectors, researchers and so on. The totenkopf one shows them in training (the man is from the Sudeten area), showing off their newly issued uniforms and also a lot of family and kids and pets and relation pictures. There are only a few from Russia and considering the fate of the division it's likely he did not survive the war.

At some point after the war a family relation went through the pictures in the album and went over the SS Runes in each picture with a black marker, possibly to hide involvement or for some other unknown reason.

Cleaning the pictures brought the ss runes into full view again after god knows how many years so the blacks were very black having been beneath the marker for possibly many decades and the whites were glowing white. A bit spooky at the time. Some of the ohter pics were gone over with an ink biro and so did not clean up so well. So the SS TK one will take another few weeks before it's online.

In case you are interested here is a different, earlier SS photo album, this one is from the time of the 3 elections between 1932 & 1933 covering the point in time at which the nsdap came to power :
http://www.militaria-archive.com/AlbumsII/early-ss/index.html

The uniform/marching pics start at picture 74 or thereabouts, the earlier ones again are at home, kids, family that sort of thing but overall they give an indication of the mood at that time in that family.

Morlar

Here are the a few I am currently going through :



Leningrad 1941-44 (Campaign) by: Robert Forczyk

This is incredibly straightforward and useful. Less than 100 pages but they are the perfect 100 pages !

The Siege of Leningrad 1941-1944: 900 Days of Terror (repost)



Another slim book - not as good as the Osprey one but some better maps.



BROWNING_-_Ordinary_Men._Reserve_Police_Battalion_101_and_the_Final_Solution_in_Poland_(1992)

Interesting so far. . .

Also trying to get hold of a copy of :

Stefan Klemp
„Nicht ermittelt"
Polizeibataillone und die Nachkriegsjustiz
Ein Handbuch

(without paying through the nose for it) & waiting on this one to arrive from the publishers



Gerrman Cross in Gold, Volume 5 - Bender/Mark C. Yerger

marcsignal

Just came across this, and reckon I'll be buying a copy

http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/product.php?intProductID=939

It covers the first bombing of Dublin in WW2 'The Donore Bombings' Jan 2nd 1941, when Terenure, Rialto, and South Circular Road were hit.
The better known 'North Strand Bombing' happened six months later on May 31st 1941.

Morlar

Picked this up for .99c in a clearance sale recently, it's a quick read for a single evening and covers the week leading up to June 21st/22nd 1941 in Berlin and Moscow (in the immediate days before Operation Barbarossa).





http://www.amazon.com/June-1941-Hitler-John-Lukacs/dp/0300114370

http://www.amazon.com/June-1941-Hitler-John-Lukacs/dp/0300114370#reader_0300114370


http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300114379

Tabnabs

Recently finished reading Iron Coffins



One of the best WW2 accounts I have read to date. Really fascinating.

I enjoyed it so much I have taken Das Boot down off the shelf after ten years and am enjoying it immensely again.

igorbiscan

Stalingrad was excellent,Berlin was good too,reading D-Day also by Beevor,he has an excellent writing style.

Also reading With The Old Breed by Eugene Sledge which is brilliant.His story is portrayed in The Pacific tv series .Only 1/3 way through but would highly recommend it so far.

marcsignal

igorbiscan wrote: »

Stalingrad was excellent,Berlin was good too,reading D-Day also by Beevor,he has an excellent writing style.

yep, I have to agree, I couldn't put Stalingrad down, poignant stuff and gripping to boot. An excellent read.

jgr12

igorbiscan wrote: »

Also reading With The Old Breed by Eugene Sledge which is brilliant.His story is portrayed in The Pacific tv series .Only 1/3 way through but would highly recommend it so far.

With the Old Breed is an excellent read, as is Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie, also on the pacific I picked up Goodbye Darkness by William Manchester, he gives a really good overview of the war in the pacific alongside his own personal experiences.

I also picked up a copy of the D-Day Experience has reproductions of maps, letters etc, really interesting.

