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Surrender Invites Death
- What it was like to fight Hitler's ideological troops in Normandy starting on D-Day, June 6, 1944 - Regarded as Nazi Germany's elite military force, the Waffen SS had a reputation for ferocity on the battlefield and mercilessness to prisoners - Assesses the combat performance of American, British, and Canadian units against the Waffen SS - Included are accounts of well-known SS soldiers like Michael Wittmann and formations such as the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and 12th SS Panzer Division Hitler Youth - Meticulously researched by a veteran military historian
240 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 26, 2011
I hesitated to give this book a five star review; not due to any inaccuracy on the behalf of the author or the writing style being dry. My only reason was that the book was brief at 207 pages of main text and for a topic of such magnitude I felt it should have been longer. However, as a primer for anyone wanting to know the role of the Waffen-SS in the decisive Battle for Normandy I would steer everyone to this book before reading Michael Reynolds' works. The author himself served in the Canadian Army as an officer and he brings much military expertise to his tale, something that is comforting when one reads Military History as oft times it is face palmingly annoying to read a historian who knows nothing about Military life or principles writing about the military. And since John English is himself Canadian he highlights the role of the Canadians in the Battle of Normandy and their incredibly bloody affairs with the Waffen-SS. This was a huge draw for me as there is not too much available that highlights the role that Canada played in the Second World War and certainly they were very tough and good soldiers, as this book attests.
The book starts with a brief overview of the creation of the Waffen-SS (which was the armed arm of Hitler's politically ideological bodyguard unit that was originally designed to protect Hitler against the Sturmabteilung (SA)) The author then takes us to the Eastern Front where the Waffen-SS received their baptism of fire...and their barbarous nature was born. English points out that this was largely due to the original batch of soldiers and junior officers being dredged up from the ranks of guards of the Death Camps. The Waffen-SS fought with a nihilism that would make medieval Christian warriors cringe in fright. In almost every encounter with Soviet civilians the Waffen-SS left behind piles of corpses and established themselves as the ideological spear-tip of Hitler's racist empire. Even though the Wehrmacht was itself implicit in many such crimes, even they were disgusted by the barbaric behavior of the Waffen-SS and were quite critical of the fighting abilities of these 'political soldiers'. The Waffen-SS tended to fight with far more zeal then common sense and took horrendous losses as a consequence. This would be a symptom that the Waffen-SS would bring with them to the blood soaked battlefields of Normandy.
English points out early on in his work that during the Battle for Normandy and the War on the Western Front in general, both sides (Allies and Germans) were responsible for war crimes, however he points out that most of these were in the heat of passion, revenge killings of prisoners taken while fighting still raged to avenge the loss of comrades. Both sides did this frequently he points out, however the Allies and the Americans in particular viewed the Wehrmacht almost as gentleman soldiers (the 2nd Panzer Division from Vienna Austria which fought primarily the Americans had the reputation for being 'gentleman warriors' amongst the Americans and there was little fear of Americans being harmed if they were taken prisoner by that unit) however, the exact opposite was true in regards to the Waffen-SS. While English points out that some Waffen-SS units did behave themselves (usually because, he points out, they had a former Wehrmacht officer in charge of them who held a tight reign of discipline over the men) most did not. The Canadians especially seemed to be the targets of SS hatred as hundreds of their men who had been taken prisoner during the course of the fighting were murdered. (The Canadians had a fearsome reputation amongst the German military establishment that dated back to WWI which filtered down to the leadership of the Waffen-SS) Needless to say Henry Crear in charge of the Canadian forces in Normandy gave out orders to warn his men that 'surrendering to the SS invited death.'
As for their fighting abilities go, however, English has nothing but praise for the Waffen-SS. Granted, it helped that their equipment was universally better than that which the Allies used but even so they fought with a skill that sorely tested the Allies whenever they were met. And often their skill met battlefield victory. The bloodiest day in Canadian military history was Operation Spring, an attempt to break through the German lines and break their grip on Normandy. The Waffen-SS shot the Canadians to pieces and even pushed them back beyond their starting line in several places before the day was over. Needless to say, 'Spring' was a disaster as were many encounters with the Waffen-SS. And the Waffen-SS (and the Germans in general) fought outnumbered, over matched in firepower and with no air support. That's how good those fanatics really were. He does point out though the rude awakening the Waffen-SS received when they realized that even though the Allies were all green and un-seasoned troops, they fought better than the Soviets and where Soviet troops would collapse into route and allow the Germans to slaughter them, the Allies would simply form a circle and fight on despite the odds. That's the hallmark of a good soldier.
