Skorzeny: The Most Dangerous Man in Europe

History

charles-whiting

Europe

Casemate

Beginning with the D-Day landings, this is a frank appraisal of the planned use and actual results of the deployment of armour by both German and Allied commanders in the major tank battles of the campaign including Epsom, Goodwood, Cobra and Totalize.  The Armoured Campaign in Normandy is a critique of how Montgomery's plans to seize territory and break out failed in the face of German resistance. It details the poor planning by British generals who made many mistakes and how the German convoluted chain of command contributed to their own defeat. Numerous primary sources, including official reports, war diaries and regimental histories, are used to tell the inside story of the campaign from an armour perspective, detailing real numbers of tanks lost in the battles of the campaign.

The Armoured Campaign in Normandy: June - August 1944

Napier, Stephen

Here is the extraordinary story of one man’s war. This book portrays the gradual awakening in the mind of a young Hitler Youth ‘educated’ soldier of a Panzer Division, bogged down in the bitterest fighting on the Eastern Front, to the truth of the criminal character of what he is involved in. Having in mind that about 9 out of 10 German soldiers who died in WWII were killed in Russia, the book throws light on the largely unreported heroic sacrifices of Soviet soldiers and civilians often against seemingly hopeless odds, without which Europe might well have fallen to fascism. It deals less with grand strategies, tactics and military technicalities than with the human involvement of ordinary people, from both sides, who were caught up in that enormity of a tragedy, that epic struggle in Russia. It throws light on the chasm which existed between officers and men in the sharply class-divided Wehrmacht with most of the top rank officers having been drawn from the old imperial aristocracy.

Through Hell for Hitler: A Dramatic First-Hand Account of Fighting on the Eastern Front With the Wehrmacht

Metelmann, Henry

Military

How did the horrendous situation in Afghanistan, with all its implications for recent events and the present time, come to pass? What was the role of the CIA and Pakistani intelligence in the creation of what became the Taliban? What are the implications for the future and lessons from the past for American forces today? This highly controversial book reveals one of the greatest military, political and financial secrets of recent times. It is nothing less than the true, if fantastic, account of how Pakistan and the USA covertly controlled the largest guerrilla war of the 20th Century, dealing to the Soviet Russian presence in Afghanistan a military defeat that has come to be called 'Russia's Vietnam'. This compelling book, put together with great skill by the military author, Mark Adkin, is essential reading for anyone interested in the truth behind the Soviets' Vietnam, and the reasons why, to this day, the war in Afghanistan still drags on despite the victory that the Mujahideen were denied when the Soviets withdrew.

Afghanistan: The Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower

Yousaf, Mohammad

Adkin, Mark.

Asia

This authoritative history follows the actions of the designated Divisions of II SS Panzer Corps in the Ukraine, Normandy, at Arnhem and Nijmegen, in the Battle of the Bulge, on the Eastern Front and to the final battles in defense of the Reich. Michael Reynolds has analyzed each of the campaigns of II SS Panzer Corps. As a former professional soldier, he is experienced in battle and modern armored tactics. Able to narrate each action in a unique manner, his refreshing candor and conclusions, reached without bias or prejudice, will surprise many. Since retiring from a distinguished military career during which he commanded NATO’s International Mobile Force (Land) and headed its Military Plans and Policy Division, Major General Michael Reynolds has become a respected historian and writer. His previous books, The Devil’s Adjutant, Steel Inferno and Men of Steel have brought him international recognition and he is now accepted as a leading specialist on the Waffen-SS and its actions in World War II.

Sons of the Reich: The History of II SS Panzer Corps

Reynolds CB, Major General Michael

This is one of the most vivid accounts of destruction and hopelessness we have ever seen. It is a 17-year-old German conscript's experiences in the defense of Berlin during the spring of 1945 - the last desperate days of Berlin - annotated and illustrated to show his part in the overall picture. Altner’s account covers in detail recruit training on the front line after only ten days in barracks, the execution of deserters and action against the Red Army and turncoat German 'Seydlitz' Troops. He tells of the retreat back to Berlin with full kit, escaping capture time after time and the annihilation of nearly all his company in just one action. He gives detailed descriptions of house to house fighting in the Spandau sector of Berlin, the battle for the Olympic Stadium, the sacrifice of Hitler Youths, fighting in the city's subway tunnels and the disastrous attempt at a breakout to the west, culminating in his final capture. This is an account of war at its most basic and brutal level, of the collapse of everything familiar and the hopelessness of imminent defeat.

Berlin Dance of Death

Altner, Helmut

Le Tissier, Tony.