Morlar

This

http://www.worldwartwobooks.com/product.php/9785/combat-operations-of-the-german-ordnungspolizei-1939-1945-polizei-bataillone-ss-polizei-regimenter

&

http://www.worldwartwobooks.com/product.php/9785/combat-operations-of-the-german-ordnungspolizei-1939-1945-polizei-bataillone-ss-polizei-regimenter

Combat Operations of the German Ordnungspolizei, 1939-1945: Polizei-Bataillone - SS-Polizei-Regimenter [Hardcover]
Rolf Michaelis (Author)

# Hardcover: 128 pages
# Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd (28 Oct 2010)
# Language English
# ISBN-10: 9780764336591
# ISBN-13: 978-0764336591
# ASIN: 0764336592
# Product Dimensions: 28.4 x 21.8 x 1.8 cm



Fairly wide ranging coverage of the Ordnungspolizei and ss-polizei throughout the war years. Outlining the formations, locations, record of operations and changing designations throughout. Great reference material but like many others never enough detail ! Nice collection of photographs throughout and some interesting documents at the back of the book too.

BlackEdelweiss

Tabnabs wrote: »

Recently finished reading Iron Coffins



One of the best WW2 accounts I have read to date. Really fascinating.

I enjoyed it so much I have taken Das Boot down off the shelf after ten years and am enjoying it immensely again.

Just finished this myself after reading about it here, very good read and made me want to watch Das Boot again to put sounds and feelings to the stories he told.

Morlar

I got these recently, haven't finished them yet but based on what I have read so far definitely recommend them.

I'd say among the best WW2 books I have come across. About the frontline infantry 'Polizei Division', which became the 'SS Polizei Division', then the '4.SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division'.

If anyone is interested in the battles by the various Kampfgruppe in the vicinity of Leningrad then you need to read these. Day by day accounts of activity by one of the lesser known divisions. Written by a veteran & with the assistance of the veterans organisation this is interspersed every few pages with various eye witness accounts of different engagements and activity from a multitude of other veterans and with access to internal documents, official and unofficial diaries of the men involved. The maps can be a challenge but the quality of text and depth of information (along with the photographs) make up for this. These were originally published in 1971 as 'Die guten Glaubens waren' in 3 volumes, Vol 1 and vol2 are now reprinted in English. Vol 3 the 'Bildband' is a photograph book and so may not be translated. The only criticism I would have is that the author presumes a good degree of knowledge on the part of the reader to begin with, if you are not familiar with Leningrad environs then it may help to have an overall map of the area to refer to as you go through this. Also some of the material is densely packed & I found some sections needed to be re-read.


In Good Faith: The History of the 4th SS-Polizei-Panzer-Grenadier-Division, Vol. 1: 1939-1943 [Hardcover]
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Faith-History-SS-Polizei-Panzer-Grenadier-Division-1939-1943/dp/0921991746/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311254287&sr=8-1



Amazon blurb :

The Polizei-Division (Police Division), as it was originally called, was one of the lesser-known combat formations of the Waffen-SS. It was formed in October 1939 and was composed primarily of police officers, who volunteered to join the division, and it served almost exclusively on the Eastern Front until the end of the war, where it eventually was equipped as a Panzergrenadier-Division (mechanized division). This volume of the two-part history covers the formation of the division in 1939, its employment during the so-called "Phony War" prior to the campaign in France in 1940, its participation in the later stages of that campaign and, finally, its commitment in the East in the northern theater of operations. It was in the East that the division earned its reputation as a tough and able combatant force, where it was especially steadfast in the defense.

The division fought its way through the Russian Luga position and all the way to the gates of Leningrad (Saint Petersburg). Its shining hour was in the defense along the Wolchow River, where the Russians attempted to provide relief to the beleaguered city of Leningrad and trap a large portion of Heeresgruppe Nord (Army Group North) in a pocket of their own. The Polizei-Division, later renamed the SS-Polizei-Division during this stage of its history, was the lynch pin in the myriad of operations launched to both eliminate the Russian breakthrough and then trap the cut-off and encircled Russian forces. The volume finishes with the fighting in late 1942 and early 1943 east of Kolpino and along the Narwa River bend.

Friedrich Husemann, himself a former member of the divisional artillery, provides an in-depth look at his former division. The account relies heavily on first-hand sources. Besides formation war diaries and period after-action reports, Husemann has gleaned accounts from a number of surviving members of the division. Although many divisional histories are "dry" reading, this one offers the reader not only a view from the foxhole, it also places the role of the division in the larger operational picture.

