Continuing with their excellent photo archive books on the German Army in WWII, this latest edition covers the Waffen SS during their operations in Russia during the war. As most of you know the Waffen SS were considered the elite, and were not under the control of the Wehrmacht. Instead, they were considered ardent Nazis and swore their lives to Adolf Hitler. Commanded by Heinrich Himmler, these soldiers had to go through a rigorous selection process to ensure that they were pure enough and without any sort of criminal record.

As the war continued, the SS units grew and such was their success, that they were often called upon when needs were dire. They frequently came through and so the legend grew. Later in the war, the need increased and so divisions were made up of non-Germans who met the requirements. Men were also conscripted into SS units and while that 'diluted' the 'purity' of the units, they still proved to be among the best around. They often got the latest in materiel, though oddly, this did not always happen with rifles and other hand arms, for the regular Army was loathe to provide these weapons. Frequently they relied on weapons captured from the various nations overrun early in the war. In the end, even their skills were not enough to stop the Allied onslaught.

This latest book by Concord covers the operations of SS divisions during the war with Russia. This begins with a brief historical section that covers all the major actions in which SS units were involved. Since this is a photo book, there are a lot of very nicely chosen and generally clear photos taken from the archives and other sources that show not only the uniforms worn by these men, but also the equipment they used. In addition to the excellent photographs used in the book, there is a center section of color illustrations showing in more detail, some of the various uniforms and personal equipment used by these soldiers at this time.

Overall, it is another superb addition to a growing line of excellent photo books by Concord. If you have any interest in the subject, or just want to learn a bit more, then this is a book for you.

August 2012

Review book courtesy of www.dragonmodelsusa.com . Get yours at your local retailer or ask them to order it for you.

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