No history of the war in Europe has ever taken into account the actions of the men of the US 23rd Special Troops. These men took part in over 22 deception operations against the German Army. Some of these operations had tremendous impact upon how the battles in Europe were fought. The men who participated in these actions were sworn to secrecy for 50 years, and are only now willing to talk about their role. The 23rd was composed of four main units. A signal deception unit to broadcast fake radio signals, an engineer camouflage unit to set up rubber dummies of tanks and trucks, a combat engineer unit to construct emplacements and provide local security, and a sonic deception company. The sonic unit was developed to fool German listening posts by playing audio recordings of various sounds, such as tanks moving up or bridges being built. The 23rd was the only tactical deception unit of the American Army in World War ll combining all aspects of deception. This book also covers the birthplace of sonic deception: the Army Experimental Station at Pine Camp; and their smaller sister unit, the 3133rd Sonic Deception company that saw action for 14 days in Italy. Jonathan Gawne is a leading military historian and is the author of the best selling Spearheading D Day and The US Army Photo Album (both published by Histoire &amp; Collections and available from Casemate) as well as books in the Greenhill Books “GI Series”. He has contributed articles to numerous military magazines. He lives in Framingham, MA. Table of Contents Foreword Preface 1. Military Deception 2. Developments in the United States 3. On to England 4. France and Operation ELEPHANT 5. Sonic Deception 6. Operation BRITTANY 7. Operation BREST 8. Operation BETTEMBOURG 9. Operation WILTZ 10. Artillery, Operation VASELINE, and Propaganda 11. Operation DALLAS 12. Operation ELSENBORN 13. Operation CASANOVA 14. Operation KOBLENZ and the Bulge 15. Operation KODAK 16. Operation METZ-I 17. Operation METZ-II 18. Operation L'EGLISE 19. Operation FLAZWEILER 20. Operation STEINSEL 21. Operation LANDONCILLERS 22. Operation WHIPSAW 23. Operation MERZIG 24. Operation LOCHNIVAR 25. Operation BOUZONVILLE 26. Operation VIERSEN 27. The 3133rd and the War in Italy 28. War's End and DP Camps 29. After the War Appendix 1. The Correct Name of the 23rd Appendix 2. Officers of the 23rd Special Troops Appendix 3. Medal and Decorations Awarded in the 23rd Special Troops Appendix 4. Table of Organization Appendix 5. Patton and Deception Appendix 6. Original Poop Sheets Glossary Select Bibliography End Notes Index

Ghosts of the ETO: American Tactical Deception Units in the European Theater, 1944 - 1945

Gawne, Jonathan

During the final days of World War II, German SS officers crammed trains, cars, and trucks full of gold, currency, and jewels, and headed for the mountains of Austria. Fearful of arrest and determined to keep the stolen loot out of Allied hands, they concealed their treasures and fled. Most of these men were eventually apprehended, but many managed to evade capture. The intensive postwar Allied investigation that followed recovered only a sliver of this mountain of gold. What happened to the rest of it, and what fate befell these men? Authors Alford and Savas answer these questions and many more in this fast-paced and well-written new book. Their groundbreaking study is based upon thousands of pages of previously unpublished and recently declassified documents. The result is a fresh and absolutely original reading experience that offers insights into the minds and methods of these SS thieves, the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) within which they labored, how they achieved their positions of near-absolute power, the complex Allied investigation into their activities, and what happened to the vast sums of wealth they looted from Europe's Jews. Nazi Millionaires deftly captures the high drama surrounding these men and women and the secrets they carried with them during the closing days of World War II - and in some cases, to the grave. It is a remarkable tale of greed, lust, fraud, deceit, treachery, and murder. And it is one you will long remember. About the Authors: Kenneth D. Alford, of Richmond, Virginia, is the author of Great Treasure Stories of World War II and The Spoils of World War II. Theodore P. Savas has written or edited a dozen books, including Silent Hunters: German U-Boat Commanders of World War II. He lives in El Dorado Hills, California. Table of Contents Preface / Acknowledgments Dramatis Personae Introduction: The Rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany Chapter 1: The Devil’s Duo: Heinrich Himmler and Ernst Röhm Chapter 2: Hitler’s Rogues: Reinhard Heydrich and Ernst Kaltenbrunner Chapter 3: Franz Konrad: The King of the Ghetto Chapter 4: Playing God in Budapest: The Kastner-Becher Faustian Bargain Chapter 5: Fischhorn Castle: The Last SS Headquarters Chapter 6: The Moneymakers Chapter 7: A Bureaucrat and His Gold: Josef Spacil’s Final Days of World War II Chapter 8: Betrayal: The Discovery of Josef Spacil Chapter 9: Ghetto Konrad’s Hidden Wealth Chapter 10: Walter Hirschfeld and the Search for Eva Braun’s Jewels Chapter 11: Kurt Becher: The Only White Sheep in the Black SS? Chapter 12: Fall From Grace: Walter Hirschfeld and the Counter Intelligence Corps Chapter 13: Ernst Kaltenbrunner’s Missing Sacks of Gold Chapter 14: Adolf Eichmann’s Blaa Alm Gold Chapter 15: The Frau Connection: Iris Scheidler and Elfriede H_ttl Chapter 16: The Gold Trade in Upper Austria Chapter 17: The Bloody Red Cross? Walter Schellenberg’s “External Assets” Postscript: Loose Ends Bibliography Index

Nazi Millionaires: The Allied Search for Hidden SS Gold

Biographies & Memoirs

Alford, Kenneth

Savas, Theodore P.

Historical

Operation Northwind, planned by the Führer himself, hurled eight German divisions, three of them S.S., against the thinly held American line in the Alsace-Lorraine region. Few except those who fought it know anything about this second Battle of the Bulge, which cost the Americans and their French comrades-in-arms nearly as many casualties and almost destroyed the alliance. Because Eisenhower determined to evacuate Strasbourg, for a few days, while American troops fought for their lives in the snow-bound hills of Alsace-Lorraine, it looked as if the Franco-American alliance might be broken apart and France thrown into something akin to revolution.

OTHER BATTLE OF THE BULGE: Operation Northwind (West Wall Series)

WHITING, CHARLES

Decision at St Vith tells the devastating story of how a quarter of a million of Hitler's men, 200,000 pieces of artillery and 980 tanks launched themselves at the inexperienced and unprepared US troops who were resting in the forests of the Ardennes. The young soldiers of the US 106th (Golden Lion) Division were huddled in their foxholes trying to sleep. They had never been in battle and were told they occupied a "rest sector" on the front. We read of men who fought until they died and others who quickly surrendered, of officers relieved of command and orders that bore no relation to reality. For this was the night when the full might of Hitler's armies attacked in the first shattering blow of the Battle of the Bulge. This excellent account brings home in vivid detail the brutalities of this last desperate attack by the Germans.

DECISION AT ST VITH (West Wall Series)

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