The Grey Wolves of Eriboll

The surrender of the German U-boat fleet at the end of World War II was perhaps the principal event in the war’s endgame which signified to the British people that peace really had arrived.
This revised, updated and expanded new edition gives career details of not only the 33 commanders who accompanied their boats to Loch Eriboll but also of a further 23 previous commanders of those U-boats, including four who might be considered ‘Aces’ because of the damage they inflicted, sinking and disabling Allied shipping.

The book also features an analysis of the Allied naval operation under which the surrendering U-boats were assembled in Scotland and Northern Ireland; asks who first contacted those U-boats after the capitulation – armed British trawlers, frigates of the Allied navies or aircraft of the Royal Air Force; and discloses how U-boats spared destruction were distributed to the navies of the USA, France, USSR and the Royal Navy. Also revealed are more unpublished recollections of British and German naval personnel present at the Loch Eriboll surrenders and how 116 surviving U-boats came to be sunk in the waters of the Western Approaches in the winter of 1945/46.

The Grey Wolves of Eriboll includes a wealth of historical insights including the German Surrender Document; detailed descriptions of the construction, service careers and circumstances of each surrendered U-boat; details of the frigates that supervised the surrenders, contemporary newspaper reports and descriptions of the naval Operations Pledge, Commonwealth, Cabal, Thankful and Deadlight, each of which involved Eriboll U-boats. The mysteries surrounding Hitler’s yacht and the alleged ‘Norwegian Royal Yacht’ (which did not exist at the time) are also explored.

Available from:
Whittles Publishing

The Luftwaffe Battle of Britain Fighter Pilot's Kitbag

Reichsmarschall Goring told Hitler that it would take less than a month for his much-vaunted Luftwaffe to conquer the RAF and pave the way for the German invasion of Great Britain. His prediction was to prove disastrously wrong, but for four long months his pilots and aircrew fought for their lives in the skies above the UK. From their bases in continental Europe, the Luftwaffe s fighter pilots escorted the great bomber fleets that sought to destroy the RAF s airfields and installations, and tackled the Spitfires and Hurricanes deployed to defend Britain s towns and cities.

Whilst much has been written on the titanic struggle for supremacy fought throughout the summer of 1940 and of the men and machines of both sides, little attention has been paid to what the pilots wore and carried with them in the air.

All the objects that a Luftwaffe fighter pilot was issued with during the Battle of Britain are explored in this book in high-definition colour photographs, showing everything from the differing uniforms, to headgear, personal weapons, gloves, goggles, parachute packs and the essential life jacket. Each item is fully described and its purpose and use explained.

Congratulations to Mark Hillier - this is a great reference book. Showcasing items from personal collections, providing detailed information on the specific items worn, carried and used by Luftwaffe personnel during the summer of 1940 - the coverage is exhaustive and this should be on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in Luftwaffe uniforms and equipment. I hope that this type of book could be considered for other periods of the Second World War, as this could be a great series in the future.

Available from:
Pen & Sword

Alarmstart East - The German Fighter Pilot's Experience on the Eastern Front 1941-1945

Patrick Eriksson has been an associate member of the German Fighter Pilot Veteran's Association since 1974. This membership gave him the opportunity to record the experiences of members of the Luftwaffe first-hand, before it was too late. This volume, the second in the Alarmstart series, provides detailed coverage of the experience of Luftwaffe fighter pilots on the Eastern Front from 1941-45 in their own words.

The campaign in the East is broken down into sections (detailed below), which contain accounts of personal experiences, including opinions of Russian pilots, planes and tactics. The list of German veterans whose experiences are recounted stretches over three pages, and includes men who served in many different Jagdgeschwader. The extensive notes on each chapter, and the six pages of bibliography, websites and archive references are evidence of the research that has gone into this book. 

The author assumes a degree of knowledge of the Luftwaffe and their structure, and the lengthy chapter on the Victory Claims Debate might not be to everyone's interest, however if you have a passion for finding out more on the Luftwaffe experience on the Eastern Front - this book should definitely be worth considering. It also has some unique additional information which added another aspect to the coverage, such as details of the ships damaged by the Russian airforce in Libau harbour, during the evacuation of Kurland in December 1944.

Table of contents:

• Training to be a Fighter Pilot
• Character of the Russian War
• Air War on an Epic Scale - Statistics
• Operation Barbarossa and the Russian Winter Offensive (22 June 1941 - February 1942)
• 1942: New Offensives by the Wehrmacht; Stalingrad
• 1943: Year of Decision, the Tide Turns; Kuban and Kursk
• Endless Retreats; the Bagration Debacle (January - August 1944)
• Late 1944 - 1945: The End of the Campaign in the East
• The Startkladde of 7/JG 51: Understanding German Fighter Tactics and High Claims in the East
• The Victory Claims Debate
• Conclusions 

Available from:
Amberley Publishing

Panzers in the Defence of Festung Posen 1945

Panzers in Defence of Poznan 1945 by Maciej Karalus and Jarosław Jerzak is the first book published in English to describe the bitter battle for Festung Poznań in 1945. That Polish city, occupied by the Nazis since almost the very beginning of the Second World War in 1939, was declared a fortress (Festung) on January 20 1945, and for the whole month it saw heavy fighting between Wehrmacht and Waffen SS troops and the Red Army advancing directly towards Berlin.

Among the garrison of the fortress a special part was played by a small heavy Panzer unit which possessed just 1 Tiger tank, 2 Panthers, 1 Panzer IV and a handful of Sturmgeschütze. Despite the difficulty and sparsity of sources, the authors were able to acquire an impressive wealth of information and memoirs, as well as rich iconography.

Before Poland was able to regain her full political autonomy in 1990, the fighting in Poznań was described only by Zbigniew Szumowski and Stanisław Okęcki. These, however, were poor compilations, only marginally touching upon the participation of German Wehrmacht. These authors looked upon this subject through the lenses of Soviet documentations and historiographical propaganda of their times. Sadly, they could not or would not make use of the documents in German archives. Their cardinal mistake was to overestimate the strength of the forces at play (especially on the German side), and the glorification of the Soviet victory, foregoing an honest analysis of the losses of human life as well as equipment on both sides.

This is the first book in English that allows the reader to follow the street fighting in Poznań through the eyes of the Wehrmacht soldiers, documenting the story of the German armoured forces engaged in the battles for the city.

This is a well produced book,  with some interesting images (mostly after the battle photos) and includes footnotes and useful appendixes. The first hand accounts from German participants (including civilians) are of note, and are one of the highlights. But this is really a book for those with a specific interest in the battles of 1945 on the Eastern Front. The authors have thoroughly researched the actions of this battle, but this also limits the scope of the book to this specific action - which is perfect if you already understand the bigger picture, but rather restricted if you do not. The other slight shortcoming is the translation. The German accounts in particular suffer from translation from German to Polish, then to English and as a result are sometimes stilted and literal in the language used. But despite these small points, it is good to see books like this being made available to an English speaking audience and I hope to see more in the future.

Available from:
Casemate Publishing

Hitler's American Friends - The Third Reich's Supporters in the United States

Americans who remember World War II reminisce about how it brought the country together. The less popular truth behind this warm nostalgia: until the attack on Pearl Harbor, America was deeply, dangerously divided.

Bradley W. Hart's Hitler's American Friends exposes the homegrown antagonists who sought to protect and promote Hitler, leave Europeans (and especially European Jews) to fend for themselves, and elevate the Nazi regime.

Some of these friends were Americans of German heritage who joined the Bund, whose leadership dreamed of installing a stateside Führer. Some were as bizarre and hair-raising as the Silver Shirt Legion, run by an eccentric who claimed that Hitler fulfilled a religious prophesy. Some were Midwestern Catholics like Father Charles Coughlin, an early right-wing radio star who broadcast anti-Semitic tirades. They were even members of Congress who used their franking privilege―sending mail at cost to American taxpayers―to distribute German propaganda. And celebrity pilot Charles Lindbergh ended up speaking for them all at the America First Committee. Hitler's American Friends is a powerful look at how the forces of evil manipulate ordinary people, how we stepped back from the ledge, and the disturbing ease with which we could return to it.

