Brandenburg Division

Brandenburg Division PDF Author: Eric Lefèvre
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
In addition to its well-known conventional troops like the panzers, panzergrenadiers and paratroopers, the German armed forces in World War II also made extensive use of special forces units, concentrated in the Brandenburg Division. Their use of foreign uniforms and other tactics were clear violations of the rules of war, but the influence of the Brandenburg Division on later special operations around the world is obvious.

Brandenburg Division

Brandenburg Division PDF Author: Eric Lefèvre
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
In addition to its well-known conventional troops like the panzers, panzergrenadiers and paratroopers, the German armed forces in World War II also made extensive use of special forces units, concentrated in the Brandenburg Division. Their use of foreign uniforms and other tactics were clear violations of the rules of war, but the influence of the Brandenburg Division on later special operations around the world is obvious.

The Brandenburger Commandos

The Brandenburger Commandos PDF Author: Franz Kurowski
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 9780811732505
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
A narrative detailing a clandestine operations unit ran by the German Army's intelligence service, and its exploits. It gives a rare look into the secret military operations of Hitler's Germany. Trained to be quick, mobile, self-reliant and steeped in local customs and languages, the Brandenburgers operated behind enemy lines around the world. From Western Europe to Romania, Russia, Egypt, Afghanistan, and World War II's other fronts, they seized bridges as well as other strategic targets. They engaged in sabotage, espionage, and other daring missions-often bending the rules of war in the process. Although the unit was dissolved in 1944, its tactics influenced special forces around the world both during the war and after.

Hitler's Brandenburgers

Hitler's Brandenburgers PDF Author: Lawrence Paterson
Publisher: Greenhill Books
ISBN: 1784382302
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Book Description
‘A fitting tribute to Germany's clandestine warriors, and a guarantee that their extraordinary efforts have not been relegated to comparative obscurity or entirely forgotten’ - David R Higgins. Hitler's daring and pioneering Brandenburgers special forces served in every German theatre of action. This is the most comprehensive account of an unusual and profoundly successful band of men. Lawrence Paterson traces the origins of the small unit, before the outbreak of war in 1939, as the brainchild of Admiral Canaris and part of his Abwehr intelligence unit through through to its breaking up in 1944 when it was largely converted to a, conventional Panzergrenadier division. At that point, many Brandenburgers transferred to Otto Skorzeny’s SS Jägdverbände. It is well-known that German troops disguised themselves as Allied troops for the Battle of the Bulge - but less well known the Brandenburger operations used such disguises - more effectively -in in advance of the Blitzkrieg in 1939-41. Despite their profound success as commando raiding troops their history has been overshadowed by equivalent Allied units and largely ignored. However, within North Africa the Brandenburgers employed similar techniques to the SAS and LRDG, at first earning Erwin Rommel’s disapproval for their unorthodox methods until he began to feel the effect of similar Allied raids. Paterson details the roles of key individuals, such as Theodor von Hippel, along with forensic details of key operations. He explodes many of the myths about the unit and provides a clear and comprehensive history of this key part of the Wehrmacht.

Brandenburg Division

Brandenburg Division PDF Author: Will Berthold
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Blood and Soil

Blood and Soil PDF Author: Sepp de Giampietro
Publisher: Greenhill Books
ISBN: 1784383422
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
Available for the first time in English, a memoir of a member of the World War II Brandenburg German special forces unit. The Brandenburgers were Hitler’s Special Forces, a band of mainly foreign German nationals who used disguise and fluency in other languages to complete daring missions into enemy territory. Overshadowed by stories of their Allied equivalents, their history has largely been ignored, making this memoir all the more extraordinary. First published in German in 1984, de Giampietro's highly-personal and eloquent memoir is a vivid account of his experiences. He delves into the reality of life in the unit from everyday concerns and politics to training and involvement in Brandenburg missions. He details the often foolhardy missions undertaken under the command of Theodor von Hippel, including the June 1941 seizure of the Duna bridges in Dunaburg and the attempted capture of the bridge at Bataisk where half of his unit was killed. Given the very perilous nature of their missions, very few of these specially-trained soldiers survived World War II. Much knowledge of the unit has been lost forever, making this is a unique insight into a slice of German wartime history. Widely regarded as the predecessor of today’s special forces units, this fascinating account brings to life the Brandenburger Division and its part in history in vivid and compelling detail.

Panzergrenadiers to the Front!

