Pen & Sword Military Classics, 2003-9-1 - 292 页
In Nazi Germany the SS was an instrument of terror and repression, whose function was to ensure the leadership and permanence of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party. From the SS sprang a paramilitary force - a superbly trained machine in the face of war. This powerful spearhead was known as the Waffen-SS. Its crack formations rolled back the Allied armies in Poland, Russia and France. By the end of the War it numbered over half a million men under arms - recruited from many different nationalities. A hand-picked eite of magnificent fighting men whose courage was outstanding? Certainly. A force of cruel fanatics capable of hideous atrocities against all accepted rules of warfare? That too. This detailed history looks closely at both faces of the SS formations, and gives a vivid picture of the diabolical architects of the world's most terrible private army - Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. Selling Points * Reveals how Hitler's crack storm-troopers revelled in all their power and menace. * No coup against Hitler was likely to succeed for long when the 500,000 strong Waffen-SS was available to crush any dissent with ruthless resolve * First Published by Hamlyn 1978 Author Details Rupert Butler is a military historian of high repute, and a specialist in the German army in World War II. He is also the author of The Curse of the Death's Head, Gestapo, Hand of Steel, Hitler's Young Tigers and Legions of Death
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