The Jagdtiger was a logical extension of the creation of Jagdpanzer designs from tank designs such as the Jagdpanther from the Panther tank. The Jagdtiger used a boxy superstructure on top of a lengthened Tiger II chassis. The resulting vehicle featured very heavy armor and the powerful 128-mm PaK 44 L/55 gun capable of defeating any tank fielded in World War II, even at long ranges. The Jagdtiger suffered from a variety of mechanical and technical problems due to its immense weight and underpowered engine. Despite these shortcomings, it was still very effective in defensive roles. It wasn't just the biggest vehicle of the war, but it had the biggest gun with the greatest caliber. And its power to kill tanks would be great even on the modern battlefield. So why wasn't it successful? Why didn't they build more of them? Which units used it? Were there any modifications on the model? These questions and many more are answered in this second release of our new Tech series.

JAGDTIGER: Technology, units and operations (Tech/Germany)

Humor & Entertainment

Leandoer, Andreas

Puzzles & Games

Leandoer and Ekholm

A visit to any well-stocked bookstore should quickly convince the average reader that there is certainly no shortage of books about the Second World War, particularly National Socialism and the Third Reich. More than five decades have passed since the war's end and its massive historiography continues to grow and evolve with seemingly no end in sight. It is probably foolish to think that the examination of and reflection on the 20th century's seminal event will ever reach completion. For example, there is a curious lack of published information concerning the numerous wartime atrocities (i.e., violations of international law such as killing noncombatant civilians, surrendering opponents, and prisoners of war) committed by Nazi Germany's military elite, the Waffen-SS. In fact, there are very few books currently in print that examine the nature and commission of war crimes perpetrated by any of the armed forces participating in the Second World War. Thus, it appears that the nearly forty divisions of the Waffen-SS have not been accorded any special treatment by military historians, but rather have benefited from an insidious and apparently universal form of ethical tunnel-vision. Examining an enemy's wartime behavior holds many potential dangers since our own conduct might then also be scrutinized with the goal of uncovering similar transgressions. This book is not intended to be read from cover to cover as a continuous narrative. Rather it is arranged into well-defined sections to have maximum utility as a reference work. The three main sections -- Atrocities, Unit Histories, and Individuals -- are adopted to guide readers along the most natural paths of inquiry:What happened and where? What was the unit's record of atrocities? What was the individual's involvement in atrocities? This is probably the most comprehensive reference book on the subject.

Murderous Elite: The Waffen-SS and its record of atrocities

History

Pontolillo, James

Military

This is a rare examination of the Luftwaffe's greatest bomber. The Heinkel He 177 Grief was Germany's only purpose-built heavy long-range bomber that made it into series production during World War II. Aircrews nicknamed it the Luftwaffenfeuerzeug (Luftwaffe's lighter or the Flaming Coffin) due to the engine's tendency to catch fire on early versions of the aircraft. Yet when the teething problems were fixed and it became a serious contender in the war, the German situation was rapidly deteriorating. Had it not been for the mess the Third Reich administration was in, the blunders the RLM (Reich Air Ministry) made, or the catastrophic fuel situation Germany faced late in the war, this advanced aircraft could have had a much bigger effect on the war. Dinan tells the story of the design, development, production, and operational use of one of World War II's most mysterious aircraft.

HE 177 "GRIEF": Design, Production, Operations

Dinan, Tim

Germany had no national police force until 1920 when it was formed by the Weimar regime. The National Socialists were instrumental in its development. The duties performed by the Ordnungspolizei were the same as those performed in any other country in peace time. However, it did supervise the professional and voluntary fire services and provided advice to private factory security units. During the war the uniformed police undertook an important new task. it was used to assist the security police in carrying out duties in occupied territories. To this end a total of 38 police regiments and a number of local regiments in occupied territories were formed. Police members were used to raise and man two Waffen-SS divisions to fight alongside the army. The police were at the core of the civil defenses in the Third Reich providing the organization for defense against air raids in towns and industrial complexes. Outstanding service was given in fighting fires and in the protection of members of the population. This book will attempt to show the complete organization of the police forces of the Third Reich and will provide biographical information on the most senior officers of the forces.

