The Battle of Reichswald - Rhineland - February 1945

The Battle of the Reichswald Rhineland - February 1945 written by Tim Saunders and published by Pen & Sword Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 211

During winter 1944/45 few German officers believed that the Allies would attack the wooded

Reichswald Plug on the narrow neck of land between the rivers Rhine and Maas.

Consequently, relying on the natural defences of the forest, the vaunted Siegfried Line had

been allowed to peter out. The 84th Infantry Division held field defences that had been worked

on all autumn, but the defenders were thinly spread, and most German soldiers now faced

the certainty of defeat.

Originally hoping to use the frozen winter ground for a speedy assault, days before Operation

VERITABLE began a thaw set in and the Allies faced attacking in the worst possible ground

conditions. On the morning of 8 February, after protracted bombardment, delays multiplied as

vehicles became bogged in saturated fields and shell holes, and roads broke up under heavy

armour. However, just enough assault engineer equipment reached the outer German

defences, where they found the enemy infantry largely stunned by the bombardment.

It took all of the first day to break through the mud and defences into the Reichswald,

while to the north, Canadians and Scots struggled across equally sodden open country

with the Rhine floods rising fast. Despite the conditions, overnight the Canadians took to

the flood waters to seize what were now island villages and the Scots dashed to capture

the vital Materborn, which overlooked Kleve.

With heavy rain compounding difficulties, mud and flood waters made movement of men

and supplies increasingly difficult. Despite this and the arrival of German reinforcements,

the Allies fought their way forward, forcing the Reichswald Plug and opening the way into

the Rhineland and the final phases of the war.

The Battle of the Reichswald was a major battle fought between the Allies and the

Germans in February 1945, during the final stages of World War II. The battle took

place in the Reichswald forest, a large wooded area in the Rhineland region of

Germany. The Allies were attempting to break through the German Siegfried Line,

a series of defensive fortifications that ran along the German border. The author Tim

Saunders' book is a comprehensive and well-researched account of the battle.

Saunders draws on a wide range of sources, including official records and personal

accounts. He provides a detailed and balanced account of the battle, and he does not

shy away from the huge human cost of the war.

Overall, I thought that The Battle of the Reichswald was a well-written and

informative book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the detailed

history of World War II.

The Battles that Created England 793-1100

The Battles that Created England 793-1100 written by Arthur C. Wright and

published by Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

In popular imagination the warfare of the Early Middle Ages is often obscure, unstructured,

and unimaginative, lost between two military machines, the ‘Romans’ and the ‘Normans’,

which saw the country invaded and partitioned. In point of fact, we have a considerable

amount of information at our fingertips and the picture that should emerge is one of

English ability in the face of sometimes overwhelming pressures on society, and a

resilience that eventually drew the older kingdoms together in new external responses

which united the ‘English’ in a common sense of purpose.

This is the story of how the Saxon kingdoms, which had maintained their independence for generations, were compelled to unite their forces to resist the external threat of the Viking incursions. The kingdoms of East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex, and Wessex were gradually welded into one as Wessex grew in strength to become the dominant Saxon kingdom.

From the weak Æthelred to the strong Alfred, rightly deserving the epithet ‘Great’, to the strong, but equally unfortunate, Harold, this era witnessed brutal hand-to-hand battles in congested melees, which are normally portrayed as unsophisticated but deadly brawls. In reality, the warriors of the era were experienced fighters often displaying sophisticated strategies and deploying complex tactics.

Our principal source, replete with reasonably reliable reportage, are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, comprehensive in collation though subject to oral distortion and mythological excursions. The narrative of these does not appear to flow continuously, leaving too much to imagination but, by creating a complementary matrix of landscapes, topography and communications it is possible to provide convincing scenery into which we can fit other archaeological and philological evidence to show how the English nation was formed in the bloody slaughter of battle.

A part of history that has little exposure in comparison to others, but lately even I have noticed an increase in awareness and exposure in recent years through books, films and documentaries. This book goes through various battles that would give England a solid and united basis to stand proud and become a bigger military power. The English counties that were previously staunchly independent, were united under Alfred the Great to take on the invading powers to be. The book is split into 42 chapters and all of them were a good and easy read with notes at the end of each chapter too, which I really enjoyed. Credit to the author who has done a good job and a book I have thoroughly enjoyed, in fact I can see myself re-reading this book a number of times in the future. An excellent book if you looking to get into early military history or if your a student of the subject, you will enjoy this book.

