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This book is the complete history of the 6th SS Gebirgs (Mountain) Division Nord in WWII. Formed in 1941, Nord was employed along the FinnishLapland front against battle-tested Soviet forces from 194144. Following the signing of the armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union in the summer of 1944, the division was moved to the western front. "Nord" units took part in Operation "Nordwind," the final German offensive on the western front in late December 1944, where they fought against American units for the first time. Tough defensive fighting along the Moselle and Rhine fronts followed up to the armistice in May 1945. The units of the division fought to the last, always with courage and valor, distinguishing itself as one of the best German units employed on the western front. Detailed operational history, rare combat images, maps, and personality profiles make this book the definitive history of "Nord."

This is the complete history of one of the most famous and well-known divisions of the Waffen-SS. Created as a mountain unit to be employed exclusively on the Balkan Front against partisan units, the unit fought with valor and fierceness on the battlefield. After numerous anti-guerrilla operations in Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia, towards the end of the war it was employed against units of the Bulgarian Army and Red Army forces in the difficult mission of covering the withdrawal of German forces retreating from Greece and Albania. It was one of the few Waffen-SS formations to be used in offensive actions during the final phases of the war, all of which were carried out successfully. Accused of having committed numerous crimes against civilians, its members met with a tragic fate, especially those who ended up in the hands of communist partisans.

At the beginning of 1943, the German armed forces were in crisis on the southern front in Russia. The Soviets had launched a series of offensives from November 1942 that pushed the Germans back hundreds of kilometers. The Germans had no more significant reserves available, and enormous breaches had opened between defensive lines. In early January 1943, the Soviets attacked again, with the aim of reconquering the industrial city of Kharkov and destroying the remaining German and Axis troops in southern Ukraine, including the 4. Panzerarmee, 1. Panzerarmee, Armeeabteilung Hollidt and Armeeabteilung Fretter‐Pico.After the encirclement of 6. Armee at Stalingrad and the destruction of the Axis forces there, the loss of these four armies would certainly have led to German defeat on the Eastern Front. Believing victory was near, Stalin and his generals decided to launch their new offensives even before the garrison of Stalingrad surrendered. The main effort fell on Army Group Don, newly formed and with little forces available. Facing a massive offensive, Commander Erich von Manstein was ordered to hold the city at any cost, risking the destruction of two divisions of the Waffen‐SS and the "Grossdeutschland" army division. SS Panzer Corps commander Paul Hausser disobeyed Hitler's order and ordered the retreat from Kharkov, saving the two SS divisions. This meant that Manstein had at his disposal forces needed to launch his counteroffensive.The subsequent battles for Kharkov saw the three divisions of the Waffen‐SS--Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, Das Reich and Totenkopf-- fighting together for the first time. In the first phase of the offensive, the SS Das Reich and Totenkopf marched 100 kilometers south of Kharkov, blocking the Soviet army from capturing the bridges over the Dnieper River, while the Leibstandarte successfully defended the corps supply base in Krasnograd. After protecting the bridges over the Dnepr, the Das Reich and Totenkopf units headed north and regained control of the vital railway network south of Kharkov. The Soviet 3rd Tank Army was forced to abandon its attack against Krasnograd to regroup south of Kharkov and protect the city from Hausser's divisions. At that point the Leibstandarte joined the other divisions of the corps SS to eliminate Soviet forces and recapture Kharkov. With its reconquest, Southern Ukraine returned firmly under German control.This is a fully illustrated account of the decisive victory attained by the SS Panzer Corps divisions at a time of serious crisis for the Axis forces.

Quando si pensa alla guerra d'Africa, la mente corre subito alla battaglia di El Alamein come ultimo atto della presenza delle forze italiane e tedesche in sul fronte dell'Africa Settentionale. In realtà, pur considerando la battaglia di El Alamein un colpo mortale inferto alle forze dell'Asse, è pur vero che la guerra sul suolo africano si protrasse per altri sei mesi, durante i quali i reparti italo-tedeschi furono impegnati in durissimi combattimenti sul fronte tunisino, combattendo contemporaneamente su due fronti, contro le forze inglesi dell'8a Armata britannica e contro quelle anglo-americane sbarcate in Nord-Africa nel novembre del 1942. Infatti subito dopo lo sbarco delle forze alleate in Marocco ed in Algeria (Operazione Torch) tra l'8 e il 16 novembre 1942, affluirono in Tunisia numerose forze dell'Asse per fronteggiare questa nuova minaccia. Le forze alleate avevano sperato in una facile passeggiata per arrivare a Tunisi ed invece furono affrontate tenacemente dalle truppe italo-tedesche, subendo alcune pesanti sconfitte e lamentando numerose perdite. Nel frattempo, le forze italo-tedesche in ritirata dall'Egitto, si attestarono sulla linea del Mareth, in Tunisia, per fronteggiare l'8a armata di Montgomery. Le forze italo-tedesche si ritrovarono quindi a combattere sia a nord sia a sud del fronte tunisino, contendendo ogni palmo di terreno al nemico. Sid Bou Zid, Kasserine, Sbeitla, Medenine, El Guettar, Uadi Akarit, Enfidaville sono solo alcuni nomi delle località dove si svolsero le principali ed epiche battaglie sul fronte tunisino, nel corso delle quali i reparti dell'Asse ed in particolare quelli italiani seppero fornire una grande prova di valore e combattività e questo fino all'ultimo, quando ormai le sorti della campagna erano già segnate. Abbiamo accompagnato la narrazione degli eventi selezionando tutte le foto disponibili negli archivi pubblici e privati per documentare quanto più possibile dal punto di vista iconografico la campagna e calare il lettore direttamente sui campi di battaglia.