In Good Faith - The History of the 4 Ss-polizei-panzer-grenadier-division, Volume 2: 1943-1945 [Hardcover]
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Faith-History-Ss-polizei-panzer-grenadier-division-1943-1945/dp/0921991967/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311254287&sr=8-2

Morlar

This is a book which I provided a few pictures for and so my signed free copy arrived yesterday !

I haven't read it yet but this looks fantastic, 600 pages of well produced rare pictures and tons of detailed information on the Cholm Siege. Printed in high quality, the photo reproduction is pretty excellent. The whole thing well indexed and annotated.



http://www.leapinghorseman.com/

http://www.leapinghorseman.com/proddetail.php?prod=9780975107690&cat=5

Besieged: The Epic Battle for Cholm

Author: Jason D. Mark
Kampfgruppe Scherer’s outstanding feat of arms was one of Germany’s most famous military achievements during the Second World War. With only a few thousand men from all branches of the service, including mountain troopers, elderly reservists, police officers, navy drivers, SS partisan hunters and supply troops, Generalmajor Theodor Scherer was ordered to hold Cholm in the face of a superior enemy force. That Scherer and his men prevailed is now an historical fact but analysis of daily radio traffic and combat reports reveals that the pocket’s survival was precarious; at times, even senior commanders doubted if it could be saved. On several occasions the Soviet onslaught looked poised to inflict the death blow but somehow the exhausted men of Cholm grimly clung to a few resistance nests upon which a new line was anchored. General Scherer, a popular leader and inspiration to all his soldiers, despaired many times and was forced to continually plead for more men, more supplies and more aerial support. Urgent demands by other sectors meant Kampfgruppe Scherer was drip-fed just enough supplies and reinforcements to stay alive until, eventually, a relief force forged a permanent link and freed the exhausted survivors.
After a catastrophic winter of setbacks and resounding defeats for the Wehrmacht, the General and his men were lauded as heroes and recognised with an arm shield that marked them as “Cholmkämpfer,” men of exceptional courage who had prevailed despite overwhelming odds.

Primary sources have been utilised for the first time to present this battle in a detailed day-by-day format, from the forlorn days of January and February to liberation in early May.


Click the following links to see samples: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4 | Sample 5

• 608 pages on a high-quality gloss stock
• 210 x 157mm
• Hardcover only
• 328 photos
• 22 maps and sketches
• 22 aerial photos
• 9 supporting documents
• 7 detailed appendices
The book can be signed by the author for an extra $10.

BlackEdelweiss

I was just coming on here to mention the 2 books about Cholm that I have. The first is a book of pictures that is in German, I think it is a reproduction of a propaganda book that was released during the war in Germany. There is an english translation but I couldent afford that and I cant speak much German so i just have to content myself looking at the pictures for now.
The next book is a novel I mistakenly bought when looking for a first hand account of the siege a while back. It lay on my shelve for ages but I started it recently and although the storytelling at times is not my cup of tea, the attention to detail in the descriptions of the conditions etc is amazing, it gives you such a feel for what life must have been like for the men trapped in the town. I got my perfect hardback copy for €0.01 on amazon so it is well worth buying.

This new book sounds very good, I did not even know it was coming out. I searched the net for a good Cholm book last year and nobody mentioned this, it is out of my price range for now but it is definitely on my list.

Jim S

To pick a favourite W.W.2 book is a very hard task , for me it is pretty much a case of different books on different aspects of the conflict.

Morlar mentioned Mark Yerger's Volume 5 of German Cross in Gold Holders.
I too have "invested" in MY's series and find them to be excellent, Volume 6 is due out after Christmas / early 2012.

I would also recommend his "Knights of Steel Volumes 1 and 2 which cover leading personalities of the Panzer Division "Das Reich" - I had a long hunt for Volume 1 and matched these two to Mark Bandon's "Breakout at Normandy - The 2nd Armoured Division in the Land of the Dead".
I wanted this to chase up some accounts of the death of Christian Tychsen.

Yerger's "Commanders of the Waffen SS" Volume 1 and 2 both excellent.