Nazi UFO’s The Legends and Myths of Hitler’s Flying Saucers in WW2

Nazi UFO’s The Legends and Myths of Hitler’s Flying Saucers in WW2 written by S. D, Tucker and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 208

Nazi UFOs tells the strange tale of how, following the first alleged flying saucer sightings made in the USA in 1947, a series of fantasists and neo-fascists came forward to create a media myth that the Nazis may have invented these incredible craft as a means for winning the Second World War, a plan which was tantalisingly close to completion before the Allies conquered Berlin in 1945.

Today, the fantasy of Nazi UFOs has grown into an entire mythology in books, on TV

and online. Did Germany back-engineer anti-gravity craft, and even a full-blown

time-machine, by stripping technology from a crashed alien saucer? Did the SS

secretly invent ‘Green’ technology for use in their starship engines, and was this

planet-saving discovery later suppressed at the behest of a sinister Big Oil conspiracy?

Did Himmler try to develop ‘lightning weapons’ for use in aerial combat?

By contrasting the fake military-industrial pseudo-histories of Nazi UFO theorists with

details of real-life Nazi aerospace achievements, the author demonstrates both how this

modern-day mythology came about and how it cannot possibly be more than fractionally

true. For the first time, this fake ‘alternative military history’ is laid out in full.

This book features an appealing cast of con-men and spies, complete madmen, real-life Nazis and completely made-up ones, operating right across the globe from South America to wartime Europe and Japan. A good example may be the ‘mad professor’, Viktor Schauberger, who actually genuinely did manage to gain a personal audience with Adolf Hitler in order to try and convince him that he had discovered and then exploited some amazing new source of natural ‘free energy’ which could make objects (such as saucers, in the opinion of some) float. Hitler dismissed his plan, but it does nonetheless show how close some bizarre schemes came to being implemented in Nazi Germany.

I have to admit that reading this book was a bit like being stuck on the History Channel, and we all know how far downhill that has gone in the past decade. Now in reality the book does try to look at the possibility of UFO’s or at least UFO technology, it also looks at the scams and fake news that took part or that was promoted around the world, especially since WW2. I liked the fact that fake news was explored and that there were scams being perpetrated, and I suppose I enjoyed some of the info that got carried away with the prospect of UFO technology. I would recommend this book, as it does try to be balanced, but I imagine it might annoy others or they might not read it in the first place.

Review originally posted in October 2022

From Churchill's SAS to Hitler's Waffen-SS The Secret Wartime Exploits of Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye

From Churchill's SAS to Hitler's Waffen-SS The Secret Wartime Exploits of Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye written by Michael Scott and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 200

Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye was serving with the fledgling SAS with fellow officers

such as David Stirling and Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne when he was captured in the Western

Desert. He was ‘turned’ and became a member of the Nazi Waffen-SS. Collaboration

with the enemy was confirmed when dressed as an SS captain he approached remnants

of the British Free Corps; the Waffen-SS unit composed of renegade British nationals.

He exhorted them to serve under his command against Russian forces.

Post-war Berneville-Claye was investigated by MI5 for treachery. Following an Army court-martial he was dishonourably dismissed and sentenced to six months imprisonment. Upon release, his escapades and private life were no less contentious. A philanderer and bigamist, he married four times, sired ten children and rubbed shoulders with the criminal underworld in and out of prison. Eventually he succeeded in emigrating to Australia.

Thanks to the author’s painstaking research, this is a compelling yet shocking biography of one of the most intriguing, colourful and disreputable characters of his era. How he escaped with his life is a question readers will ponder.

This book about Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye was the type of character that you could describe as a bit of a rogue mixed with a bit of a scoundrel, mainly because he would seem to lie, cheat and be a bit of a conman. Originally he had joined the RAF, but then ended up joining the army where he managed to serve with the newly formed SAS. It couldn’t be argued that he was the most loyal person or showed much loyalty, but then I think he kind of did what was best for him in whatever circumstance he found himself in. He would eventually find himself captured in North Africa, but then changed sides and began working with the German Waffen-SS.

