The German Soldier in World War II

The German Soldier in World War II PDF Author: Stephen Hart
Publisher: Amber Books Ltd
ISBN: 1782744150
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
The German Soldier in World War II is a graphic portrait of the life of the private soldier in the army of the Third Reich, containing first-hand accounts from German Army veterans who served in the war. This book is for anyone interested in the history of World War II and the Third Reich.

The German Soldier in World War II

The German Soldier in World War II PDF Author: Stephen Hart
Publisher: Amber Books Ltd
ISBN: 1782744150
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Get Book Here

Book Description
The German Soldier in World War II is a graphic portrait of the life of the private soldier in the army of the Third Reich, containing first-hand accounts from German Army veterans who served in the war. This book is for anyone interested in the history of World War II and the Third Reich.

Frontsoldaten

Frontsoldaten PDF Author: Stephen G. Fritz
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813127815
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Alois Dwenger, writing from the front in May of 1942, complained that people forgot "the actions of simple soldiers.I believe that true heroism lies in bearing this dreadful everyday life." In exploring the reality of the Landser, the average German soldier in World War II, through letters, diaries, memoirs, and oral histories, Stephen G. Fritz provides the definitive account of the everyday war of the German front soldier. The personal documents of these soldiers, most from the Russian front, where the majority of German infantrymen saw service, paint a richly textured portrait of the Landser that illustrates the complexity and paradox of his daily life. Although clinging to a self-image as a decent fellow, the German soldier nonetheless committed terrible crimes in the name of National Socialism. When the war was finally over, and his country lay in ruins, the Landser faced a bitter truth: all his exertions and sacrifices had been in the name of a deplorable regime that had committed unprecedented crimes. With chapters on training, images of combat, living conditions, combat stress, the personal sensations of war, the bonds of comradeship, and ideology and motivation, Fritz offers a sense of immediacy and intimacy, revealing war through the eyes of these self-styled "little men." A fascinating look at the day-to-day life of German soldiers, this is a book not about war but about men. It will be vitally important for anyone interested in World War II, German history, or the experiences of common soldiers throughout the world.

German Soldiers of World War Two

German Soldiers of World War Two PDF Author: Jean De La Garde
Publisher: Histoire Et Collections
ISBN: 9782352503477
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
Every soldier is shown on a full page, front and back with numerous detail shots of head gear, equipment etc. The chronological order of the original edition is retained, while the widest selection of types of Third Reich armed forces members is featured, from the most famous uniforms to the more obscure. In addition to land forces, this book also offers a wide selection of airmen and sailor uniforms.

The Virtuous Wehrmacht

The Virtuous Wehrmacht PDF Author: David A. Harrisville
Publisher: Battlegrounds: Cornell Studies
ISBN: 9781501760044
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
"This book examines how German soldiers fighting on the Eastern Front during the Second World War rationalized their participation in a criminal campaign, and how the Wehrmacht attempted to assert moral superiority over its Soviet enemies. In the process, it redefines the origins of the myth of the "clean" Wehrmacht"--

Uniforms of the German Soldier

Uniforms of the German Soldier PDF Author: Alejandro M. De Quesada
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781848326934
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book traces the evolution of the German Army uniform from 1870 to the present day, using nearly 800 photographs to offer the reader an unparalleled analysis. Each image is accompanied by a detailed caption, explaining interesting aspects of the soldier's uniform, insignia and equipment. It begins with the German Empire at its height, with the iconic spiked Pickelhaube and the colonial troops in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and moves on to the field-grey uniforms of the First World War. After 1918, the uniforms of the Reichswehr and the Freikorps are detailed, and then those of the revived Wehrmacht up to the end of the Second World War. The post-war years saw the establishment of the Bundeswehr in the West and East Germany's Nationalen Volksarmee, facing each other across the border of a divided Germany, before reunification in 1991. No other country's army has undergone such changes in the past century-and-a-half, and this book provides a unique visual record of those changes. ILLUSTRATIONS: 740 b/w and 100 colour