"Hells Gate" - Douglas Nash - excellent.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hells-Gate-Battle-Cherkassy-January-February/dp/0965758435/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319059907&sr=1-1

The air war over Germany anything by Martin Middlebrook - he has written some excellent books , not to mention Bill Chorley's in put on Bomber Comman losses which have resulted in a multiple volume series on aircrew / aircraft losses which will never be matched.
( Middlebrook's "The battle of Hamburg" , "The Peenemunde Raid" , "The Nuremburg Raid" and his account of the "Schweinfurt and Regensberg Raid" are benchmarks in WW2 history.
( I read his "Frist day on The Somme" when I was 15 - it still sends shivers down my spine .)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AMartin+Middlebrook&keywords=Martin+Middlebrook&ie=UTF8&qid=1319059486&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B001HPVQZ0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/RAF-Bomber-Command-Losses-1939-1947/dp/1857801954/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319059596&sr=1-2

Thinking of the Luftwaffe.

Chris Goss his book on KG40 "Bloody Biscay" - great.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bloody-Biscay-Luftwaffes-Kampfgeschwaber-Adversaries/dp/0947554874/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319060046&sr=1-9

Theo Boiten's amazing two volume operational history of the "Nachtjagd" is a major wok on the Luftwaffe's Nightfighter force , published in 2007/2008 and now sold out if you are lucky enough to have obtained a set well done.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Theo+Boiten&x=0&y=0#/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3ATheo+Boiten&keywords=Theo+Boiten&ie=UTF8&qid=1319059968

On a more harrowing note "Final Solution- Nazi Population Policy and the Murder of the European Jews" Gotz Aly , well it is sobering to say the least.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AG%C3%B6tz+Aly&keywords=G%C3%B6tz+Aly&ie=UTF8&qid=1319060158&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B001H6RR84

On the Atlantic.
Clay Blairs "" The Hunters" and the Hunted" - told from what might be regarded as an American point of view a very excellent history of the war against the U Boat.
(Last night I picked up the second book in Hardback via eBay so glad to get it).

Donitz Crews (French Maclean) (Publisheed by Schiffers) excellent.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Donitzs-Crews-Germanys-U-boat-Sailors/dp/0764333569/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319060446&sr=1-1

I did the first review on it via this link so I won't say anything more. ( "Thank God" says you ).

Axel Niestle's book on U Boat Losses in WW2 - top notch the most complete and accurate record to be had.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/German-U-Boat-Losses-During-World/dp/1557506418/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319060599&sr=1-1
Axis Submarine Successes
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Submarine-Successes-1939-45-Jurgen-Rohwer/dp/1853673404/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319060639&sr=1-1

From Norman Franks
"Search Find and Kill", "Dark Water Dark Sky", "U Boat vs Aircraft".
all very good , I made some contributions here but inspite of this very excellent on closing up gaps on Coastal Command encounters with U Boats.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/U-boat-Versus-Aircraft-Dramatic-Behind/dp/1902304020/ref=sr_1_54?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319060909&sr=1-54
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Find-Kill-Commands-Successes/dp/1898697353/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319060955&sr=1-1

Ludo Kennedy "Pursuit" published in 1970 but still and excellent account of the Bismarck chase, I wish BBC would put it out on Dvd along with his other Kgm documentaries.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pursuit-Sinking-Bismarck-Ludovic-Kennedy/dp/0006340148/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319061197&sr=1-3

Morlar

I liked the Yerger 'German Cross in Gold Holders of the SS and Police Volume 5 Polizei Division and Police Units' so much I bought the rest of the series in a bender publishing bundle, also got the German Cross in Silver edition.

http://www.bender-publishing.com/GermanCross5.html

http://www.bender-publishing.com/GermanCrossinGoldVol-1.html

http://www.bender-publishing.com/GermanCrossinGoldVol-2.html

http://www.bender-publishing.com/GermanCrossGoldVol3.html

http://www.bender-publishing.com/GECR4.html

http://www.bender-publishing.com/GermanCrossinSilver.html


The Muck Photos of Cholm are well known, they are a great source of information of that encirclement. They are also used in the 'Besieged - The Epic Battle for Cholm' book too.

