Book Review: Hitlerjugend, 12th SS Pz Div, Normandy, Saunders/Hone.

Superb! A thoroughly gripping account of the role of the SS Hitlerjugend’s role in the  Normandy ‘44 campaign. From the units creation, to its deployment and combat, opposite British and Canadian forces in the battle for Caen and beyond. Well illustrated with maps and photographs, and enlivened with firsthand accounts, I found this a terrifically engaging and informative read. Highly recommended.

Book Review: Army of Steel - Nigel Cawthorne

NB: The pictures used to illustrate this post are not from the book under review.

I got this at The Works, for just £2, brand new. RRP was £7.99. At that low a price I thought I might as well take a punt on this. Army of Steel is a small paperback, running to just over 230 pages, and it's a light, easy read. There are a few black and white maps and photos sprinkled throughout, but it's not lavishly illustrated. Subtitled 'Tank Warfare 1939-1945', the focus is primarily on the 'panzers' of the German armed in forces in WWII.

How it started: Pz I, Poland, 1939. 

The book starts with a brief and fairly vivid account of the rapid conquest of Poland, before backtracking to look at the rise of tanks as weapons (their role in WWI, Britain/Churchill's championing of them [1], etc.), and their subsequent ascent to a position of central importance in the new 'Blitzkrieg' approach to war, that initially served the Germans so well. The chapter titles convey the arc of the narrative:

1) The Plains of Poland
2) Tanks and Tank Tactics
3) The Making of the Corps
4) Blitzkrieg
5) Into the Desert (This is one of the biggest chapters! Slightly over-represented, perhaps?)
6) Operation Barbarossa
7) Soviet Superiority
8) Tigers in Normandy
9) Last Gasp in the Ardennes
10) Panzer Kaput

Guderian en route to the Ostfront.

Army of Steel is liberally sprinkled with quotes from a wide variety of sources, ranging from inter-war British theorists (Liddel-Hart, Fuller, Churchill), to Panzer commanders like Rommel and Guderian, right down to crews in the thick of the action (characters like Schmidt and Von Konrad), which definitely make for a more lively engaging account. I've heard it said that Rommel's and Guderian's reputations are over-inflated, the former mostly by admirers (inc. many amongst the Allies), the latter mostly by himself. Certainly this book leans heavily on Guderian, and seems to prortray him quite sympathetically. [2]

This book reminds me of Delderfield's Napoleonic history books, in that it was easy, quick and great fun to read, and not a stodgy academic book attempting to cover all the bases, or trying to come up with some new or unique angle or source (such books are often very good, but often also very long, and frequently quite hard work). I would suggest Army of Steel would make a good intro to the subject of tank warfare, especially as it was in WWII, and in particular from the German perspective.

How it ended: a Tiger II, or King Tiger, amidst the ruins of the 1000 year Reich.

What emerges is that, despite Germany's undoubted verve in tank design, the mass-produced standardised tanks of Russia and the U.S. eventually won out by, if nothing else, sheer weight of numbers. Germany's industry, including her access to raw materials, and her tendency to proliferate and over-engineer, all spelled doom in the long term.

As an avid reader of certain aspects of military history, and a model maker cum wargamer, I found this very enjoyable indeed. It covers a lot of territory, in every sense, but remains basic, and easy to digest. I read it over two days, and I'd definitely recommend this as a light entrée to a big and potentially very heavy subject.

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NOTES:

T-34s on the Eastern Front.

Initially outclassing German panzers when they first met, and continuing to outproduce them throughout the whole war, the T-34, as pictured above, typified the Russian war effort. And as if the 'Red hordes' weren't enough, the Germans had to face U.S. Shermans; another front, another superpower enemy, and another standardised tank in seemingly unlimited numbers.

Shermans on the Western Front.

[1] Cawthorne gives the same basic outline as can be found here, at this IWM link, from which I'll quote the following:

 "The name 'tank' came from British attempts to ensure the secrecy of the new weapons under the guise of water tanks. During the First World War, Britain began the serious development of the tank. Ironically, the Royal Navy led the way with the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, establishing the Landships Committee in early 1915."

[2] Most of books I've read on the Ostfront quote Guderian, and usually apparently taking him at his own word. I've ordered both his books: Achtung Panzer and Panzer Leader. The former, published before WWII, is cited by Cawthorne as explicitly counselling against war with Russia, a position Guderian maintained he adhered to, right up until Barbarossa began, after which he stoically did his duty, albeit... well, he paints himself as something of a maverick, in his disobedience and openly critical relations with both the high command and Hitler. He was certainly put out to grass on occasion, even if usually called back in. An interesting subject for further reading?