Eventually, after the war he would be investigated by the British authorities and imprisoned for working with the enemy. But it wasn’t just his work life that would be controversial, his life after being prosecuted would be difficult and sordid before he moved to Australia. I think if you were being positive you could say he was a bit of a ducker ‘n’ diver character, and if you were being negative you could say he was a con artist and turncoat. A fascinating story about a character I had never come across before, I imagine probably a difficult story to research from the author’s point of view, but a good book and read all together showing that life can take all sorts.

Blood, Dust & Snow Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on the Eastern Front

Blood, Dust & Snow Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on

the Eastern Front written by Friedrich Sander and published by Greenhill

Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 448

‘The infantry is only a few metres ahead of us when suddenly, on the left of our tank, a Russian stands up. The swine had pretended to be dead when our infantry came past him! That’s an old classic, pretending to be dead and then firing from the rear. But that isn’t a good idea when facing tank-men like us… floor the accelerator! Turn left and run over him!

“Unvarnished, absorbing, gritty and pulling no punches. One of the best accounts of war on

the Eastern Front I have ever read.” - Peter Caddick-Adams

The war on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 was the bloodiest combat theatre in the

bloodiest war in history. Oberleutnant Friedrich Wilhelm Sander experienced this bloodshed

first-hand when serving with the 11th Panzer-Regiment. This regiment made up the core of

the 6th Panzer-Division, one of Hitler’s top armoured formations, which was involved in

most of the major campaigns on the Eastern Front; campaigns such as Operation

Barbarossa and Operation Winter Storm.

Sander recorded his experience of these campaigns in astounding detail in some recently

-discovered diaries covering the period from April 1938 to December 1943, translated here

for the first time by historian Robin Schäfer. Written during the fighting, these diaries not only

offer an honest assessment of the war on the Eastern Front, but also provide an insight into

the mind of a young and highly politicised officer, and offer an intimate glimpse into the

close-knit community of a German Panzer crew.

A brutally honest, immediate and unfiltered personal account, Sander’s translated diaries

make for some uniquely fascinating reading about some of the most important campaigns

of the Second World War. Supported by more than 100 photographs and maps from the period,

Blood, Dust & Snow will be of great interest not only to readers studying the war on the

Eastern Front, but also to any historian researching the Second World War.

Blood, Dust & Snow is a diary from German Panzer Commander Friedrich Sandler

from WW2 who served mainly on the Eastern Front. In this diary, we obviously we have

translated from German which is done very well, and we seem to get a lot of books

now published where English is not the primary language. But I have to say that this

book is one of the best I have read for a while, not only the translation but also the

writing is very descriptive and informative which makes it stand out from the crowd.

The book brings across the hardships of being a Panzer commander and the vivid

descriptions and battle accounts are very realistic and make for a great read. The

map is also supported by a good number of photographs which really help support

the story. A hit for me, would happily recommend to other WW2 history buffs.

The Road to Barbarossa Soviet-German Relations 1917-1941

The Road to Barbarossa Soviet-German Relations 1917-1941 written by

Norman Ridley and published by Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 320

From the chaos of the First World War, during which Germany and Russia had fought each other to a standstill, there emerged two societies whose diametrically opposed ideologies of communism and fascism represented the opposite extremes of the political spectrum. Despite this, in time the governments and military establishments in both countries were able to create an environment where political expediency led to both cooperation and an eventual alliance.

Western democracies found both systems repellent but the two countries, Germany and the Soviet Union, embodied vast resources of, in the case of the Soviets, raw materials and, in the case of Germany, huge intellectual, scientific and industrial expertise. Both offered massive opportunities for trade, but neither made comfortable partners. Britain, whose sympathies lay more with the Germans, and France, whose history tied them more to Eastern Europe, tended to treat both Germany and the Soviet Union as outcast states. 

Whilst animosity was rampant on a political level, both countries, now having equal pariah status in the eyes of the Western allies, began to see huge benefits in military and economic cooperation. Collaborative ventures for covert armament production and training facilities were initiated in 1921. These schemes would continue, with varying degrees of success, for more than a decade until the rise of Nazism in Germany put an end to it.

The Spanish Civil War saw not only thee two rival political philosophies but opposing military doctrines also being tested against each other on the field of battle. It is remarkable, therefore, that these two nations emerged from this maelstrom to re-discover the ‘spirit of Rapallo’. It was a spirit which culminated in the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. Within weeks, both sides would display their unity as they fell together with ruthless efficiency upon the hopless Poland.

