Waffen SS Hitler's Army at War : Adrian Gilbert
Adrian Gilbert has written an even-handed single-volume history of the Waffen SS. The author tells it like it was, recording the exceptional combat performance of the more elite formations while also illustrating the deficiencies of some of the "lower-grade" units. Gilbert follows the formation and performance of the Waffen SS previous to and after the outbreak of the war. The author does not shrink from the utter ruthlessness of the SS when it came to committing atrocities, explaining that, given the Nazi dogma and the indoctrination of the Waffen SS soldiers, this ruthlessness was just second nature for a lot of the personnel. One of the more interesting aspects of the book was the descriptions of the indoctrination process, the recruiting mechanism for the Waffen SS, and the mental gymnastics that Himmler and the Recruiters would use to justify that non-German groups could trace their ancestry back to Aryan stock. The book provides just enough information to give the reader a good overall picture of how the Waffen SS came into being and operated. Sprinkled with veterans' memories and insights, it makes for compelling reading.
Why the Allies Won: Richard Overy
This is hands down the best analysis of the factors that led to the Allied victory in World War 2. The author walks the reader through all the components of what led to the Allied victory, but also explains why the Axis lost. Very well researched, the analyses that the author lays out are rational and well supported by the facts. One thing I did not know was that in 1941-'42, the German economy had more raw materials and industrial capacity (it wasn't close) than both the Soviets and the British, but both these countries produced more armaments than Germany. It wasn't just economics, though; the author covers multiple factors that doomed the Axis and lifted the Allies to Victory. If you really want to understand why the war progressed as it did, you can not find a better analysis than Overy's.
The War Between the Generals: Inside the Allied High Command. David Irving.
How the Western Alliance stayed and worked together to finish the war is a miracle. At least that is the impression I got after reading Irving's musings. This book gives the reader the "inside skinny" on the relationships between the generals and the British and American military leaders. If you think egos and national pride were superseded by Allied Unity, think again. This book reveals just how egomanical and downright antagonistic relationships were between both nations' military leaders and even between the generals within their own armies. I've read enough of the different Patton biographies to know this was not a match made in heaven, but holy hell, some of the anecdotes in this book, derived from personal diaries for the most part, are generally unknown, my God, it is a miracle the war got won. Ego's and dirt aplenty in this book.
Good set of reads there 👍 — nice balance between big-picture analysis and the personalities behind the curtain.
Always good to see solid WWII reading being discussed instead of just hardware and battle maps 😄🪖 Adding a couple of these to the reading list.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
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