Great Battles of the Waffen-SS, Book Review

Peter Darman's book on the key battles of the Waffen-SS provides a good coverage of the SS Divisions and Corps in action on both the Eastern and Western Front. The Waffen-SS were considered Hitlers elite force during the Second World War, and the SS Divisions were moved between the fronts for crucial operations.

The book starts with the 1SS Panzer Corps and the battles around Kharkov during the first few months of 1943. As German forces fell back following the Winter battles that had seen the destruction of 6th Army at Stalingrad, the Liebstandarte and Das Reich were deployed in the defence of the crucial Ukranian city. The Kursk offensive in the summer of 1943 is the subject of the books second chapter where again Liebstandarte, Das Reich and the Totenkopf divisions saw heavy action.

Chapter 3 revolves around the battles of encirclement following the German defeat at Kursk. The three division involved at Kursk were again in action, but also involved were Wiking and Hohenstaufen.

Chapter 4 moves to the Western front where the 12th SS Panzer Division, Hitlerjugend, hgalted the Canadian forces drive on the key Norman town of Caen. This blocking action was critical in denying the Allied invasion forces room to deploy on their left flank, which lead to the war of attrition in the Norman hedgerows. The Villers-Bocage battle, where a single Tiger tank from a SS Heavy Panzer Company commanded by Michael Wittmann smashed the lead elements of 7th Armoured Division, also has a chapter.

The Battle for Arnhem, and the defeat of the British 1st Airborne Division by elements of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer divisions has a chapter, as does the final offensive in the west, the Battle of the Bulge. The final chapter describes the final actions in the East and the failure of the 6th SS Panzer Army in Hungary.

The book contains a useful set of maps showing the flow of the battles, as well as a large number of black and white photos, although many of these are fairly common. The maps would certainly be of use to wargamers, while some of the photos would make a good basis for model makers. Worth getting if you are interested in the Waffen-SS divisions.