The 3rd Waffen-SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf," 1943-1945: An Illustrated History, Vol.2

by Massimiliano Afiero

One of the most infamous of all Waffen-SS formations, the 3rd SS-Panzer-Division “Totenkopf” has always been identified as the very essence of the notorious “Black Order.” Associated with war crimes in official historiography, formed initially with personnel coming from guard units from concentration camps, the unit was nevertheless able to prove itself on the battlefield, distinguishing itself in all of the main campaigns in which it fought, from France to the Russian front. This second of two volumes analyzes the summer 1943 campaign that followed Kursk, until the end of the from its operations on the Mius front, to the fighting in the Kharkov area, on the Dnieper River, its transfer to the Polish front, and its subordination to IV.SS-Panzer-Korps, the fighting on the Hungarian front to liberate Budapest, and then its participation in the Frühlingserwachen (“Spring Awakening”) offensive, until the final fighting in Austria and the surrender. The volume includes a series of appendices covering order of battle, lists of award recipients, and details of uniforms and insignia pertaining to the division.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published March 28, 2018

About the author

Massimiliano Afiero was born in in Afragola (Naples Province) in 1964. An information technology teacher and programmer, he has been interested in military history since his youth, specializing in the history of Axis units during the Second World War and particularly in the Waffen-SS. He has published numerous articles in the principal Italian-language history magazines and has contributed to many military history websites and published numerous books dealing with foreign volunteers in the German armed forces during the Second World War. In December 2015, he began publication of the magazine, The European Volunteer (L'Assalto Edizioni), dedicated to the military history of Axis units during the Second World War and in January 2017, he began publication of the magazine The Axis Forces. He lives in Naples, Italy.

Reviews

[Aidan Mc Carthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vol. 1 and Vol.2.
This is a nice set of books, with a balanced amount of photos and text.
You will find much more detailed histories out there no doubt. But I think these are a sort of half way house between what the "casual" military reader and the "expert" historian would be looking for, (which suits me fine).
Two issues I found a little annoying were,
(1) While mentioning birth dates, there was a complete lack of "what happened" all the many personalities shown or mentioned, (even a date of death would have provided clues)
(2) The unnecessary, (at least to me), listing of Feldpost numbers in both volumes taking up twelve pages no less. Useless, unless you wanted to write a letter to a Totenkopf soldier!!!
That said, a nice set of books to peruse, with great photos, I like them.