The Wallonien

The Wallonien PDF Author: Richard Landwehr
Publisher: Merriam Press
ISBN: 1576380882
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description

The Wallonien

The Wallonien PDF Author: Richard Landwehr
Publisher: Merriam Press
ISBN: 1576380882
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description


The Crusade of a Walloon Volunteer: August 8, 1941 - May 5, 1945

The Crusade of a Walloon Volunteer: August 8, 1941 - May 5, 1945 PDF Author: Gerry Villani
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0359412041
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Raymond was born on October 13, 1922 in Dampremy (province of Hainaut, Belgium). During the turbulent times of the occupation in Belgium he joined the "Legion Wallonie" on August 8, 1941 at the same time as his father Marcel and Rexist leader Leon Degrelle. He was initially attached to the 1st Platoon, 1st Company as a MG gunner. During his 4 years on the eastern front he participated in many major battles like, but not limited to Gromovayabalka or the "Valley of Thunder", the Caucasus and Cherkasy. Wounded several times during combat he saw many of his good friends die during these terrible battles but he would always return to the front lines since his fate was already sealed as a volunteer of the Waffen SS. He climbed up the ranks from private to officer of the Waffen SS and after his graduation as an officer in March 1945 he returned to the front and joined "Kampfgruppe Derriks." On May 5, 1945 he was captured by the Americans and later convicted for treason by the Belgian authorities

The Axis Forces 11

The Axis Forces 11 PDF Author: Massimiliano Afiero
Publisher: Soldiershop Publishing
ISBN: 8893275007
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 74

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Book Description
We begin with with the article by P. Crippa, about the tanks of Mussolini, the armored division wanted by the Duce equipped with German vehicles. Following is the biography of Siegfried Brosow, one of the most famous and decorated officers of Waffen SS. We continue with an article about the employment of the Götz von Berlichingen division during the Mortain counteroffensive and another article on the employment of the Kampfgruppe Peiper on the Ukrainian front in 1943. Grégory Bouysse offers us a brief biography of the Walloon officer Henri Derriks. Our ever faithful Charles Trang speaks to us instead of the formation and employment of the 15th SS Latvian division. We close with the story of the Spanish volunteers integrated into the Waffen SS who fought in Berlin in 1945.

Belgian Waffen-SS Legions & Brigades, 1941–1944

Belgian Waffen-SS Legions & Brigades, 1941–1944 PDF Author: Massimiliano Afiero
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472844297
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
From the German occupation of Belgium in May 1940, Flemish recruits from northern Belgium – considered by the Nazis to be 'Germanic' – were accepted individually into Waffen-SS units. From Hitler's invasion of the USSR in June 1941, additional recruits from the French-speaking south (Wallonia) were drafted. Both communities formed volunteer 'Legions', to fight (according to Goebbels' propaganda machine) 'for European civilization against the Bolshevik threat'; these were a Flemish Legion in the Waffen-SS and a Walloon Legion in the German Army. Both served on the Russian Front in 1942-43; the Walloon Legion was then also transferred into the Waffen-SS, and the decorated Walloon officer Leon Degrelle became a publicized 'poster boy' for foreign SS volunteers. Both Legions were then redesignated as SS Assault Brigades, and thereafter saw extremely hard fighting in the Ukraine and on the Baltic front. In autumn 1944, their survivors were withdrawn from the front and incorporated into two new understrength SS Divisions, 27. 'Langemarck' and 28. 'Wallonien'. This new account, featuring detailed colour plates of uniform and insignia, recounts the battle history of the French and Flemish-speaking Belgian SS, up to their final transformation into full divisions in the winter of 1944/45.

Voices of the Waffen SS

Voices of the Waffen SS PDF Author: Gerry Villani
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 035949689X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
The Waffen SS were Hitler's elite forces during WWII. They were the forces that were feared by the enemy and praised by their allies. During the Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen SS was condemned as part of a criminal organization, however, the Nuremberg Trials exempted conscripts from that condemnation. On several occasions, the Waffen SS was criticized by Heer commanders for their reckless disregard for casualties while taking or holding objectives, however, the Waffen SS divisions eventually proved themselves as capable soldiers. The poor initial performance was mainly due to the emphasis on political indoctrination rather than proper military training before the war. Despite this, the experience gained from the Polish, French, and Balkan campaigns and the peculiarly egalitarian form of training soon turned Waffen SS units into elite formations. These are the stories of the men that once were part of this elite force, not to glorify the Nazi regime or crimes committed by them, but to give them a voice too.

Hitler's Foreign Executioners

Hitler's Foreign Executioners PDF Author: Christopher Hale
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752463934
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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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’.