Overall the book is very good and is highly recommended to anyone who wants to know just how damned tough it was to win the Battle of Normandy. Even at the very end, when the Allies were closing the massive jaws around the Germans trapped in the Falaise Pocket, the Waffen-SS, despite having been hammered time after time, rallied for one more desperate offensive to break into the pocket and hold the jaws open long enough to allow a huge portion of the trapped German forces to escape to fight another day. It was one of the most remarkable exploits in military history and of the Second World War certainly. But to paraphrase the author: "It is still beyond reasoning why these men fought so heroically for a cause that God Himself had long ago abandoned."
The book starts with a brief overview of the creation of the Waffen-SS (which was the armed arm of Hitler's politically ideological bodyguard unit that was originally designed to protect Hitler against the Sturmabteilung (SA)) The author then takes us to the Eastern Front where the Waffen-SS received their baptism of fire...and their barbarous nature was born. English points out that this was largely due to the original batch of soldiers and junior officers being dredged up from the ranks of guards of the Death Camps. The Waffen-SS fought with a nihilism that would make medieval Christian warriors cringe in fright. In almost every encounter with Soviet civilians the Waffen-SS left behind piles of corpses and established themselves as the ideological spear-tip of Hitler's racist empire. Even though the Wehrmacht was itself implicit in many such crimes, even they were disgusted by the barbaric behavior of the Waffen-SS and were quite critical of the fighting abilities of these 'political soldiers'. The Waffen-SS tended to fight with far more zeal then common sense and took horrendous losses as a consequence. This would be a symptom that the Waffen-SS would bring with them to the blood soaked battlefields of Normandy.
English points out early on in his work that during the Battle for Normandy and the War on the Western Front in general, both sides (Allies and Germans) were responsible for war crimes, however he points out that most of these were in the heat of passion, revenge killings of prisoners taken while fighting still raged to avenge the loss of comrades. Both sides did this frequently he points out, however the Allies and the Americans in particular viewed the Wehrmacht almost as gentleman soldiers (the 2nd Panzer Division from Vienna Austria which fought primarily the Americans had the reputation for being 'gentleman warriors' amongst the Americans and there was little fear of Americans being harmed if they were taken prisoner by that unit) however, the exact opposite was true in regards to the Waffen-SS. While English points out that some Waffen-SS units did behave themselves (usually because, he points out, they had a former Wehrmacht officer in charge of them who held a tight reign of discipline over the men) most did not. The Canadians especially seemed to be the targets of SS hatred as hundreds of their men who had been taken prisoner during the course of the fighting were murdered. (The Canadians had a fearsome reputation amongst the German military establishment that dated back to WWI which filtered down to the leadership of the Waffen-SS) Needless to say Henry Crear in charge of the Canadian forces in Normandy gave out orders to warn his men that 'surrendering to the SS invited death.'
As for their fighting abilities go, however, English has nothing but praise for the Waffen-SS. Granted, it helped that their equipment was universally better than that which the Allies used but even so they fought with a skill that sorely tested the Allies whenever they were met. And often their skill met battlefield victory. The bloodiest day in Canadian military history was Operation Spring, an attempt to break through the German lines and break their grip on Normandy. The Waffen-SS shot the Canadians to pieces and even pushed them back beyond their starting line in several places before the day was over. Needless to say, 'Spring' was a disaster as were many encounters with the Waffen-SS. And the Waffen-SS (and the Germans in general) fought outnumbered, over matched in firepower and with no air support. That's how good those fanatics really were. He does point out though the rude awakening the Waffen-SS received when they realized that even though the Allies were all green and un-seasoned troops, they fought better than the Soviets and where Soviet troops would collapse into route and allow the Germans to slaughter them, the Allies would simply form a circle and fight on despite the odds. That's the hallmark of a good soldier.
