22. Christian Jennings, At War on the Gothic Line (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2016), 204.
CHAPTER 25. BATTLE FOR THE BEACHHEAD
1. For the division’s formation, see H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:1–30; K. Meyer, Grenadiers, 210–214; and Luther, Blood and Honor, 12–79.
2. Kraemer, “I SS Panzer Corps in the West in 1944,” p. 3, IWM Department of Documents (Duxford).
3. Luther, Blood and Honor, 78.
4. Shulman, Defeat in the West, 124.
5. K. Meyer, Grenadiers, 223–224.
6. Ibid., 228.
7. For this complex subject, see Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998); and Luther, Blood and Honor, 181–194. For useful summaries, see Beevor, D-Day, 180–181; and Reynolds, Steel Inferno, 92–96. The accounts by K. Meyer and H. Meyer both maintain a disingenuous silence on the matter.
8. According to postwar testimonies by Hitlerjugend soldiers, Kurt Meyer told his men to “take no prisoners,” although at his subsequent trial he denied issuing such orders. See Sayer and Botting, Hitler’s Last General, 154–155.
9. Neitzel and Welzer, Soldaten, 309.
10. K. Meyer, Grenadiers, 222.
11. Walther, interview with author, 1983.
12. C. P. Stacey, Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War (Ottawa, 1960), 3:137.
13. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:186.
14. Fey, Armor Battles of the Waffen SS, 98.
15. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:191.
16. Ibid., 197.
17. J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson, in Agte, Wittmann and the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders, 2:30.
18. Walther, ibid.
19. Messenger, Hitler’s Gladiator, 128.
20. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:241.
CHAPTER 26. UNEQUAL STRUGGLE
1. Shulman, Defeat in the West, 128.
2. Yerger, Knights of Steel, 55.
3. Weidinger, Comrades to the End, 268–269.
4. For a detailed narrative of Das Reich’s advance to Normandy, see Hastings, Das Reich.
5. A series of apologias by Otto Weidinger for Das Reich’s actions at Tulle and Oradour can be found in his Das Reich, 5:137–175; Comrades to the End, 272–301; and Tulle and Oradour. See also Michael Williams’s comprehensive website on Oradour, www.oradour.info.
6. Pontolillo, Murderous Elite, 29–31, 224–225.
7. Quassowski, Twelve Years with Hitler, 183.
8. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:373.
9. Chester Wilmot, The Struggle for Europe (London: William Collins, 1952), 377.
10. Shulman, Defeat in the West, 132.
11. Kraemer, “I SS Panzer Corps in the West in 1944,” p. 54, IWM Department of Documents (Duxford).
12. 49th Division intelligence summary, 28 June 1944, in H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:422.
13. Lehmann and Tiemann, The Leibstandarte, 121. This is skirted over in H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:419.
14. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 89.
15. Reynolds, Steel Inferno, 138.
16. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:433.
17. Beevor, D-Day, 269.
18. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 1:504.
19. Lehmann and Tiemann, The Leibstandarte, 136.
20. K. Meyer, Grenadiers, 271.
21. Messenger, Hitler’s Gladiator, 132.
22. Mitcham, Retreat to the Reich, 93.
23. English, Surrender Invites Death, 205.
CHAPTER 27. COLLAPSE AND RECOVERY
1. See Messenger, Hitler’s Gladiator, 138; and Parker, Hitler’s Warrior, 109.
2. Neitzel and Welzer, Soldaten, 301. See also Messenger, Hitler’s Gladiator, 136; and Beevor, D-Day, 442.
3. Kraemer, “I SS Panzer Corps in the West in 1944,” p. 76, IWM Department of Documents (Duxford).
4. NA WO 205/1021, Dietrich, p. 5.
5. Agte, Wittmann and the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders, 2:166–169; H. Meyer, The 12th SS, vol. 2, section 14 addendum. Some accounts claim that Wittmann’s tank was destroyed by artillery fire, Typhoon rockets, or another tank unit, but are less than convincing.
6. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 2:95.
7. Weidinger, Comrades to the End, 329, states a loss of twelve enemy tanks, surely excessive. See also Reynolds, Steel Inferno, 279; and Beevor, D-Day, 473.
8. These figures have been given more credence than they deserve. See, for example, Max Hastings, Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984), 313.
9. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 2:117.
10. Lehmann and Tiemann, The Leibstandarte, 228.
11. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 200.
