Steiner's War - The Merville Battery

The War years as experienced by a young Austrian who was conscripted from an anti-Nazi family into the German Army in World War Two.

After service on the Eastern front he decides to become an officer to protect his family at home from persecution by the NSDAP. On recovering from a severe wounding he is sent to Normandy and made temporary commander of the Merville gun battery as a second lieutenant aged 24. No more senior replacement arrives and he finds himself in command of the Battery on D-Day, 6th June 1944.

From the 6th June until 17th August 1944 he holds a key position as the foremost German artillery unit commander against British invaders, ably supported by his battery Sergeant Major.

The majority of the story consists of verbatim accounts by German and British servicemen.

During the period 1983-2003 the author, Major Michael Strong, undertook research and display work for the Merville Battery museum in Normandy. This book and "Sid's War" are the outcome. 

Available from:
Amazon

Hitler's Last Army - German POWs in Britain

After the Second World War, 400,000 German servicemen were imprisoned on British soil, some remaining until 1948. These defeated men in their tattered uniforms were, in every sense, Hitler’s Last Army. Britain used the prisoners as an essential labour force, especially in agriculture, and in the devastating winter of 1947 the Germans helped avert a national disaster by clearing snow and stemming floods, working shoulder to shoulder with Allied troops.

Slowly, friendships were forged between former enemies. Some POWs fell in love with British women, though such relationships were often frowned upon: ‘Falling pregnant outside marriage was bad enough – but with a German POW …!’ Using exclusive interviews with former prisoners, as well as extensive archive material, this book looks at the Second World War from a fresh perspective – that of Britain’s German prisoners, from the shock of being captured to their final release long after the war had ended.

Having collected and read numerous books on German POWs in the UK, I can say this is probably the best book on the topic published in the last 20 years. If this is an area of interest, I strongly recommend Robin Quinn's title.
You can find out more and read extracts at http://www.robin-quinn.co.uk/

Available from:
The History Press

400,000 GERMAN TROOPS ON BRITISH SOIL! In 1940, when Adolf Hitler planned to invade Britain, his greatest wish was to read a headline like this. Yet, five years later, there really were 400,000 German servicemen in the UK – not as conquerors but as prisoners of war. They were, in every sense, Hitler’s Last Army. Using exclusive interviews with former prisoners, as well as extensive archive material, this book looks at the Second World War from a fresh perspective – that of Britain’s German prisoners: from the shock of being captured to their final release long after the war had ended. ‘Being taken prisoner was for the other side, not us,’ one man remembers. ‘A strange new existence was about to begin,’ another says. ‘We were in a kind of limbo, a vacuum between the old life and whatever the future held.’ Britain used the prisoners to provide essential labour, especially on farms. In time, friendships were forged between former enemies. ‘We met the farmers, we met English people and liked them as human beings,’ says one German ex-soldier. ‘We didn’t want to let the farmers down so we worked hard.’ Some POWs fell in love with British women, although such relationships were often condemned: ‘Falling pregnant outside marriage was bad enough – but with a German POW!’ - See more at: http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/index.php/military-history-books/world-war-2-books/hitler-s-last-army-24711.html#sthash.w6vqEpj2.dpuf

400,000 GERMAN TROOPS ON BRITISH SOIL! In 1940, when Adolf Hitler planned to invade Britain, his greatest wish was to read a headline like this. Yet, five years later, there really were 400,000 German servicemen in the UK – not as conquerors but as prisoners of war. They were, in every sense, Hitler’s Last Army. Using exclusive interviews with former prisoners, as well as extensive archive material, this book looks at the Second World War from a fresh perspective – that of Britain’s German prisoners: from the shock of being captured to their final release long after the war had ended. ‘Being taken prisoner was for the other side, not us,’ one man remembers. ‘A strange new existence was about to begin,’ another says. ‘We were in a kind of limbo, a vacuum between the old life and whatever the future held.’ Britain used the prisoners to provide essential labour, especially on farms. In time, friendships were forged between former enemies. ‘We met the farmers, we met English people and liked them as human beings,’ says one German ex-soldier. ‘We didn’t want to let the farmers down so we worked hard.’ Some POWs fell in love with British women, although such relationships were often condemned: ‘Falling pregnant outside marriage was bad enough – but with a German POW!’ - See more at: http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/index.php/military-history-books/world-war-2-books/hitler-s-last-army-24711.html#sthash.w6vqEpj2.dpuf