Panzergrenadiers to the Front! PDF Author: A. Stephan Hamilton
Publisher: Helion
ISBN: 9781910777138
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Panzergrenadiers to the Front!" is the first in-depth look at the enigmatic Panzergrenadier-Division 'Brandenburg' formation and its five-month combat career along the Eastern Front at the end of the Second World War. This book draws on the previously unpublished personal accounts by more than a dozen division veterans, and is supplemented by extensive use of new primary documents and relevant secondary German, Polish, and Soviet source material. While this book represents the most thorough and accurate treatment of Panzergrenadier-Division 'Brandenburg' published to-date, it also provides extensive coverage of Heeresgruppe Mitte and 4. Panzer-Armee operations. The new Panzergrenadier-Division 'Brandenburg' was forged in December 1944 from the nucleus of burnt-out commando regiments and the remnants of a half-dozen conventional units supplied by the Ersatzheer. Panzergrenadier-Division 'Brandenburg' entered the frontline a month later where it fought in some of the most dramatic and relatively unknown late war battles in Poland, Silesia, Saxony, and Czechoslovakia. The desperate fighting at places like Kutno, Raudten, Primkenau, Niesky, Bautzen, Olmütz and elsewhere is told through the words of the men who fought there. Revealed for the first time is the role of 'Brandenburg' in the last operational Wehrmacht victory of the war that destroyed the Soviet 7th Guards Mechanized Corps, defeated the 2nd Polish Army, and spared Dresden from immediate capture. The raw, emotional, accounts by 'Brandenburg' veterans shed new light on to the day-to-day operations of the Wehrmacht during the war's chaotic final months. Readers will experience the routine of frontline life, the despair of defeat that caused some to attempt suicide, and the euphoria of survival, with corks popped on champagne bottles to celebrate another day alive. The uncertainty of unconditional surrender drove many in 'Brandenburg' to continue to fight amidst the certainty of a war they knew. In the words of Major Kurt Steidl: 'I found out on the radio in the morning that our Führer had died in Berlin. All of us knew what that meant for us. Should we surrender for that reason like miserable cowards after years of struggle against forces many times our size? No! And again no! Now more than ever, they shouldn't have it easy with us old hands. We would prove that.' "Panzergrenadiers to the Front!" is a compelling narrative of the often brutal combat of war's end.

The Brandenburgers Global Mission

The Brandenburgers Global Mission PDF Author: Franz Kurowski
Publisher: J.J. Fedorowicz
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Ery few books have been written about this elite and somewhat mysterious clandestine operations unit. Noted author Franz Kurowski has produced a very informative account of the Brandenburgers and their diverse missions which took them from Western Europe to Rumania, Russia, Egypt, Afghanistan and many other countries in a series of daring actions."--

Strafbattalion

Strafbattalion PDF Author: Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
The German Army’s Strafbattalions were infantry units made up largely of convicts, felons, malingerers, thugs and the criminally insanePreviously unpublished story of the unitsThe accounts of the most famous Strafbattalion units in combatA story of little-known Nazi units: Hitler’s ‘Dirty Dozens’ When war broke out in 1939, Hitler created Strafbattalion (Penal Battalion) units to deal with incarcerated members of the Wehrmacht as well as ‘subversives’. His order stated that any first-time convicted soldier could return to his unit after he had served a portion of his sentence in ‘…a special probation corps before the enemy’. Beginning in April 1941, convicted soldiers, even those sentenced to death, who had shown exceptional bravery or meritorious service could rejoin their original units; however, those in probation units were expected to undertake dangerous operations at the front. Refusal entailed enforcement of the original sentence. The soldiers who ‘won back an honourable place in the national community’ had done everything that was asked of them from suicidal advance teams, shock troops, and laying mines under fire. By 1945, over 50,000 Wehrmacht troops had served in punishment regiments. Strafbatallion: Hitler’s Penal Battalions examines the penal units, their combat history and order of battle.

German Order of Battle

German Order of Battle PDF Author: Samuel W. Mitcham
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811745252
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Narrative histories highlighting organization, combat experiences, and casualties of each division. Lists of constituent units and division commanders. Sources for further reading on each division.

Denazification in Soviet-occupied Germany

Denazification in Soviet-occupied Germany PDF Author: Timothy R. Vogt
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674003408
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Instead, in a detailed study, denazification is pictured as a failure, which fell short of its goals and was eventually abandoned by the frustrated Soviet and German leadership.".