Pictured above and below, unfinished King Tigers. Had Germany been able to build enough of its end of war weaponry, such tanks as these, along with their jets and intercontinental missiles, might well have significantly prolonged the war. The biggest issues, aside from the proliferation of competing designs, were raw materials and production capacity.

Misc: '40s Fun in't Fens!

NB - This post is rather out of sync, having originally been drafted months ago. It's just taken ages to get around to finishing and posting it!

Moving house has seriously interfered with blogging. We've moved from rented Georgian splendour to our own 'umble Victorian abode. Guess which is which:

As well as the move itself, there's much redecorating to be done, and even some renovation. And the garden? Aaaargh!!! It was the Fenland equivalent of the Amazon rainforest when we moved in: massively overgrown and possibly quite dangerous to enter, only with very dull vegetation and wildlife - just the odd rogue horny-toad [1], and forests of brambles!

One odd thing that I noted during my recent absence from posting here was a massive - but sadly short-lived - spike in traffic to this 'ere wee blog o' mine [2]. I do hope people return in droves!? [3] Otherwise I'll feel I missed an opportunity...

Moving into The Fens is, as alluded to above, a kind of mutant-homecoming, of sorts, for me (if not perhaps for Teresa). But, swiftly leaving that topic on one side, I was amazed and very pleasantly surprised that the very weekend we moved in, March - our new home town (not the month!) - was host to a 1940s themed event.

The posters for said show made it very obvious that the military aspects of the '40s would be central to the event, with re-enactors, vehicles, and even a Spitfire fly-past. Cool, methinks. March is shaping up to be my kind of place! 

When we got there I was a trifle disappointed there wasn't more stuff of the sort I was looking for - WWII German uniform apparel, basically. Nevertheless, although there wasn't half as much as I'd hoped for, there was some. I bought a German officer's hat, a green military style shirt (of no obvious affiliation), and sundry other bit and bobs, inc. some vintage mags for the Mrs.

Here are a few pics from that March event:

I've subsequently discovered that I was perhaps overcharged a little for my Panzer officer's 'crusher cap'. But I love it, so what the heck. It's a replica, by the way. [4] I think the guy that sold it to me may have suggested it was an SS Panzer officer's hat. The pink piping means it certainly is Panzer-crew. However, another stall-holder (at a similar event in nearby Ramsey, only a few later) said that the 'death's head' badge doesn't equal SS per se... so I'm confused now!

Anyhoo, as already mentioned above, less than a month later, there was a similar but even bigger event, just outside the nearby town of Ramsey. Here's a pic from that show:

A confused outfit that would almost certainly distress many a fussy re-enactor.

I didn't get the 'Dad's Army' style Home Guard sergeant's tunic. I really wish I had! But the Mrs sagely suggested that the post-purchase cash-flow rather mitigated against such spur-of-the-moment outlays. There were also a great pair of WWII SS oak-leaf camo' trousers that I'd really like to have bought. Maybe I'll have opportunities to get these at other similar shows? I really don't want to have to wait a whole year to do so!

Several things I did feel I could run to were: a replica 'potato-masher' grenade, some vintage Commando comics (nostalgia bites deep again!), a couple of Osprey titles, and firing two clips of 'BB' ammo on a mini shooting range. I fired a replica 'broom-handle' Mauser first (pictured below), followed by a replica Luger. My shots were at least more or less all on target, if not hyper-accurate. These replicas fired pellets, not bullets. But, Gott in Himmel, it was fun shooting them!

A replica 'broomhandle' Mauser.

My two clips of ammo: left was the Luger, right, the Mauser.

I enjoyed both shows. And I've definitely got the '40s bug (perhaps, being in my 40s myself, I'm particularly susceptible?), both civilian and military. I have to admit I found the re-enactment odd, albeit still enjoyable. It didn't seem very realistic, with 'marshals' wandering about (I think they were supervising the explosions), and the large contingent of overweight or overage re-enactors, all of whom (whatever their age/weight!) generally behaved very much as if they were safe in the knowledge it was all just dressing up for fun.

But who am I to criticise that? Especially as I've definitely contracted the dressing up for fun bug. I plan to gradually acquire a British WWII outfit, poss Home Guard, and lots of German gear. I'll probably just wear such stuff around the house, especially when engaged in my military hobbies, or to shows. Outside of those activities... hmmm!? Probably best avoided, esp. the 'Jerry' stuff. People might get the wrong idea!

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[1] It transpired I wasn't the only priapic web-footed creature in the undergrowth!

[2] That's wee as in small, as opposed to wee as in micturate... obviously!

[3] Droves are, we've discovered, plentiful in the fens, if not of the kind I'm after here.

[4] My mum was somewhat relieved to learn it wasn't a genuine WWII Nazi's hat. I think, bless her, that she was worried that if it were, it might, whilst sat atop my noggin, somehow infect my brain with an aura of evil!