12. Figures from ibid., 222. In R. Kershaw, It Never Snows in September, 39, a combined corps figure of 6,000–7,000 soldiers is suggested, apparently based on Tieke’s figures. Both Tieke and Kershaw provide detailed narratives of the Waffen-SS at Arnhem.
13. R. Kershaw, It Never Snows in September, 149.
14. Ibid., 206.
CHAPTER 28. FINAL GAMBLE IN THE WEST
1. Hirschfeld, Nazi Rule and Dutch Collaboration, 310.
2. See Estes, European Anabasis, 148–154.
3. For French involvement in the Waffen-SS, see Forbes, For Europe; and Carrard, French Who Fought for Hitler.
4. Mazière, The Captive Dreamer, 30.
5. Estes, European Anabasis, 150; Rikmenspoel, Waffen-SS Encyclopedia, 48.
6. Figures from Tieke, In the Firestorm, 312. Numerical strengths given for both sides in the battle vary considerably according to date of commitment and chosen geographical area.
7. Blanford, Hitler’s Second Army, 175.
8. The Ardennes offensive of 1944 has been the subject of intense historical scrutiny. Recent studies include Peter Caddick-Adams, Snow and Steel: Battle of the Bulge, 1944–45 (London: Arrow, 2015); and Beevor, Ardennes, 1944.
9. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 2:255.
10. Blanford, Hitler’s Second Army, 176.
11. Figures from Tiemann, Chronicle of the 7. Panzer-Kompanie, 125 (personnel); and Fey, Armor Battles of the Waffen SS, 186 (armored vehicles).
12. For the massacre, see James J. Weingartner, Crossroads of Death: The Story of the Malmédy Massacre and Trial (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979); and Danny S. Parker, Fatal Crossroads: The Untold Story of the Malmédy Massacre at the Battle of the Bulge (Boston: Da Capo, 2013).
13. See Beevor, Ardennes, 1944, 162–164, 183–184, 212–213, 221.
14. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 315.
15. Fey, Armor Battles of the Waffen SS, 203.
16. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 330.
17. Ibid., 334.
18. Voss, Black Edelweiss, 189–190.
19. Rusiecki, In Final Defense of the Reich, 42.
20. Monroe-James, Crossing the Zorn, 141.
21. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 338–340.
22. See Messenger, Hitler’s Gladiator, 161–162.
23. Ibid., 160.
CHAPTER 29. DISASTER IN HUNGARY
1. Lumans, Hitler’s Auxiliaries, 226.
2. Wittmann, Balkan Nightmare, 171.
3. Figures from Krisztián Ungváry, Battle for Budapest: 100 Days in World War II (London: I. B. Tauris, 2011), 323.
4. Strassner, European Volunteers, 199.
5. Ibid., 202.
6. Ungváry, Battle for Budapest, 331.
7. Bayer, Kavallerie Division der Waffen-SS, 213.
8. Agte, Wittmann and the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders, 2:342.
9. Woltersdorf, Gods of War, 103–104.
10. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 365.
11. H. Meyer, 12th SS, 2:412.
12. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 376.
13. Woltersdorf, Gods of War, 105, 106.
14. Ullrich, Like a Cliff in the Ocean, 263.
15. Tiemann, The Leibstandarte, 254.
16. Weingartner, Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, 136.
17. Messenger, Hitler’s Gladiator, 168.
18. Ibid., 169.
CHAPTER 30. THE WAFFEN-SS DESTROYED
1. For Himmler in 1945, see Longerich, Heinrich Himmler, 696–736.
2. Bartmann, Für Volk and Führer, 165.
3. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 344.
4. Grass, Peeling the Onion, 123–124.
5. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 400–410.
6. Figures from Antony Beevor, Berlin: The Downfall, 1945 (London: Viking, 2002), 329.
7. Ibid., 337. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 433, though, suggests a higher figure of between 30,000 and 40,000.
8. Hillblad, Twilight of the Gods, 47.
9. Bartov, Hitler’s Army, 6.
10. Grass, Peeling the Onion, 126.
11. Kindler, Obedient unto Death, 177.
12. Trevor-Roper, Last Days of Hitler, 117.
13. Hitler’s outburst was famously captured in the film Downfall (2004).
14. Stein, Waffen SS, 242.
15. Poller, Månsson, and Westberg, SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-–Abteilung 11 “Nordland,” 225–256.