This book looks at how these two ‘strange bedfellows’ dealt with western hostility and found ways to accommodate each other in a bid to recover from the economic devastation and dismantling of their historic territorial boundaries. The extent to which cooperation was achieved is unusual given the circumstances, especially as they had to contend with the machinations of the Western Powers. 

I really looked forward to reading this book, and I can say I wasn’t disappointed. I think I was just looking forward to the fact that it was about the Eastern Front, but it was giving the reader that extra dimension of concentrating more on the political/relations/pre-war part of the Eastern Front. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the battles or military side of things, it’s just nice to get the added story and depth that the political part brings to the story, a bit like getting more of the story. The book covers fascinating part of relations such as The Bolshevik Revolution, The Lorcarno Treaties, The Rise of Nazism, The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and more. The book is well written and Ridley is an excellent writer in making the information easy to understand with all the various personalities involved. The book contains excellent sources and notes, and definitely a good book if you prefer reading more about the paperwork side of war. Highly Recommended.

Hitler’s Last Chance Kolberg: The Propaganda Movie and the Rise and Fall of a German City

Hitler’s Last Chance Kolberg: The Propaganda Movie and the Rise and

Fall of a German City written by Kevin Prenger and published by Frontline

Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 192

Apologies but I couldn't get the book description to format properly on this post

but you can read it at the Pen & Sword Website.

Hitler’s Last Chance is a book/story of the city of Kolberg in Poland that was attempted to be

taken by Germany during the Second World War. The story can be split into three like most

wartime cities, you went from the city just being Kolberg, to be taken or attempted, to be taken

by Germany during the war and then the city fell to the Russians. But during this process, or at

least the part about Kolberg being taken over by Germany Goebbels saw this as a chance to

sell this story to Germany as a good or a ‘saviour’ type event as a propaganda film. Eventually,

this film would not see general publication due to the events. But the fascinating thing I

found about this story was the fact that you could see parallels with the conflict currently

going on in the Russia/Ukraine conflict, in which you have one country trying to take one city

because they believe they are doing the right thing or making the citizens free. The book is a

really nice look at propaganda, how it could be done or put into place and the reasons for it.

I think the book is more for those interested in how propaganda works and how it can be used

to influence rather than those into the wider story of the war. A book that made me think, and

one I would happily recommend to others.

The Plot of Shame Us Military Executions in Europe During WW2

The Plot of Shame Us Military Executions in Europe During WW2 written

by Paul Johnson and published by Frontline Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery is the last resting place of 6,012 American

soldiers who died fighting in a small portion of Northern France during the First

World War. The impressive cemetery is divided into four plots marked A to D.

However, few visitors are aware that across the road, behind the immaculate façade of the superintendent’s office, unmarked and completely surrounded by impassable shrubbery, is Plot E, a semi-secret fifth plot that contains the bodies of ninety-six American soldiers. These were men who were executed for crimes committed in the European Theatre of Operations during and just after the Second World War.

Originally, the men whose death sentences were carried out were buried near the sites of their executions in locations as far afield as England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Algeria. A number of the men were executed in the grounds of Shepton Mallet prison in Somerset – the majority of whom were hanged in the execution block, with two being shot by a firing squad in the prison yard. The executioner at most of the hangings was Thomas William Pierrepoint, assisted mainly by his more-famous nephew Albert Pierrepoint.

Then, in 1949, under a veil of secrecy, the ‘plot of shame’, as it has become known, was established in France. The site does not exist on maps of the cemetery and it is not mentioned on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s website. Visits to Plot E are not encouraged. Indeed, public access is difficult because the area is concealed, surrounded by bushes, and is closed to visitors.

No US flag is permitted to fly over the plot and the graves themselves have no names, just small, simple stones the size of index cards that are differentiated only by reference numbers. Even underground the dishonoured are set apart, with each body being positioned with its back to the main cemetery.

In The Plot of Shame, the historian Paul Johnson uncovers the history of Plot E and the terrible stories of wartime crime linked to it.

A really fascinating book that tells the tales of a group of American men, you would very rarely her about as these are the tales of US servicemen sentenced to death for crimes at the time were seen as heinous even during a time of war. The book is good in that it starts out with the Articles of War, the executioners and the plot where the majority of these men were buried in uncelebrated graves. The book then goes through the various stories on a year-by-year basis. The stories are explained in great detail and a really good amount of research has gone into this book, a very well informed book. Certainly a great book for those true crime fans.

