Hitler's Gauls

Hitler's Gauls PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750967110
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
The divisions of the Waffen-SS were among the elite of Hitler’s armies in the Second World War. But alongside the Germans in the Waffen-SS fought an astonishingly high number of volunteers from other countries. By the end of the Second World War these foreign volunteers comprised half of all Hitler’s Waffen-SS, and filled the ranks of over twenty-four of the nominal thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions. So during the most brutal war that mankind has ever known, hundreds of thousands of men flocked to fight for a country that was not theirs, and for a cause that was one of the most monstrous and barbaric in history. Who were these men, and why did they fight? Hitler’s Gauls is an in-depth examination of one of these legions of foreign volunteers, the Charlemagne division, who were recruited entirely from conquered France. The men in Charlemagne, often motivated by an extreme anti-communist zeal, fought hard on the Eastern Front including battles of near annihilation in the snows of Pomerania and the final stand in the ruins of Berlin. This definitive history, illustrated with rare photographs, explores the background, training, key figures and full combat record of one of Hitler’s lesser known foreign units of the Second World War.

Hitler's Gauls

Hitler's Gauls PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750967110
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book

Book Description
The divisions of the Waffen-SS were among the elite of Hitler’s armies in the Second World War. But alongside the Germans in the Waffen-SS fought an astonishingly high number of volunteers from other countries. By the end of the Second World War these foreign volunteers comprised half of all Hitler’s Waffen-SS, and filled the ranks of over twenty-four of the nominal thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions. So during the most brutal war that mankind has ever known, hundreds of thousands of men flocked to fight for a country that was not theirs, and for a cause that was one of the most monstrous and barbaric in history. Who were these men, and why did they fight? Hitler’s Gauls is an in-depth examination of one of these legions of foreign volunteers, the Charlemagne division, who were recruited entirely from conquered France. The men in Charlemagne, often motivated by an extreme anti-communist zeal, fought hard on the Eastern Front including battles of near annihilation in the snows of Pomerania and the final stand in the ruins of Berlin. This definitive history, illustrated with rare photographs, explores the background, training, key figures and full combat record of one of Hitler’s lesser known foreign units of the Second World War.

Hitler's Gauls

Hitler's Gauls PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Foreign enlistment
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description


Hitler's Gauls

Hitler's Gauls PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750967110
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253

Get Book

Book Description
The divisions of the Waffen-SS were among the elite of Hitler's armies in the Second World War. But alongside the Germans in the Waffen-SS fought an astonishingly high number of volunteers from other countries. By the end of the Second World War these foreign volunteers comprised half of all Hitler's Waffen-SS, and filled the ranks of over twenty-four of the nominal thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions. So during the most brutal war that mankind has ever known, hundreds of thousands of men flocked to fight for a country that was not theirs, and for a cause that was one of the most monstrous and barbaric in history. Who were these men, and why did they fight? Hitler's Gauls is an in-depth examination of one of these legions of foreign volunteers, the Charlemagne division, who were recruited entirely from conquered France. The men in Charlemagne, often motivated by an extreme anti-communist zeal, fought hard on the Eastern Front including battles of near annihilation in the snows of Pomerania and the final stand in the ruins of Berlin. This definitive history, illustrated with rare photographs, explores the background, training, key figures and full combat record of one of Hitler's lesser known foreign units of the Second World War.

Hitler's Flemish Lions

Hitler's Flemish Lions PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752478532
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
By the end of the Second World War there were soldiers of more than 30 nationalities fighting in the 38 combat division of the Waffen SS; Reich Germans were in the minority. How did a regime founded upon notions of its own racial superiority come to welcome hundreds of thousands of foreigners into its military elite – and what motivated these men?Following the sell-out success of his first volume in this series, Hitler’s Gauls, the author examines in depth the Langemarck division, composed entirely of fighters drawn from the Flemish lands of Northern Belgium. Motivated by a powerful anti-communist zeal and a desire to escape forever the interference of their traditional enemy, France, these men fought at Stalingrad and in the encircling battles of the Volkhov pocket. They fought the bitter campaign in the Ukraine in 1943-44, then in Estonia at the Narva. The Division was destroyed by the Russian juggernaut in1945. Illustrated with rare photographs, many previously unpublished, and with close analysis of the key figures such as Flemish Knight’s Cross winner Remy Schrijnen, this is a fascinating study of fanatical courage.

Hitler's Vikings

Hitler's Vikings PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752479091
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
The Nazis’ dream of a world dominated by legions of Aryan ‘supermen’, forged in battle and absolutely loyal to Adolf Hitler, was epitomised by the Waffen-SS. Created as a supreme military elite, it grew to become Nazi Germany’s ‘second army’, an immense force totalling almost one million men by the end of the War.An astonishing fact about the SS is that thousands of its members were not German. Men stepped forward from almost every nation in Europe, for many sometimes complex reasons that included hatred of Bolshevism and nationalist sentiment or even straightforward anti-Semitism; foremost among them were Scandinavians from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and even Finland. Thousands were recruited from 1940 onwards and fought with distinction on the Russian Front. They served at first in national legions but were then brought together in the elite Wiking Panzer Division and the Nordland Panzer-grenadier Division. In Hitler’s Vikings, Jonathan Trigg details the battles these men fought and what inspired them to join the Waffen-SS, based in part on interviews with surviving veterans.