In this number: a long and interesting work on the use of the Hitler Youth Division on the Normandy front, in the initial phases of the bloody fighting that raged on French soil in the summer of 1944. An article follows on the Italian light tanks, much maligned by official historiography, but which were used on all war fronts, especially as reconnaissance vehicles. We continue with the history of the Totenkopf division, this time dealing with the period between October 1943 and January 1944. We continue the history of the Italian units on the Eastern front, talking about the first battle on the Don and we close with an interesting article on the battle of Monterotondo, which saw German paratroopers engaged after 8 September 1943.

A fully illustrated study of the Wehrmacht's French volunteer units and their actions on the Eastern Front and in North Africa during World War II.It is little known that, in late 1941, French volunteer units were among Wehrmacht troops defending Germany in the first bitter winter on the Eastern Front, and also among the last fighting for Berlin in April 1945. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, some 13,000 Frenchmen enlisted in the 'Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme' (LVF), which was reformed as the Wehrmacht's Infanterie-Regiment 638 and posted to Russia.This volume examines the involvement of French volunteers, not only on the Eastern Front, but also in the 'Phalange Africaine' in Tunisia and in the 'Légion Tricolore', a short-lived military organization under the control of the French Vichy government. Using archive photographs and specially commissioned artwork, it casts a new light on forces fighting for the Axis and studies the French personnel's equipment, insignia and uniforms while describing their involvement in some of the most gruelling battles of World War II.

Operations of Italian military forces in Italian East Africa from 1940 to 1942.

Il 30 settembre 1941, il Gruppo Armate del Centro del feldmaresciallo Fedor von Bock lanciò l¿operazione Tifone, l¿attacco su Mosca, che lo stesso Hitler annunciò come "l¿ultima, decisiva battaglia dell¿anno". I reparti tedeschi chiusero in una morsa due gruppi di armate sovietiche. Sei armate sovietiche ad ovest e altre tre nella zona di Briansk. I soldati di Von Bock fecero circa 700.000 prigionieri e distrussero 1200 carri e 4000 pezzi di artiglieria. Quando l¿esercito tedesco era pronto per sferrare l¿attacco finale arrivò l¿ordine di Hitler di deviare la strategia in quanto riteneva Mosca un obiettivo non importante. Non aveva calcolato che così facendo il tempo avrebbe giocato a favore dei sovietici. Con l¿arrivo delle piogge le strade si trasformarono in un terribile pantano che rallentò notevolmente la marcia dei reparti tedeschi. Con l¿arrivo del ghiaccio la marcia tedesca riprese e a novembre i sovietici tornarono nuovamente a ripiegare. Ciò permise un nuovo riavvicinamento delle unità tedesche a Mosca che arrivarono a poche decine di chilometri dal Cremlino. Quando tutto sembrava fatto, una disperata controffensiva sovietica unita alle terribili condizioni climatiche...

We begin with the deployment of the Polizei Division on the Eastern Front, in the early summer of 1941. For the biographies, this time we address one of the best known and most famous officers of the Waffen SS, Gerd Bremer, who served first in the Leibstandarte Division and then in the Hitlerjugend. We continue with the third part of our study on Frikorps Danmark, as always accompanied by numerous and interesting photographs. The second part of the article dedicated to Walloon volunteers on the Eastern Front follows and we close with the story of Quisling's personal guard.

In this issue: The Kampfgruppe Rehmann, summer 1944, Albert Frey, Knight's Cross with Oakleaves Holder, The French Legion through the eyes of an SS-Kriegsberichter, Free Corps Denmark at Velikije Luki, Hungarian Armored Forces in WW2, 2nd part, The Folgore Division, SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Hans-Jörg Hartmann, Slovakian army in WW2

Il 22 giugno 1941 le forze armate tedesche attaccarono l¿Unione Sovietica. Insieme a loro anche contingenti militari rumeni, ungheresi, slovacchi, finlandesi e successivamente anche reparti italiani, per prendere parte alla crociata contro il bolscevismo. Lungo un fronte che andava dal Mar Baltico fino al Mar Nero, milioni di soldati penetrarono in territorio sovietico, iniziando la più grande invasione militare della storia. Il piano di invasione tedesco si sviluppava in tre direzioni essendo state le forze suddivise in tre gruppi di armate. A nord, il Gruppo d¿armate del Maresciallo von Leeb (29 divisioni di cui tre corazzate) doveva muoversi dalla Prussia orientale, superare gli stati baltici e puntare su Leningrado. Inoltre, era prevista una puntata offensiva contro l¿importante porto commerciale di Murmansk nell¿estremo nord della Lapponia. Al centro, il Gruppo d¿armate di von Bock (50 divisioni, di cui nove corazzate), partendo dalla Polonia, doveva aggirare da nord le paludi del Pripjet e puntare su Minsk e poi su Mosca. A sud, il Gruppo d¿armate di von Rundstedt...

The Italian government signed an armistice with the Allies on September 8, 1943, but that did not mean the war was over in Italy. Italians continued to fight on both sides for the duration of the war. This study is focused on Italian volunteers in formations of the Waffen-SS. These include the SS Legion "Italiana" and 29th Waffen Grenadier Division "Italienische Nr.1." Beyond the explicitly Italian units, handfuls of men found their way into other divisions, such as the 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Polizei," 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reichsfèuhrer-SS," the Karstwehr Battallion (later 24th SS Gebirgsjèager Division "Karstjèager"), and even the famous 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte." This work includes histories of the Italian Legion and the 29th Division, extensive interviews with Italian SS veterans from various units, and many excellent photographs from private collections in Europe.