16. Hillblad, Twilight of the Gods, 83–84.
17. Kumm, Prinz Eugen, 266–267.
18. Tieke, In the Firestorm, 439.
19. Tiemann, The Leibstandarte, 352.
20. Ullrich, Like a Cliff in the Ocean, 271–273, 276–278.
21. Weidinger, Comrades to the End, 403–424.
22. Estes, European Anabasis, 183.
23. Rüdiger Overmans, Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg (Berlin: DeGruyter Oldenbourg, 2000), 257.
24. Volkner, Many Rivers I Crossed, 196.
CHAPTER 31. AFTERMATH
1. Longerich, Heinrich Himmler, 1–3.
2. Kumm, Prinz Eugen, 267–270.
3. See Steinacher et al., “Prosecution and Trajectories,” 308.
4. Ibid., 342.
5. Lumans, Himmler’s Auxiliaries, 260.
6. See, for example, Maeger, Lost Honour, Betrayed Loyalty, 244–245.
7. Weidinger, Comrades to the End, 426–445; Tieke, In the Firestorm, 445–456; Strassner, European Volunteers, 213.
8. Adrian Gilbert, POW: Allied Prisoners in Europe, 1939–1945 (London: John Murray, 2006), 45–47, 153.
9. See, for example, Bartmann, Für Volk and Führer; and Volkner, Many Rivers I Crossed.
10. Parker, Hitler’s Warrior, 187–188.
11. See Sayer and Botting, Hitler’s Last General.
12. For HIAG, see Large, “Reckoning Without the Past”; and Mackenzie, “Waffen-SS in the Second World War.”
13. Large, “Reckoning Without the Past,” 82–83 (membership had fallen to 6,000 by 1963).
14. Ibid., 83.
15. Ibid., 91–92.
16. Parker, Hitler’s Warrior, 389–390.
17. See, for example, Mackenzie, “Waffen-SS in the Second World War”; and Wegner, “My Honour Is Loyalty.”
18. They include authors Richard Landwehr, Franz Kurowski, Mark Yerger, and Patrick Agte.
19. Among this category are works by Gordon Williamson, Tim Ripley, and Robin Lumsden.
20. Werther and Hurd, “Go East, Old Man,” 334.
21. Ibid.; Hurd and Werther, “Waffen-SS Veterans.” For Latvia, see Hale, Hitler’s Foreign Executioners, 8–17.
22. Hurd and Werther, “Waffen-SS Veterans,” 354.
23. Wegner, Waffen-SS, 126–128, 292, 332–336, 341, 343–350, 358.
24. Paul Hausser first popularized the phrase when giving evidence to the Nuremberg Tribunal.
25. Estes, European Anabasis, 183.
INDEX
African soldiers, Nazi treatment of, 96
Allegemeine-SS, 15, 23
Allied aerial strength in Allied offensive in France, 329–330, 332, 337–338, 340, 346–347
Allied forces, atrocities committed by, 3–4
Allied prisoners of war, German massacre/treatment of, 87–88, 89–90, 321, 412
Der Answeg (newsletter-journal), 415
antipartisan warfare
in the Balkans, 299–312
on Eastern Front, 172–173
in Italy, 232
Nazis and, 3–4
success of, 311–312
three-tier system of, 291
Ukrainian units and, 249–250
anti-Semitism, 133, 136. See also Jews
Ardennes, Hitler’s final offensive through, 359, 362–373
Argonne Forest, Nazi invasion of France and, 94–95
Army Group Center, 130
collapse of, 270
drive on Moscow, 165–176
Army Group North, 128, 130
advance on Leningrad, 141–152
attack on Moscow, 149
Army Group South, 130
invasion of Ukraine and, 153–164
Arnhem, battle of, 355–358
Arnold, Karl-Heinz, 127
Artemenko, Pawel, 179
atrocities
antipartisan warfare and, 288
by both sides in war on Eastern Front, 133–134
in Croatia, 301–302
Fegelein and, 105–106
during German invasion of France, 99–100
by Germans during Allied offensive in France, 332–333
in Greece, 309
in Poland, 51
Waffen-SS and, 3–4
Wehrmacht and, 2
See also massacres
Augsberger, Franz, 252
Auschwitz concentration camp, 17, 197
Austria, war in, 41, 387, 389–390
Axmann, Artur, 221
Bachmann, Erwin, 371–372, 397
Bach-Zelewski, Erich von dem, 287, 288, 290, 293, 295, 296, 331
Backe, Herbert, 132
Bakke, Jorgen, 138
Balkans
