Seventy years after the battle of Kursk, which was probably the greatest tank battle of the Second World War and perhaps of all military history, comes this new publication. Characterized by hundreds of period photos, allowing the reader to relive those tragic and terrible events. The photos of men, weapons, and vehicles taken on the battlefield before, during, and after the engagements during the rare moments of rest are a true testament to military history. An exceptional photographic documentation, which will be useful to historians, military history students and modeling enthusiasts. Some photos are already known, but we have made every effort to include wherever possible new material as well, previously unpublished, coming from the principal public and private archives, to try to offer our readers a new editorial product. The course of operations was analyzed mainly from the point of view of the Das Reich division, taking the information directly from German war diaries and from Otto Weidinger's previous historical researches on the same division. In the text, however, there is no lack of references to other formations of the SS-Panzer-Korps, whose units always acted in collaboration during the course of the offensive

This book is a detailed history of the 23rd Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier Division "Nederland," the Dutch volunteer SS combat formation. Employed exclusively on the eastern front, except for a brief period in Croatia, the "Nederland" formations participated in many of the most difficult defensive battles on the northeastern front: Leningrad, the Narva bridgehead, the Tannenberg line, Dorpat in Kurland, Pomerania, and the Oder front, until the desperate battle of the Halbe Pocket where the remnants of the division managed to avoid total annihilation, escaping the Soviets and surrendering to American forces. In all of these battles the "Nederland" volunteers showed their valor as true Waffen-SS combatants, always in the front lines and always under constant enemy pressure. This complete treatment fills a large gap in Waffen-SS history. Informative appendices not only relate to the unit's operational history, but also provide details on some of its members, as well as uniforms and insignia.

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.

Created in 1943 from members of the Hitler Youth born in 1926, the division was attached to I SS Panzer Corps in March 1944 and transferred to Normandy. Based around Caen, it was intended to repel a possible and expected invasion from the sea. When the invasion came in June, it was one of the two closest panzer divisions to the landing beaches. The defensive battles that took place in Normandy, particularly the four battles around the city of Caen, saw the young soldiers of the Hitlerjugend demonstrate determined resistance, conceding only due to being greatly outnumbered. After the battles fought in Normandy, the division was withdrawn first to the Franco-Belgian border, where it was engaged in hard defensive fighting and then to Germany for reorganisation. Other difficult and demanding battles followed during the offensive in the Ardennes, on the Bastogne front, in Hungary and finally the last battles fought in Austria, on the sacred ground of the Reich, where the soldiers of the Hitlerjugend, despite the desperate situation and the superiority of the enemy, managed to achieve local success and launch desperate counterattacks even into the last weeks of the war, in the name and in defense of their homeland. Packed with photographs, maps and profiles, this Casemate Illustrated follows the actions of the 12th SS Panzer Division throughout its existence.

The Italian government signed an armistice with the Allies on September 8, 1943, but that did not mean the war was over in Italy. Italians continued to fight on both sides for the duration of the war. This study is focused on Italian volunteers in formations of the Waffen-SS. These include the SS Legion "Italiana" and 29th Waffen Grenadier Division "Italienische Nr.1." Beyond the explicitly Italian units, handfuls of men found their way into other divisions, such as the 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Polizei," 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reichsfuhrer-SS," the Karstwehr Battallion (later 24th SS Gebirgsjager Division "Karstjager"), and even the famous 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte." This work includes histories of the Italian Legion and the 29th Division, extensive interviews with Italian SS veterans from various units, and many excellent photographs from private collections in Europe.

The Polizei Division first took shape in 1939, drawing manpower from the civilian police. In February 1942, the unit was transferred to the Waffen-SS and redesignated SS-Polizei-Division(4.SS). The former policemen appeared on the Western Front in 1940, before being shipped to the Leningrad sector in 1941. Polizei remained on the Eastern Front for the duration of the war, including deployments in Greece, the Banat (Romania), Hungary, and Pomerania, before finally surrendering just northwest of Berlin. The subject is examined through many personal recollections, hundreds of photos and maps from private collections, and period documents, including extracts from official bulletins and the division's war diary. A brief history of the Polizei II division is included as an appendix.

Goebbels' 1941 propaganda campaign to present Germany's invasion of the USSR as a battle for European civilization against Asian barbarism convinced many men in occupied 'Germanic' European countries, such as Scandinavia and the Low Countries, to volunteer to fight on the Russian Front. One of the strongest national legions of such a kind was raised in the Netherlands, where it was supported by a large pro-Nazi movement led by Anton Mussert. The 3,000-man Netherlands Volunteer Legion fought on the Leningrad front in regimental strength, from the Red Army's winter 1941/42 counter-offensive until April 1943. The survivors were then reinforced to form a 5,500-strong Panzergrenadier Brigade, and after anti-partisan service in Croatia, they returned to Army Group North as part of Steiner's III SS Panzer Korps, fighting in the most arduous battles of 1943-44 until driven back into Pomerania. In the final months of the war the division formed the nucleus of the new 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division 'Nederland'. In this illustrated study of the Dutch Waffen-SS Legion and Brigade, specialist Massimiliano Afiero explores the full history of this important formation from its establishment in 1941 until it was incorporated into the 'Nederland' Division in 1944. Contemporary photographs and full-colour illustrations support the text and reveal key details including aspects of uniform and insignia.