Hitler's Jihadis

Hitler's Jihadis PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752477587
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
By the end of the Second World War there were soldiers of more than thirty different nationalities in the Waffen-SS, and Reich Germans themselves were in the minority. How did a regime that believed so completely in the racial superiority of its population come to welcome hundreds of thousands of foreigners into its military elite? Who were these foreign SS men, and why did they fight so long and so hard for such a murderous regime?Hitler’s Jihadis provides an analysis of some of the most intriguing and controversial of these foreign volunteers – the thousands of Muslims, from as far away as India who wore the SS double lightning flashes alongside their erstwhile conquerors. Jonathan Trigg gives an insight into the pre-war politics that inspired these Islamic volunteers, who for the most part would not survive. Those who did survive the war and the bloody retribution that followed saw the reputation of the units in which they had served berated as militarily inept and castigated for atrocities against unarmed civilians. Using first-hand accounts and official records, Hitler’s Jihadis peels away the propaganda to reveal the complexity that lies at the heart of the story of Hitler’s most unlikely ‘Aryans’.

Hitler's Foreign Executioners

Hitler's Foreign Executioners PDF Author: Christopher Hale
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752463934
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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Book Description
In Hitler's Foreign Executioners, Heinrich Himmler's secret master plan for Europe is revealed: an SS empire that would have no place for either the Nazi Party or Adolf Hitler. His astonishingly ambitious plan depended on the recruitment of tens of thousands of 'Germanic' peoples from every corner of Europe, and even parts of Asia, to build an 'SS Europa'. This revised and fully updated book, researched in archives all over Europe and using first-hand testimony, exposes Europe's dirty secret: nearly half a million Europeans and more than a million Soviet citizens enlisted in the armed forces of the Third Reich to fight a deadly crusade against a mythic foe, Jewish Bolshevism. Even today, some apologists claim that these foreign SS volunteers were merely soldiers 'like any other' and fought a decent war against Stalin's Red Army. Historian Christopher Hale demonstrates conclusively that these surprisingly common views are mistaken. By taking part in Himmler's murderous master plan, these foreign executioners hoped to prove that they were worthy of joining his future 'SS Europa'. But as the Reich collapsed in 1944, Himmler's monstrous scheme led to bitter confrontations with Hitler – and to the downfall of the man once known as 'loyal Heinrich'.

Hitler's Jihadis

Hitler's Jihadis PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752477587
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
As the West finds itself embroiled in conflict with radical Islam at home and abroad it is fascinating to hear the echoes of militant Islam from the Second World War, and the Nazis attempt to preach 'Jihad' against the British Empire and Stalin. Hitler's Jihadis tells the story of the tens of thousands of Muslims, from as far away as India who volunteered to wear the SS double lightning flashes and serve alongside their erstwhile conquerors. Jonathan Trigg gives insight into the pre-war politics that inspired these Islamic volunteers, who for the most part did not survive. Those who did survive the war and the bloody retribution that followed saw the reputation of the units in which they served in berated as militarily inept and castigated for atrocities against unarmed civilians. Using first hand accounts and official records Hitler's Jihadis peels away the propaganda to reveal the complexity that lies at the heart of the story of Hitler's most unlikely 'Aryans'.

Hitler's Vikings

Hitler's Vikings PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752479091
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
The Nazis' dream of a world dominated by legions of Aryan 'supermen', forged in battle and absolutely loyal to Hitler, was epitomised by the Waffen-SS. Created as a supreme military élite, it grew to become Nazi Germany's 'second army', an immense force totalling almost one million men by the end of the War. An astonishing fact about the SS is that thousands of its members were not German. Men stepped forward from almost every nation in Europe — for many, sometimes complex reasons — that included hatred of Bolshevism and nationalist sentiment or even straightforward anti-Semitism. Foremost amongst them were Scandinavians from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Thousands were recruited from 1940 onwards and fought with distinction on the Russian Front. They served at first in national legions but were then brought together in the Wiking Panzer Division and the Nordland Panzer-grenadier Division. In Hitler's Vikings, Jonathan Trigg details the battles these men fought and what inspired them to join the Waffen-SS, based wherever possible on interviews with surviving veterans. Many of the photographs reproduced here have never before been published. Hitler's 'Vikings' were amongst the last men still fighting in the ruins of Berlin in 1945 — their story is truly remarkable. Jonathan Trigg served in the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, reaching the rank of Captain and completing tours in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and the Middle East. He is an established writer on military history, with a particular interest in foreign volunteer formations in the Second World War. Hitler's Vikings is his fourth volume in Spellmount's Hitler's Legions series.

The Air War Through German Eyes

The Air War Through German Eyes PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1398116513
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
This is an important book on one of the most controversial campaigns of the Second World War. 'When we came out above ground there was rubble everywhere, asphalt on the roads had melted in the heat. My only thought was to get out of this hellhole.’ Ivar Corneliussen, Waffen-SS trooper