antipartisan warfare in, 299–312
change of allegiance to Allies in, 379
as source of recruits to Waffen-SS, 111, 113, 245–248
See also Croatia; Yugoslavia
Bandenbekämpfung, 289, 290
Barkmann, Ernst, 342
Bartmann, Erwin, 181, 392–393
Baum, Otto, 331, 343
Bayersdorff, Friedrich, 249
Beer Hall Putsch, 14, 15, 19
Belgian Resistance, 353
Belgium
antipartisan warfare and, 289
German retreat from, 369–370
Germany’s final offensive through, 359, 362–373
initial German invasion of, 65, 66, 68
Legion Flandern, 137–138, 191–192, 239–240
Nordwind offensive, 370–373
Walloon Legion, 199, 240–241
Belorussia, 270, 277, 290, 293
Bendixen, Johannes, 120
Berger, Gottlob, 60–61, 102, 106, 420
antipartisan warfare and, 296
attitudes toward army and SS and, 264–265
collaborator recruits and, 359
Germany’s final offensive in Belgium and, 363
Muslim division in SS and, 246
Phleps and, 154
recruitment for multinational Waffen-SS, 113, 237, 238, 243, 244, 378
recruitment for Waffen-SS, 102, 106–107, 109, 195, 261
training of Langemarck Brigade and, 240
Ukrainian recruits and, 248
weak recruits and German war effort, 252
Berlin, siege of, 397, 399–400
Bernadotte, Greve Folke, 391, 399, 400
Bittrich, Wilhelm, 22
on Berger, 61
defense against Allied offensive in France and, 355–356
defense against Red Army advance into Yugoslavia, 383, 386
Germany’s final offensive in Belgium and, 363, 365
leadership positions, 32–33, 174–175, 262, 292, 337
Blomberg-Fritsch affair, 36
Blood, Philip W., 290
Blosfelds, Mintauts, 270–271
Bock, Fedor von, 65, 71, 85, 93, 130, 165, 177
Böhme, Franz, 301
Boss, Hugo, 13
Brandt, Wilhelm, 28, 104, 168
Brandt, Wim, 58
Bräuer, Johannes, 228
Braun, Eva, 401
Bremer, Gerd, 318
Britain, proposed German invasion of, 101–102
British Free Corps, 241
Broz, Josip “Tito,” 241, 299, 301, 306, 307, 387, 408–409
Brunaes, Ole, 109–110
Bulgaria, 308, 379
Caen
first and second battles of, 318–328
third battle of, 334–336, 338–339
casualties
from antipartisan warfare in Poland, 296
from antipartisan warfare in Yugoslavia, 305
Army Group North’s campaign and Totenkopf, 148
battle of Kiev and, 257
battles in Normandy and, 352
drive on Moscow and, 170
Germany’s final offensive in Belgium and, 370
Kharkov battle, 219
from Korsun-Cherkassy pocket, 260
from Operation Barbarossa, 178, 179
overall Waffen-SS, 405
war on Eastern Front and, 128
Cavalry Brigade, 173, 184–185, 287, 292–294
Cavalry Regiment, 105–106
Charlemagne Division, 360, 401, 402
Christen, Fritz, 149
Churchill, Randolph, 307
Churchill, Winston, 391
civilians, violence among during war on Eastern Front, 134
Cold War, HIAG and, 415
collaborators
as recruits for Waffen-SS, 359–362
retribution towards after the war, 408–409, 410
Commissar Order, 133
comradeship, Waffen-SS and, 29, 37–38, 399
concentration camps
Auschwitz, 17, 197
Dachau, 16, 17–18, 63, 68, 332
Mauthausen, 42
Cossacks, 299, 409
Crimea, 146, 157, 159–160, 263
Croatia, 243, 244–248, 288, 301–302
Czechoslovakia, 42, 55, 59, 64
Dachau concentration camp, 16, 17–18, 63, 68, 332
Danish Legion, 136–137, 187–188, 192–193, 421
Danmark Regiment, 402
Darnand, Joseph, 360
Das Reich, 32
Allied offensive in France and, 331–333, 338, 342, 343
battles in Ukraine and, 253, 254–255, 262–263
creation of Reich Division and, 104
defense against Red Army advance into Hungary, 383, 385, 386–387
end of war and, 404–405
German offensive against Allies in France and, 345–346
Germany’s final offensive in Belgium and, 364, 367–368
Kharkov counterstroke and, 212–213, 214–216, 217
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