The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were There

The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were There written by Martin W. Bowman

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 236

The Allied bombing of Berlin was the longest and most sustained bombing offensive

against one target in the Second World War. The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were

There is a compelling, gripping and thought-provoking story of the Allied bombing

forces and the ordinary people on the ground, told in their own tongue and with

meticulous attention to detail. The result is a coherent, single story which unfolds

in a straightforward and incisive narrative.

This work draws attention in some detail to the major raids on the Reich capital by RAF Bomber Command from the late summer of 1940 to September 1943. It begins with the reliable but largely ineffective twin-engined Blenheims, Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys, through to the introduction into front-line service of the four-engined ‘heavies’ - the Stirling, Manchester and Halifax, which bore the brunt of the bomber offensive until the advent of the incomparable Avro Lancaster in 1942 and the superlative Mosquito. On 30 January 1943, on the tenth anniversary of Hitler’s usurpation of power, two formations (each of three Mosquitoes) appeared over Berlin in daylight and interrupted large rallies being addressed by Goering and Goebbels.

Sir Arthur Harris, Commander-in-Chief, RAF Bomber Command, hoped to ‘wreck Berlin from end to end’ and ‘produce a state of devastation in which German surrender is inevitable’. But the ‘Big City’, as it was known to his faithful ‘old lags’, was never completely destroyed.

This book is very much how the title explains, in that it is about the people who were there rather than specifics about flights, bombings and airforces. The book is very much a collection of ideas and opinions of people that were involved in the various raids and bombing run with the build up to the events and the thoughts and feelings when they were in progress. Concentrating on the mid war period, the book relies heavily on what Bomber Command specialised in, that of the heavy bombers like the Stirlings, Lancasters and so on.

Like previous Martin W. Bowman books, he is clearly a leading WW2 historian and this shines through in the book and the writing. He has the ability to include technical details, opinions and story timeline all together to produce and easy to read book of a high standard. A thoroughly good read involving the Berlin Biltz, and one that certainly deserves recommendation.

Wars of the Roses - The People, Places and Battlefields of the Yorkists and Lancastrians

Wars of the Roses The People, Places and Battlefields of the Yorkists and Lancastrians written by Paul Kendell and published by Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 224

The Wars of the Roses, which saw England and Wales ravaged by warfare for three decades and dynasties rise and fall, decimated the nobility of an entire generation, and saw the rise of the merchant class, the decline of medieval feudalism and opened the country to the enlightened ideals of the Renaissance. Such has been its lasting effects the red and white rose of the Tudors is still a national symbol.

This book is an exploration of the buildings, monuments, towns and battlefields of that turbulent era across both England and Wales – places that can still be visited and experienced today. The stories of the great battles of St Albans, Stoke Field, Wakefield, Towton, Barnet, Tewksbury and, of course, Bosworth, are told along with beautiful photographs to help guide the reader round these important sites, as well as the dozens of smaller engagements where the supporters of the Houses of York and Lancaster fought and died.

Here are castles and manor houses galore, all of which played their part in this protracted struggle for the throne of England, such as Richard of York’s imposing powerbase of Ludlow Castle and the magnificent Tudor stronghold of Bamburg. These are compared with the scant remains of Fotheringhay Castle, the birthplace of Richard III – the man whose remains were so dramatically uncovered in Leicester – and Micklegate Bar, York, was where Richard’s head was placed on a spike.

We see the Clocktower of St Albans and ‘Gabriel’ the bell that was rung in 1455 alerting of the Yorkist advance, as well as the Tower of London where Henry VI met his death and the possible burial place of the two princes.

These, and scores of other places, monuments, plaques, buildings and battlegrounds, represent not only a journey across England and Wales, but a journey back in time to the bloody conflict that was the War of the Roses.