Overall the book is very good and is highly recommended to anyone who wants to know just how damned tough it was to win the Battle of Normandy. Even at the very end, when the Allies were closing the massive jaws around the Germans trapped in the Falaise Pocket, the Waffen-SS, despite having been hammered time after time, rallied for one more desperate offensive to break into the pocket and hold the jaws open long enough to allow a huge portion of the trapped German forces to escape to fight another day. It was one of the most remarkable exploits in military history and of the Second World War certainly. But to paraphrase the author: "It is still beyond reasoning why these men fought so heroically for a cause that God Himself had long ago abandoned."
September 22, 2025
A look at the Waffen SS in Normandy and how the Allied forces battled them. Excellent work!
February 2, 2013
I was quite excited to receive this book given the focus on Canadian Troops fighting the Waffen SS in Normandy. Overall this is a book appropriate for people who know very little about the Normandy campaign and the Waffen SS. I was pretty disappointed when I started reading a rather cursory history of Waffen SS units and then broad overviews of operations around Caen in the first months after Overlord. Simply an overivew of the campaigns. And nothing I haven't seen many times before.
Chapter 1 covers pre-war and early war Waffen SS operations, and Chapter 2 continues with a review of units in Russia, Italy and up to Overlord. Those chapters comprise short histories of Waffen SS units, the actions they were in, and focus on commanding officers and events in the campaign. If one had read nothing else on the history of the Waffen SS (and other aspects of the Nazi war effort) this could be a useful introduction. In these chapters the author, Dr. John English, suggests that much of the brutality and the atrocities committed by the Waffen SS were a result of their concentration camp guard origins and the leadership of various regiments and divisions. His thesis is that the attitude of the officers in charge was passed on to their subordinates. So brutal, ruthless, racist and thuggish officers transmitted their attitudes to subordinates through action and word. Not really a revelation, but a different perspective from many Waffen SS histories that attempt to gloss over the atrocities committed against civilians and opposing forces. Dr. English also keeps track of atrocities committed by Allied and other forces as they relate to the narrative.
Chapters 3 to 10 cover operations by British and Canadian troops around Caen and beyond, and the actions of the Waffen SS in defense of Carpiquet, Caen and the eastern part of the Normandy battles. The narrative ends with Operation Tractable and the closing of the Falaise pocket. Each chapter starts with a map, and then an operation or series of events is described. The maps are poor, and are useful only as very general overviews. The details described in the text are often beyond the borders of the maps shown, or the maps are at far too coarse a scale to be useful. Part of the problem here may be that I've read detailed accounts (like the excellent "The Brigade: The 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade in World War II" also from Stackpole, some of Patrick Delaforce's books, and the excellent Armes et Militaria Hors Série volumes), so the rather sketchy overviews in this book are not informative. The descriptions of atrocities by both sides and the savage nature of the fighting is what I expected to read a lot more about and what would have been newer material for me. As the book goes on there are fewer and fewer details about such actions, and unfortunately the book becomes less interesting for the lack of such new information. It's not that I want to read just about the horror of war, but that's what the title promises! And that's what I know less about. There are far too many histories that sweep the Waffen SS atrocities under the rug (and minimize Allied reprisals) and this book promises more than it delivers.
Overall the book is fairly well-written. The maps aren't great, and there are limited photos, and although some are new to me, most aren't. There are errors in the captions I caught, so that makes me suspect more of them! For example, the last action photo purported to be of a Sherman tank is clearly a late M3A3 or early M5 Stuart. At any rate, it's NOT a Sherman! Although there is very limited coverage of fighting versus US forces given the deployment of SS troops in Normandy, many of the photos show U.S. troops. Not sure why. In short, this is a reasonable overview of the Normandy campaign and fighting against SS troops in the summer of 1944. The first two chapters are misplaced, and I can't recommend this book except for someone who knows little about these historical events.
I'm giving it 2 stars not 1 because it could be useful to those new to the topic.