According to 'Besieged - the Epic Battle for Cholm' there is another substantial Cholm book in the works, by an author who has been researching for about 8-9 yrs - Dirk Burgdorf.

I think I may have spoken to him by email earlier this year on the subject of Cholm photos but I lost all emails when my PC died so I can't be sure it was him or another specialist researcher into Cholm. Anyway it's good to see books on the subject in the pipeline/just released.

Jim S

In Mark's DK in Gold series I have tried to get some of the first signed editions, placing an order from Benders as soon as I knew the book has been released, no big deal but it added a litle interest to the buying process.

I have his "Silver" book , and for some reason it suffered an almost total failure of it binding , it almost fell apart , Benders kindly replaced it when I sent them some jpegs , a very good example of good customer service.
(Have managed 15, 20 , 30 and 200).

Paid a little too much for them , "On The Field of Honour" Vol. 1 and 2 number 261.
Vol 3 of the Kgm Uniforms and Traditions 429/500 and "Labor Organizations of 3rd Reich 219/500.

Morlar

Jim S wrote: »

In Mark's DK in Gold series I have tried to get some of the first signed editions, placing an oder from Benders as soon as I knew the book has been released, no big deal but it added a litle interest to the buying process.

I have his "Silver" book , and for some reason it suffered an almost total failure of it binding , it almost fell apart , Benders kindly replaced it when I sent them some jpegs , a very good example of good customer service.
(Have managed 15, 20 and 21).

I have really gotten into signed first editions too ! I asked Benders about the Cross series but the signed ones are long long long gone ! From now on though I plan on getting signed ones wherever possible !

It's not ww2 related but if anyone is interested in Irish Military History there is this book launch coming up in Kilmainham on 8th Nov:

http://irishvolunteers.org/2011/09/book-launch-for-revolution-a-photographic-history-of-revolutionary-ireland-1913-1923/

Hello all,
Book launch for “Revolution – A Photographic History of Revolutionary
Ireland 1913 -1923″
O Mahony’s book shop Limerick. Friday 14th October at 7.30 p.m.

The book will be available in shops shortly and will also be launched
along with an exhibition of photographs from the book in Kilmainham
Jail, Dublin on Tuesday the 8th November.

See you there.

Bus77II

Just wondering. Do any of you know of any good books on the fall of France?

Jim S

After The Battle's "Blitzkrieg in the West- Then and Now" is hard to beat.

http://www.afterthebattle.com/osCommerce/product_info.php?products_id=102

Jim S

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=440069

Would really like this new title from RZM.





Looks really good.

Jim S

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=440069

Would really like this new title from RZM.





Looks really good.

BlaasForRafa

Jim S wrote: »

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=440069

Would really like this new title from RZM.



Looks really good.

I've had this on order for the last nearly 12 months, I hope its worth the wait.

Jim S

I will drop hints for Xmas but I do feel very drawn to it.
Let us know what you think of it.

Sod it , a gent on Wehrmacht Awards pointed me towards

http://www.worldwartwobooks.com/product.php/9682/blood-steel-myth-the-ii-ss-panzer-korps-and-the-road-to-prochorowka

£40 plus postage so copy ordered, as OW said "I can resist everything , except temptation".

Morlar

I have been on that waf thread subscription list for ages, need to get a copy ordered soon. It does look extremely interesting.

Jim S

As a result of that thread the publisher sent me a pm .
The book will not hit Uk shore until December. ( Some Uk dealers say late November).

Our book will be available in late December from the UK distributor Casemate UK.
They will be supplying most of the well known British retailers like Helion and WW2 Books.
And they will also be supplying Amazon UK. Of course if you don't want to wait that long you can always buy it direct from us. But it might be better to wait until next month to save on the air freight cost. In case you still want it from us go to this link www.rzm.com/books/rzm/rzmbk013.cfm
It's a great book. I think you won't be disappointed.

regards,
Remy

ReacherCreature

Reading selected chapters in Max Hastings's Nemesis. It is an excellent read. Great sources, high levels of accessibility and very readable. It's been out a while but relevant to the study of the Pacific war. The section on LeMay and Okinawa as well as the Australians war are quite good reading.