400,000 GERMAN TROOPS ON BRITISH SOIL! In 1940, when Adolf Hitler planned to invade Britain, his greatest wish was to read a headline like this. Yet, five years later, there really were 400,000 German servicemen in the UK – not as conquerors but as prisoners of war. They were, in every sense, Hitler’s Last Army. Using exclusive interviews with former prisoners, as well as extensive archive material, this book looks at the Second World War from a fresh perspective – that of Britain’s German prisoners: from the shock of being captured to their final release long after the war had ended. ‘Being taken prisoner was for the other side, not us,’ one man remembers. ‘A strange new existence was about to begin,’ another says. ‘We were in a kind of limbo, a vacuum between the old life and whatever the future held.’ Britain used the prisoners to provide essential labour, especially on farms. In time, friendships were forged between former enemies. ‘We met the farmers, we met English people and liked them as human beings,’ says one German ex-soldier. ‘We didn’t want to let the farmers down so we worked hard.’ Some POWs fell in love with British women, although such relationships were often condemned: ‘Falling pregnant outside marriage was bad enough – but with a German POW!’ - See more at: http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/index.php/military-history-books/world-war-2-books/hitler-s-last-army-24711.html#sthash.w6vqEpj2.dp

400,000 GERMAN TROOPS ON BRITISH SOIL! In 1940, when Adolf Hitler planned to invade Britain, his greatest wish was to read a headline like this. Yet, five years later, there really were 400,000 German servicemen in the UK – not as conquerors but as prisoners of war. They were, in every sense, Hitler’s Last Army. Using exclusive interviews with former prisoners, as well as extensive archive material, this book looks at the Second World War from a fresh perspective – that of Britain’s German prisoners: from the shock of being captured to their final release long after the war had ended. ‘Being taken prisoner was for the other side, not us,’ one man remembers. ‘A strange new existence was about to begin,’ another says. ‘We were in a kind of limbo, a vacuum between the old life and whatever the future held.’ Britain used the prisoners to provide essential labour, especially on farms. In time, friendships were forged between former enemies. ‘We met the farmers, we met English people and liked them as human beings,’ says one German ex-soldier. ‘We didn’t want to let the farmers down so we worked hard.’ Some POWs fell in love with British women, although such relationships were often condemned: ‘Falling pregnant outside marriage was bad enough – but with a German POW!’ - See more at: http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/index.php/military-history-books/world-war-2-books/hitler-s-last-army-24711.html#sthash.w6vqEpj2.dpuf

400,000 GERMAN TROOPS ON BRITISH SOIL! In 1940, when Adolf Hitler planned to invade Britain, his greatest wish was to read a headline like this. Yet, five years later, there really were 400,000 German servicemen in the UK – not as conquerors but as prisoners of war. They were, in every sense, Hitler’s Last Army. Using exclusive interviews with former prisoners, as well as extensive archive material, this book looks at the Second World War from a fresh perspective – that of Britain’s German prisoners: from the shock of being captured to their final release long after the war had ended. ‘Being taken prisoner was for the other side, not us,’ one man remembers. ‘A strange new existence was about to begin,’ another says. ‘We were in a kind of limbo, a vacuum between the old life and whatever the future held.’ Britain used the prisoners to provide essential labour, especially on farms. In time, friendships were forged between former enemies. ‘We met the farmers, we met English people and liked them as human beings,’ says one German ex-soldier. ‘We didn’t want to let the farmers down so we worked hard.’ Some POWs fell in love with British women, although such relationships were often condemned: ‘Falling pregnant outside marriage was bad enough – but with a German POW!’ - See more at: http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/index.php/military-history-books/world-war-2-books/hitler-s-last-army-24711.html#sthash.w6vqEpj2.dpuf

400,000 GERMAN TROOPS ON BRITISH SOIL! In 1940, when Adolf Hitler planned to invade Britain, his greatest wish was to read a headline like this. Yet, five years later, there really were 400,000 German servicemen in the UK – not as conquerors but as prisoners of war. They were, in every sense, Hitler’s Last Army. Using exclusive interviews with former prisoners, as well as extensive archive material, this book looks at the Second World War from a fresh perspective – that of Britain’s German prisoners: from the shock of being captured to their final release long after the war had ended. ‘Being taken prisoner was for the other side, not us,’ one man remembers. ‘A strange new existence was about to begin,’ another says. ‘We were in a kind of limbo, a vacuum between the old life and whatever the future held.’ Britain used the prisoners to provide essential labour, especially on farms. In time, friendships were forged between former enemies. ‘We met the farmers, we met English people and liked them as human beings,’ says one German ex-soldier. ‘We didn’t want to let the farmers down so we worked hard.’ Some POWs fell in love with British women, although such relationships were often condemned: ‘Falling pregnant outside marriage was bad enough – but with a German POW!’ - See more at: http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/index.php/military-history-books/world-war-2-books/hitler-s-last-army-24711.html#sthash.w6vqEpj2.dpuf