Chapter 1 covers pre-war and early war Waffen SS operations, and Chapter 2 continues with a review of units in Russia, Italy and up to Overlord. Those chapters comprise short histories of Waffen SS units, the actions they were in, and focus on commanding officers and events in the campaign. If one had read nothing else on the history of the Waffen SS (and other aspects of the Nazi war effort) this could be a useful introduction. In these chapters the author, Dr. John English, suggests that much of the brutality and the atrocities committed by the Waffen SS were a result of their concentration camp guard origins and the leadership of various regiments and divisions. His thesis is that the attitude of the officers in charge was passed on to their subordinates. So brutal, ruthless, racist and thuggish officers transmitted their attitudes to subordinates through action and word. Not really a revelation, but a different perspective from many Waffen SS histories that attempt to gloss over the atrocities committed against civilians and opposing forces. Dr. English also keeps track of atrocities committed by Allied and other forces as they relate to the narrative.
Chapters 3 to 10 cover operations by British and Canadian troops around Caen and beyond, and the actions of the Waffen SS in defense of Carpiquet, Caen and the eastern part of the Normandy battles. The narrative ends with Operation Tractable and the closing of the Falaise pocket. Each chapter starts with a map, and then an operation or series of events is described. The maps are poor, and are useful only as very general overviews. The details described in the text are often beyond the borders of the maps shown, or the maps are at far too coarse a scale to be useful. Part of the problem here may be that I've read detailed accounts (like the excellent "The Brigade: The 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade in World War II" also from Stackpole, some of Patrick Delaforce's books, and the excellent Armes et Militaria Hors Série volumes), so the rather sketchy overviews in this book are not informative. The descriptions of atrocities by both sides and the savage nature of the fighting is what I expected to read a lot more about and what would have been newer material for me. As the book goes on there are fewer and fewer details about such actions, and unfortunately the book becomes less interesting for the lack of such new information. It's not that I want to read just about the horror of war, but that's what the title promises! And that's what I know less about. There are far too many histories that sweep the Waffen SS atrocities under the rug (and minimize Allied reprisals) and this book promises more than it delivers.
Overall the book is fairly well-written. The maps aren't great, and there are limited photos, and although some are new to me, most aren't. There are errors in the captions I caught, so that makes me suspect more of them! For example, the last action photo purported to be of a Sherman tank is clearly a late M3A3 or early M5 Stuart. At any rate, it's NOT a Sherman! Although there is very limited coverage of fighting versus US forces given the deployment of SS troops in Normandy, many of the photos show U.S. troops. Not sure why. In short, this is a reasonable overview of the Normandy campaign and fighting against SS troops in the summer of 1944. The first two chapters are misplaced, and I can't recommend this book except for someone who knows little about these historical events.
I'm giving it 2 stars not 1 because it could be useful to those new to the topic.
December 27, 2015
A fair account and breakdown of the various Waffen SS Panzer units at Normandy, from May - August 1944. All the major SS Panzer divisions were present on the Western Front: the SS Leibstandarte, SS Panzer Lehr, SS Das Reich, SS Hitlerjugend, and others. Most had served on the Eastern Front and brought with them an "eastern front" mentality toward military conduct. The war in Europe, as a rule, was two different wars, in that on the Eastern Front the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS divisions fought a "total war" with the Soviet/Russian armies and with the civilian populace. On the Western Front, the Wehrmacht typically conducted themselves in a conventional military manner according to the Geneva Conventions. [There was a racist mentality at work as Hitler thought of the British/Americans as being part of, or cousins of the Aryan race, whereas the Slavic peoples of the East were thought of and treated as "untermenschen" and were to be eliminated.] This book briefly describes some of the attrocities conducted by several of the SS units, especially toward Canadian forces, who, it seems, the SS really didn't like. The author touches on several of the atrocities committed by the Allies on German troops as well. The book provides a general overview of the time period, movement of troops, general activities of various "operations." But it doesn't provide detailed accounting of any one operation, and only peripherally brings in non-SS troops such as the various Fallschirmjager units who fought so effectively, especially at Caen.
July 10, 2012
Filled in some gaps in my mental picture of what nations were doing what where in WWII. That being said, certainly not the best treatment I've read.
June 28, 2013
Great review of the Canadian-Waffen SS battles during the war.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews