The encounter at Tannenberg went into history as a decisive historical battle. The actions of Erich Ludendorff indeed formed the highlight of a series of battles that prevented the tsarist army already advancing to Berlin in 1914. It was also the prelude to the enormous power Ludendorff accumulated later during the war and would turn out to be so disastrous for the German empire.

The history of Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS forms a dark and, up until now, unwritten gage in Dutch history. 16th February 1945. The Red Army has reached the river Oder; the capital of Nazi Germany is in sight. the final military operations seem to be merely routine when suddenly, without any artillery warning, the German front at Stettin moves forward. At first, the German offensive makes some headway but at Atnswalde and Reetzit grinds to a halt. It is not just the small scale of this last desperate offensive that makes its efforts remarkale. What is perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that it was mounted by non-German volunteers serving in the Waffen-SS. These non-German soldiers made one last desperate attempt to save the front at Berlin. This book focuses on the political and military history of the legion, brigade, and division know as Nederland. Barely a thousand soldiers strong the Dutch Waffen-SS division at Reetz mounted its final offensive but, to no avail, because exactly two months later, on 16th april, the unprecedented drunfire of 1.2 million gernades rang out. The Red Army opened its attack on Berlin. The division "Nederland" was forced to await its downfall.

At the end of World War II, Germany launched three major offensives in Hungary to preserve the the Third Reich's control over the strategically vital oilfields of Nagykanizsa. Hitler was obsessed with this operation and transferred the 6th SS Panzer Army from other weakening German fronts to assist with the operation, an operation that optimistically planned to eventually capture oilfields in Romania. Tragically, the success of this operation helped the SS Commander of the region, Adolf Eichmann, finish his liquidation of the Hungarian Jewish community, the last remaining Jewish communit, the last remaining Jewish community in Europe.