Ian Baxter - Waffen-SS Armour on the Eastern Front 1941–1945: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives

IMAGES OF WAR

RARE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM

WARTIME ARCHIVES

Ian Baxter

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by

PEN & SWORD MILITARY

an imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

47 Church Street

Barnsley

South Yorkshire

S70 2AS

Copyright Ian Baxter, 2021

ISBN 978-1-39909-003-2

eISBN 978-1-39909-004-9

The right of Ian Baxter to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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I an Baxter is a military historian who specialises in German twentieth-century military history. He has written more than sixty books including Poland The Eighteen Day Victory March, Panzers In North Africa, The Ardennes Offensive, The Western Campaign, The 12th SS Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend, The Waffen-SS on the Western Front, The Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, The Red Army at Stalingrad, Elite German Forces of World War II, Armoured Warfare, German Tanks of War, Blitzkrieg, Panzer-Divisions at War, Hitlers Panzers, German Armoured Vehicles of World War Two, Last Two Years of the Waffen-SS at War, German Soldier Uniforms and Insignia, German Guns of the Third Reich, Defeat to Retreat: The Last Years of the German Army At War 194345, Operation Bagration the Destruction of Army Group Centre, German Guns of the Third Reich, Rommel and the Afrika Korps, U-Boat War , and most recently The Sixth Army and the Road to Stalingrad . He has written over a hundred articles including Last days of Hitler, Wolfs Lair, The Story of the V1 and V2 Rocket Programme, Secret Aircraft of World War Two, Rommel at Tobruk, Hitlers War With his Generals, Secret British Plans to Assassinate Hitler, The SS at Arnhem, Hitlerjugend, Battle of Caen 1944, Gebirgsjger at War, Panzer Crews, Hitlerjugend Guerrillas, Last Battles in the East, The Battle of Berlin, and many more. He has also reviewed numerous military studies for publication, supplied thousands of photographs and important documents to various publishers and film production companies worldwide, and lectures to various schools, colleges and universities throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

T his book is a unique visual account of the Waffen-SS armour on the Eastern Front which provides the reader with a wide selection of rare and unpublished photographs accompanied by in-depth captions and text. The images reveal the unfolding story of the Waffen-SS as it battled its way across Russia employing Panzers and supporting armoured vehicles as the main striking force, which scored a number of sizable victories against a foe that appeared to be on the verge of defeat. It shows these vehicles in various battles, such as the recapture of Kharkov in early 1943, the Kursk offensive and battles fought out in the Baltic States, central Russia during Operation BAGRATION, its withdrawal through Poland in 1944 and then into the Reich a few months later.

The photos portray how these formidable Waffen-SS armoured units adapted and up-gunned their vehicles to face the ever-increasing enemy threat. It shows how these armoured crews with their Pz.Kpfw.I, II, III, IV, Panther, Tiger, King Tiger, assault and self-propelled guns used offensive tactics during defensive battles and how units exploited the changing tactical situations and played a decisive role in trying to stem the rout along the disintegrating line. It shows the SS Panzer men using tactics such as the armoured wedge, the Panzerkeil , and tank-destroying tactics.

The book is a captivating glimpse of a remarkable band of armoured crew men that evolved on the battlefield and were unmatched in their fighting vehicles. It reveals their successes and defeats.