Set deep in the heart of the Masurian woods of northern Poland, in
what was formally East Prussia, lies a vast complex of ruined
bunkers and shelters that once constituted Hitler's headquarters -
the Wolfsschanze or Wolf's Lair - for Germany's attack upon the
Soviet Union in 1941. Built in conditions of the utmost secrecy,
the Wolfsschanze was surrounded by fences and guard posts, its
paths and tracks were hidden, and buildings were camouflaged and
concealed with artificial grass and trees planted on their flat
roofs. As the war in Eastern Europe continued, so the Wolf's Lair
grew in scale and sophistication, until it's 2.5 square miles
incorporated more than eighty buildings including massive
reinforced bunkers. It was also at the Wolfsschanze that Colonel
von Stauffenberg almost killed Hitler in the summer of 1944\. That
building is still there, its roof sitting on its collapsed walls.
With the aid of a unique collection of colour photographs, the
reader is guided around the Wolfsschanze as it appears today, with
each building and its purpose identified. Laced with numerous
personal accounts of the installation and of Hitler's routines,
supplemented with contemporary images, the Wolfsschanze is brought
to life once more. The Wolfsschanze, however, was not the only
military complex in this small part of the Eastern Front. Once
Hitler has established his command centre at the Wolfsschanze, in
effect the home of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (or military high
command), the other branches of the German armed forces and civil
authorities quickly followed suit. Just a few miles away, for
example, the German Army built its own operational headquarters at
Mauerwald - a complex which amounted to an even greater
concentration of buildings, many of which remain intact and open to
the public. Goering duly ordered that the Luftwaffe's headquarters,
codenamed _Robinson_, be built further out near the current Russian
border, whilst Himmler's SS headquarters at Hochwald and that for
Hans Lammers' Reich Chancellery were situated back nearer the
Wolfsschanze. For the first time, these astonishing sites, five
complexes from which the war on the Eastern Front was directed, are
shown and described in one book, providing a comprehensive survey
of the installations whose gigantic scale still evinces awe and
wonder.
General
Imprint: |
Frontline Books
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
October 2021 |
Authors: |
John Grehan
|
Dimensions: |
253 x 180 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
288 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-5267-5311-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
History >
General
Books >
History >
General
|
LSN: |
1-5267-5311-1 |
Barcode: |
9781526753113 |
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