A fascinating book in which the author Paul Kendall introduces us to another layer of the story of the War of the Roses, now most of us have read or have been told about the War of the Roses, but what happens here is that we are being lead and shown to the relevant places and people involved. This I believe helps us to better understand the story and those involved because we are being given the pictures and photos that help us understand what went on better. I found the book similar in style to the History in 100 Objects type books, but this was a little more focused. A great book and I’ve learnt so much from it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Battleground: The Western Dunkirk Corridor 1940 Ledringhem, Wormhout, Bambecque & West Cappel

Battleground: The Western Dunkirk Corridor 1940 Ledringhem, Wormhout,

Bambecque & West Cappel written by Jerry Murland - £12.99 - Softcover -

Pages 112

The story of 144 Brigade’s defence of Wormhoudt and Bambecque must rank

in importance alongside the defence of Cassel and Hazebrouck by 145 Brigade.

Brigadier Norman’s composite brigade was the final piece in the jigsaw of defence

on the western flank of the Dunkerque Corridor; it held the line south of Bergues,

containing the attacking German units at great cost, until the perimeter at

Dunkerque had been established.

The defence of Wormhoudt has long been associated with the massacre of British servicemen after they had surrendered. The events in the barn at La Plaine au Bois will always be considered one of the most appalling acts of the Second World War, carried out by elements of the Liebstandarte Regiment; almost second nature to these fanatical followers of Adolf Hitler. They found no easy victory at Wormhoudt, in an encounter that saw their regimental commander, Gruppenführer Otto ‘Sepp’ Dietrich, taking shelter in a ditch away from the fury of the Cheshire machine gunners. Overshadowed by the events in the barn are the murders of civilians and British soldiers that took place as the Germans overwhelmed the fragile defence of the Warwicks. Their Medical Officer, marching into captivity, went past the bodies of men of A Company who he was sure had been murdered. An officer of the Worcesters wrote in his diary that all the wounded of his Company were shot by a commander of the Liebstandarte.

There is little other evidence to support the deaths of these men but there is little doubt that many British soldiers met a violent end after they had surrendered in the fields and on the pavements of Wormhoudt and Bambecque.

These Battleground books, in my opinion, are fantastic and vastly underrated books that both cover history of the event, the people involved and enables the reader to take part in what is experienced within the book. This particular book looks at the 144 Brigade and their spectacular defence of the Dunkirk Corridor against the Germans. The book gets across the events that happened, through text, pictures, diagrams and photographs, the book also picks out a number of individuals that have stood out from the norm and we get to hear about their history. Then finally the book acts as a tour guide by publishing the area as an area to go to, where to stay, eat and visit. Giving you a handy guide to if you wanted to, do your own visit. An excellent book, especially for those that like to take part in that hands-on experience.

Waffen-SS Dutch, Belgium, and Danish Volunteers

Waffen-SS Dutch, Belgium and Danish Volunteers written by Ian Baxter

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 154

Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, numerous Dutchmen, Belgians

and Danes volunteered for the Waffen-SS. The largest division, SS Volunteer Legion

Netherlands operated in Yugoslavia and then Northern Russia. It was later

re-designated 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland.

Fighting alongside the Nederland formation was the SS Volunteer Legion Flanders, manned mainly with Dutch speaking recruits from occupied Belgium. After being disbanded it was later reformed as the SS Assault Brigade Langemarck (SS-Sturmbrigade Langemarck).

The SS Volunteer Legion Walloon, recruited from French-speaking volunteers from German occupied Belgium, was sent to Russia and later integrated with the SS Assault Brigade Wallonia (SS-Sturmbrigade Wallonien).

Finally some 6,000 Danes served in Free Corps Denmark which went to the Eastern Front in May 1942. Within a year the formation was disbanded into Division Nordland, known as Regiment 24 Danemark

Drawing on a superb collection of rare and often unpublished photographs, this fine Images of War book describes the fighting history of each formation, notably the 1944 battle of Narva, which was known as the battle of the European SS. As its forces were pushed further back across a scarred and burning wasteland it describes how these Dutch, Belgian and Danish units became cut off in the Kurland Pocket until some were evacuated by sea. The remainder were killed or captured in front of Berlin in April 1945.

This particular book was rather interesting, mainly in my opinion you don’t get to hear much about volunteers working with the Germans. This book was of particular focus on those volunteers from Holland, Belgium and Denmark. These kinds of troops would help support the Germans in Yugoslavia and Northern Russia before a number were then sent on to the Eastern front. These soldiers were then given indoctrination to hate their enemy and see the Germans as the superior race, so it was still interesting to see they were still willing to accept help from other countries' men, but there was still the determination that the Germans were the top dogs. An interesting read indeed and I must say the supportive text in this series is always first-class.