Great Battles Of The Waffen Ss

by Peter Darman (Editor)

The Waffen-SS was one of the most effective, and respected, fighting formations in the annals of warfare. Originally devised as a special guard to protect speakers at National Socialist political meetings in the 1920s, the militarized Waffen-SS grew into a force that numbered nearly one million men by the end of World War Two. This book is a compendium of the finest actions of the N.S. fighting elite in World War Two. It was on Germany's Eastern Front, during the N.S. crusade against the Stalinist Communists, that the Waffen-SS displayed those qualities that were to create a fanticism in the attack, tenacity in defense and an unwillingness to yield ground; with a mastery of mobile warfare combined with effective leadership. In this way the Waffen-SS saved the day on many occasions on the Eastern Front. This book features the bloody clashes that have since entered military Kharkiv, Kursk, Cherkassy, Caen, and the Ardennes. Great Battles of the Waffen-SS contains clear and concise full-color battle and campaign maps that allow the reader to trace the ebb and flow of individual engagements. As well as vivid descriptions of actions, this book also analyzes the reasons why Waffen-SS units were so successful on the battlefield; continuing to fight when similar formations of any other army in their situation would have exited the battle, because most of all they contained well led highly motivated troops that became a fanatical National Socialist fighting elite.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

I was raised in Grantham, Lincolnshire and attended the King's Grammar School after passing the Eleven Plus exam. In the latter I clearly remember writing an essay on Oliver Cromwell – my first piece of military writing.

Then came a BA in history and international relations at Nottingham followed by a Master of Philosophy course at the University of York. The subject was the generalship and cavalry of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, my boyhood hero, during the English Civil War. The year I spent researching and writing at York, Oxford and at the British Library in London was a truly wonderful time.
I moved to London and eventually joined a small publishing company as an editor. Thus began my writing career.