Each chapter covers a different group in detail, and provides a thorough introduction to the surprisingly numerous groups who support fascism and the rise of Hitler. Anyone with an interest in the World War II period and the rise of fascism should find this a fascinating read, as the author explains the politics, ambition and nefarious activities of these groups in an easily digestible way.

Table of contents:

• The Bund
• The Silver Legion and the Chief
• The Religious Right
• The Senators
• The Businessmen
• The Students
• America First!
• The Spies

Available from:
St Martin's Press

Hitler's Atrocities Against Allied POWs

Seventy years ago, the Nuremberg Trials were in full swing in Germany. In the dock were the leaders of the Nazi regime and most eventually received their just desserts. But what happened to the other war criminals?

In June 1946, Lord Russell of Liverpool became Deputy Judge Advocate and legal adviser to the Commander in Chief for the British Army of the Rhine in respect of all trials held by British Military Courts of German war criminals. He later wrote;

'At the outbreak of the Second World War, the treatment of prisoners was governed by the Geneva Prisoner of War Convention of 1929, the Preamble of which stated that the aim of the signatories was to alleviate the conditions of prisoners of war.

'During the war, however, the provisions of the Convention were repeatedly disregarded by Germany. Prisoners were subjected to brutality and ill-treatment, employed on prohibited and dangerous work, handed over to the SD for "special treatment" in pursuance of Hitler's Commando Order, lynched in the streets by German civilians, sent to concentration camps, shot on recapture after escaping, and even massacred after they had laid down their arms and surrendered.'

This book, authored by the chairman of the National Ex-Prisoner of War Association, Philip D. Chinnery, provides a comprehensive overview of the mistreated meted out to British, American and significantly Russian POWs held by Germany and her European allies. The title is somewhat misleading, as it implies a systematic and planned abuse of POWs by the Nazis, and while that was certainly the case against Russian prisoners, and indeed was also carried out in certain infamous POW camps and against certain types of prisoners such as Commandos, many of the detailed examples cover specific incidents of offhand cruelty and mistreatment. The stories recounted have been researched at the Public Records Office in Kew, and NARA in Washington, and the notes on each chapter give detailed references.

The grim list of murders and cruel treatments include well known episodes such as the killing of US POWs at Malmedy in the Adrennes, and Canadian POWs in Normandy, but also covers incidents in North Africa, attacks on Allied airmen in Germany, executions of SAS men, and many additional war crimes. This is a sobering and harrowing book, detailing many forgotten crimes committed against POWs who should have been offered the protection of the Geneva Convention, but tragically were not.

Available from:
Pen & Sword

LST 388: A World War II Journal

Robert von der Osten (1920-2016) served as a Radioman 1/C onboard Landing Ship Tank (LST) 388 during World War II. Through his journal entries, von der Osten details his experiences of the war, from his training days in the newly created amphibious force, to practice beachings on the Chesapeake Bay; from the ports of North Africa and the United Kingdom, to the hostile shores of Sicily, Salerno, and Normandy. 

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During World War II, Robert von der Osten kept journals from his time in boot camp to the invasions of Sicily, Salerno and Normandy. In the years following the war, Robert continued to add to his collection of war-related materials to one day turn into a book. With every attendance at a US LST Association Annual Convention, at every new book that came out explaining events of WWII in a new way, and every newspaper or magazine article that related in any way to his experience aboard the USS LST-388 during WWII, the collection expanded. 

 

This collection of material has helped to build the book LST 388: A World War II Journal. Completed with the help of his youngest daughter Barbara von der Osten, the book is full of dated journal entries, over 50 photos - many taken by Robert von der Osten or by another Radioman aboard the ship (Bill Schellhorn), maps and extracts from the ships radio log.

 

An additional point of note is that von der Osten was a second generation German-American, and the introduction of the book details a brief encounter with the German-American Bund in the late 1930s - an unusual story seldom heard. 

 

Providing a unique insight into both the role of LSTs in the Allied landings in Europe, and the personal account of a young member of the crew, LST 388: A World War II Journal is a great addition to the literature of World War II. 

 

See more at: LST 388 

 

Available from:

The Author's website