Spanish volunteers in Germany during World War II – Vol. 2

Spanish volunteers in Germany during World War II – Vol. 2 PDF Author: Eduardo Manuel Gil Martínez
Publisher: Soldiershop Publishing
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
During World War II, Spain did not participate as a nation, although many Spaniards took part, both on one side and the other. After the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco’s regime was morally and materially indebted to Germany and Italy, which led to Spain’s alignment with the Axis. The invasion of the Soviet Union by Axis troops gave the Spanish government the opportunity to meet the demand of many ex-combatants and young people who had not had the opportunity to fight in the Spanish Civil War to continue the struggle against communism that had already begun in the Spanish confrontation. This clamor turned into the Spanish Volunteer Division (DEV), which became known as the Blue Division (DA). Having been recruited as volunteers to fight against the Soviets, they were largely people with strong ideological convictions, which meant that when it came to fighting, they behaved with immeasurable momentum and courage despite the complicated situation they faced on the Soviet Northern Front.

5th SS Wiking at War, 1941–1945

5th SS Wiking at War, 1941–1945 PDF Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 152672135X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
A photographic documentation of the German foreign volunteer unit—“a valuable addition to any enthusiast’s library of WWII military history books” (Firetrench). Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs, the 5th SS Division Wiking 1941-1945 is the 5th book in the Waffen-SS Images of War Series by Ian Baxter. The book tells the dramatic story of the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking at War. The men of the division were recruited from foreign volunteers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Belgium under the command of German officers. Not all were collaborators—the choice they were all too often presented with was join up or be locked up—or worse. During the course of the war, the division served on the Eastern Front in 1941. It surrendered in May 1945 to the American forces in Austria. “The photos are mostly unpublished before and give an excellent impression of Wiking at war. We see a good variety of conditions over the 5 years of their war, from the height of summer to the depths of winter. We see fine detail of their uniforms and personal equipment as well as the development of larger equipment from motorcycles and early Panzer IVs, to the larger Panthers of the final period. There is also good coverage of anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons as well as heavier artillery. There is a good spread of detail in here which will interest the historian as well as the reenactors, militaria collectors and modelers alike.”—Military Model Scene

Foreign Legions of the Third Reich

Foreign Legions of the Third Reich PDF Author: D. Littlejohn
Publisher: Рипол Классик
ISBN: 091213822X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Bind 1 (norske, danske og franske frivillige), bind 3 (sydeuropæiske frivillige) og bind 4 (østeuropæiske frivillige) findes under SYSnumrene hhv. 5088, 5099 og 5105.

Korsun Pocket

Korsun Pocket PDF Author: Niklas Zetterling
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1935149849
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
During the second half of 1943, after the failure at Kursk, GermanyÕs Army Group South fell back from Russia under repeated hammer blows from the Red Army. Under Erich von Manstein, however, the Germans were able to avoid serious defeats, while at the same time fending off HitlerÕs insane orders to hold on to useless territory. Then, in January 1944, a disaster happened. Six divisions of Army Group South became surrounded after sudden attacks by the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts under command of generals Nikolai Vatutin and Ivan Konev around the village of Korsun (near the larger town of Cherkassy on the Dnieper). The GermansÕ greatest fear was the prospect of another Stalingrad, the catastrophe that had occurred precisely one year before. This time, though, Manstein was in control from the start, and he immediately rearranged his Army Group to rescue his trapped divisions. A major panzer drive got underway, led by General der Panzertruppen Hans Hube, a survivor from Stalingrad pocket, which promptly ran up against several soviet tank armies. Leading the break-in was Franz Baeke with his Tiger and Panther-tanks. Due to both weather and ferocious resistance, the German drive stalled. Ju-52s still flew into KorsunÕs airfield, delivering supplies and taking out wounded, but it soon became apparent that only one option remained for the beleaguered defenders: breakout. Without consulting Hitler, on the night of February 16 Manstein ordered the breakout to begin. Led by the strongest formation within the pocket, SS Wiking, the trapped forces surged out and soon rejoined the surrounding panzer divisions who had been fully engaged in weakening the ring. When dawn broke, the Soviets realized their prey was escaping. Although the Germans within the pocket lost nearly all of their heavy weapons and left many wounded behind, their escape was effected. Stalin, having anticipated another Stalingrad, was left with little but an empty bag, as Army Group SouthÑthis timeÑhad pulled off a rescue. In The Korsun Pocket, Niklas Zetterling, a researcher at the Swedish Defense College since 1995 and Anders Frankson, have provided a highly detailed and often breathtaking account of one of the most dramatic battles of World War II. From grand strategy to soldiersÕ voices on the ground, including expert statistical analysis, the action, and the stakes, of the battle at Korsun are made vividly clear.