Formed in 1943 with the express purpose of blocking the forthcoming Allied invasion in the West, the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend carved out a reputation as one of the Wehrmacht’s foremost panzer divisions, as witnessed by its tenacious defense of Caen following the Allied invasion of Normandy. The British Operation Goodwood against Caen in July 1944 was followed by Totalize in August, which bypassed Caen and attacked the Hitlerjugend positions. Within a week thousands of German troops were encircled in the Falaise Pocket. Around ten thousand Hitlerjugend soldiers escaped piecemeal, regrouping to fight in the battles along the Maas and the ill-fated Ardennes offensive of December 1944. Deployed to Hungary in 1945 to stem the Red Army advance, the division fought against overwhelming odds until the final battles in Austria, on Reich soil, in late April 1945. There the soldiers of the Hitlerjugend, despite the desperate situation and the superiority of the enemy, managed to achieve local success and launch desperate counterattacks even into the last weeks of the war. Packed with photographs, maps and profiles, this Casemate Illustrated title follows the actions of the 12th SS Panzer Division throughout its existence.

This book begins by examining a number of factors relating to the Italian army's performance in the desert, including assessments of the Italian soldier, leadership, training, organization and structure, equipment, the supply situation in North Africa, the ability of the Italian air force to support ground operations, and an appreciation of Italo-German relations in North Africa. The book then describes the combat operations of Italian forces in the desert beginning with the early Italian advance from Libya into Egypt in September 1940 and ending with the final Italian surrender to the Allies in Tunisia in May 1943. The extensive appendices focus heavily on organization and equipment, with tables comparing Italian, British and German armor and artillery in the desert. Taken as a whole, this book presents an account of Italian ground operations in North Africa, from the time of their initial trouncing at the hands of the British Western desert Force in early 1941, through the see-saw battles of 1941 and 1942 when the combined Italo-German forces battled with the British, through the decimation of the Italian forces during the El Alamein battles in late 1942, and finally with the retreat to Tunisia and surrender of all Axis forces there in May 1943. This book is the first English-language work to address in a systematic way the contributions of the Italian army to the North African campaign, and challenges the conventional wisdom that the German Afrika Korps was the pre-eminent Axis force in the desert.

One of the most infamous of all Waffen-SS formations, the 3rd SS-Panzer Division "Totenkopf" has always been identified as the very essence of the notorious "Black Order." Associated with war crimes in official historiography, formed initially with personnel coming from guard units from concentration camps, the unit was nevertheless able to prove itself on the battlefield, distinguishing itself in all of the main campaigns in which it fought, from France to the Russian front. This first of two volumes tells the story of the "Totenkopf" from 1939 to 1943: from the campaign in Poland in 1939; its employment on the Western Front in 1940; to the early campaigns on the Russian Front. Volume one culminates in the bitter fighting on the Demjansk front and to the Kharkov counteroffensive in 1943, finally ending with Operation Zitadelle. As with all of the volumes in this series, the detailed history of the division is accompanied by many first-hand accounts, documents, extracts from official reports, and from the division's war diary, and by over 860 photographs and maps.

This book is a detailed history of the 27th Waffen-SS Division "Langemarck," the Flemish volunteer SS combat formation. "Langemarck" was employed chiefly on the Eastern Front, first in the Ukraine in early 1944, then participating with a combat group in Estonia along the Tannenberg Line in the summer of 1944, alongside other European Waffen-SS volunteers subordinate to III.SS-Pz.Korps--covering themselves with glory and suffering heavy losses. After transformation into a division, "Langemarck" participated in the final fighting on the Pomeranian and Oder fronts, continuing to fight under extreme conditions, and always holding their assigned positions, counterattacking whenever possible. Most of the Flemish volunteers were able to surrender to the Anglo-American forces, thus escaping capture by the Russians. This complete treatment fills a large gap in Waffen-SS history. Informative appendices relate to the unit's operational history and also provide details on some of its members, as well as uniforms and insignia.

The 17th Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier Division "Goetz von Berlichingen" was one of the few SS formations to be employed exclusively on the western front during World War II. From the time of its formation in France in 1943, "Goetz von Berlichingen" saw bitter and bloody fighting in Normandy, the Seine front, Metz, the Saar, the Palatinate, and later the defense of the west wall until the final battles in Germany. Despite the overwhelming superiority of Allied forces, the units that comprised the division always managed to offer dogged resistance, counterattacking ferociously, and defending every foot of ground with great courage and determination. The units of "Goetz von Berlichingen" received praise, not only from the German high command, but also earned the respect of its Allied adversaries. In addition, the "Goetz von Berlichingen" division was never involved in any war crimes, nor in crimes against civilians. Detailed operational history, rare combat images, maps, and personality profiles make this book the definitive history of "Goetz von Berlichingen."