Uniformed Police Forces of the Third Reich: 1933 - 1945

Nix, Phil

Tanks in the Winter War is a unique book. Certainly there have been shelves of books written about the Winter War, but none have described the Soviet units and their efforts, and none have described the tanks used in the conflict. This book is based upon Russian sources and therefore stands out remarkably from other books on the market about the Finnish Winter War. You are given a concise account of the Soviet units, their equipment and the commanders and operations. You also get an account of the Finnish defense, the fortifications, the obstacles, the mines and the armours etc. Furthermore; the only tank battle of the Winter War, the battle of Honkaniemi, is described in detail. The ‘Tanks in the Winter War’ is a must for all who are interested in what happened in Finland during World War II and is destined to become a collectors item!

Tanks in the Winter War: 1939 - 1940 (Operations: Scandinavia 1939)

Komolyets, Maxim

It is a common misunderstanding that the Red Army, on Stalin’s order, halted outside Warsaw in August 1944 to let the German troops suppress the Polish uprising in the capital. Joseph Stalin of course didn’t want to let a pro-British Polish government get a foothold in Warsaw.The fact is that on the last day of July (the night before the start of the uprising) the Red Army was on its way into Praga (the east part of Warsaw on the east bank of Vistula) when the German troops mounted a violent counter attack. This started the bitter fight that came to be called “The Battle for Praga” and was to continue until the end of September when the Red Army finally conquered Praga. By then it was too late for the Polish resistance inside the city. The fighting was among the toughest and most brutal on the Eastern Front during the war. Never before has this battle been described in the Swedish language and very seldom has it been mentioned in English literature. Furthermore we have managed to include unique pictures; photos that are vary rare and original colour illustrations by our internationally acknowledged illustrators; Maarten Swarts, Samuel Swärd and Oliver Missing.

WARSAW 2: THE BATTLE FOR PRAGA: July - September 1944 (Operations: East Front 1944)

Bacyk, Norbert

The armor reconnaissance battalion in the SS division “Nordland” fought in varied battlefields; from Ingermanland’s snow-clad hills, to the defense of the historic town of Narva. Then further over Latvia’s billowing landscape against the Soviet armored thrusts that were threatening Riga. Later on, the battalion fought in the muddy trenches in Kurland and on the plains of Pomerania. Finally, in 1945, it was to be pulled in and exterminated in the final battle of Brandenburg, in the last desperate defense of the Chancellor’s office in Berlin. This unit was unique as it contained the largest concentration of Swedish volunteers in the German army during World War II. This book is the first of its kind about the unit and it presents unique facts and photo material. The book is based on diary notes and on an original manuscript written by men who participated. The original material has been enhanced with additional pictures, more maps, more eyewitness stories told by Swedes and more facts than the original manuscript contained. This is the first time that the world gets access to such rich material with such an explosive description of the brutal reality on the Eastern Front 1943- 1945, described by members in one of the most experienced front units in the German army’s most dreaded elite force; the Waffen-SS.

The SS-Panzer-Aufklarungs-Abeteilung 11- Nordland and the Swedish SS-Platoon in the Battles for the Baltic, Pomerania and Berlin, 1943-1945

Westberg, Lennart

In February 1943, the heavy water plant in Vermork/Rjukan, that Hitler needed for the making of the atomic bomb, was made useless by a combined British/Norwegian sabotage operation. This operation became a legend in history. What is less well known is the fact that there was an earlier attempt at sabotaging the plant in late 1942. This failed attempt is known in history as "Operation Freshman". This book is about the successful operation, but it is also a book describing the failed one: both what happened before the operation, and during the operation as well as the aftermath. It describes the planning, the German response and the horrible way the German forces treated the British Commandos involved in "Operation Freshman".

Operation Freshman: The Hunt for Hitler's Heavy Water

Berglyd, Jostein

The only complete listing in existence of all the Knight Cross holders of the Waffen SS. Includes all ranks and all persons whether they started their careers or finished them in the Waffen SS. The first volume includes all persons who received the decoration while serving in the Waffen SS. The second describes all who received the decoration while attached to a unit in the Waffen SS or in the police units. Includes photos of all persons and documents and full biographies of all receivers.

Knight's Cross Holders of the SS and German Police: Volume 1: Active and Reserve Waffen SS and Police Recipients, 1940 – 1945

MILLER, MICHAEL