The Wehrmacht Retreats

The Wehrmacht Retreats PDF Author: Robert M. Citino
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700623434
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
Throughout 1943, the German army, heirs to a military tradition that demanded and perfected relentless offensive operations, succumbed to the realities of its own overreach and the demands of twentieth-century industrialized warfare. In his new study, prizewinning author Robert Citino chronicles this weakening Wehrmacht, now fighting desperately on the defensive but still remarkably dangerous and lethal. Drawing on his impeccable command of German-language sources, Citino offers fresh, vivid, and detailed treatments of key campaigns during this fateful year: the Allied landings in North Africa, General von Manstein's great counterstroke in front of Kharkov, the German attack at Kasserine Pass, the titanic engagement of tanks and men at Kursk, the Soviet counteroffensives at Orel and Belgorod, and the Allied landings in Sicily and Italy. Through these events, he reveals how a military establishment historically configured for violent aggression reacted when the tables were turned; how German commanders viewed their newest enemy, the U.S. Army, after brutal fighting against the British and Soviets; and why, despite their superiority in materiel and manpower, the Allies were unable to turn 1943 into a much more decisive year. Applying the keen operational analysis for which he is so highly regarded, Citino contends that virtually every flawed German decision-to defend Tunis, to attack at Kursk and then call off the offensive, to abandon Sicily, to defend Italy high up the boot and then down much closer to the toe-had strong supporters among the army's officer corps. He looks at all of these engagements from the perspective of each combatant nation and also establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt the synergistic interplay between the fronts. Ultimately, Citino produces a grim portrait of the German officer corps, dispelling the longstanding tendency to blame every bad decision on Hitler. Filled with telling vignettes and sharp portraits and copiously documented, The Wehrmacht Retreats is a dramatic and fast-paced narrative that will engage military historians and general readers alike.

Desert Warfare: German Experiences In World War II [Illustrated Edition]

Desert Warfare: German Experiences In World War II [Illustrated Edition] PDF Author: Major General Alfred Toppe
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1782893776
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
Includes 112 photos/illustrations and 21 maps. The German Afrika Korps blazed a trail across the deserts of North Africa under their dashing leader Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, although finally defeated by far superior Allied Forces they set the gold standard for desert operations. This book is of great historical value and even in the present day it is still considered of great value by the American military who still seek for improvements in their ways of desert doctrine... “Analysts continue to assess the data from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a means of improving the military’s ability to function efficiently in desert terrain...The information gleaned from this effort will enhance the already considerable body of knowledge on the subject derived from the historical record...When contributions in the latter category are located or rediscovered, they should be given the dissemination they merit... “Such is the purpose of publishing Desert Warfare: German Experiences in World War II...Organized by Major General Alfred Toppe and written with the assistance of nine German commanders who served in North Africa, the manuscript...represents a collaborative attempt to determine “as many factors as possible which exerted a determining influence on desert warfare,” Issues addressed include planning, intelligence, logistics, and operations. Described and analyzed are the German order of battle, the major military engagements in North Africa, and the particular problems of terrain and climate in desert operations. Not unlike many of the U.S. units engaged in the war with Iraq, the Germans in North Africa learned about combat operations in the desert only after they arrived on the scene and confronted the desert on its own terms. For this reason alone, as well as for the insights it offers, Desert Warfare requires the serious consideration of those responsible for preparing the U.S. military for any future conflict in desert terrain.”

A Soldier of the Reich

A Soldier of the Reich PDF Author: Gunter Beetz
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
Gunter Horst Beetz was born in Berlin in 1926. Growing up as part of a typical family-his father was a banker, his mother a housewife-he joined the Hitler Youth-somewhat against his wishes-and after a short period manning anti-aircraft guns in Berlin he ultimately found himself in Normandy, fighting the Allies, where he was captured in July 1944. A Soldier of the Reich: An Autobiography documents one man's life in Nazi Germany. It examines what it was like to grow up alongside the rise of fascism, exploring the consequences it had on Beetz's life, including what this meant for his relationship with his Jewish girlfriend, Ruth. Beetz also relates his time as an unenthusiastic soldier fighting in Normandy, commenting on the ethics of war, his first sexual encounter with a French prostitute, and life in the sapper battalion with his and his comrades' bungling attempts at front-line soldiery. He was captured in July 1944 and then describes in illuminating detail the life of an ordinary prisoner of war in America. After two years in Pennsylvania he was transferred first for a short period in Belgium, and then to a PoW camp in Ely, England where remained until 1948. Including previously unpublished images from the author's personal collection, this first-hand account explores a perspective rarely acknowledged in discussions of the Second World War: that of an ordinary Wehrmacht soldier, detailing the beliefs and motivations that shaped him as a person.

War of Extermination

War of Extermination PDF Author: Hannes Heer
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1571814930
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 504

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Book Description
This volume contains the most important contributions by distinguished historians who have thoroughly demolished this Wehrmacht myth. The picture that emerges from this collection is a depressing one and raises many questions about why "ordinary men" got involved as perpetrators and bystanders in an unprecedented program of extermination of "racially inferior" men, women, and children in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during the Second World War."--Pub. desc.

Infantry Aces

Infantry Aces PDF Author: Franz Kurowski
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811732029
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 745

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Book Description
- Combat stories of eight German infantry soldiers: one paratrooper, two members of the Waffen-SS, and five members of the Wehrmacht - A concluding chapter examines infantry tactics This is an authentic account of German infantry aces, common foot soldiers who were thrust into a blazing maelstrom of bloody horror the world had never seen. On the frozen Russian steppes, under the scorching African desert sun, and in the final desperate battles, they were outnumbered and outgunned and faced impossible odds. Here are the fascinating stories of the men who stared death in the face during some of the most brutal battles ever waged.