Comrades to the End: The 4th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment "Der Führer" 1938-1945: The History of a German-Austrian Fighting Unit (Schiffer Military History) [Hardcover]

Former ""DF"" unit commander (Author), Otto Weidinger (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schiffer Military History | Publication Date: July 1, 1998

Written by Swords to the Knights Cross holder and last regimental commander Otto Weidinger, Comrades to the End is the complete history of SS-Regiment Der Führer. One of the original infantry regiments of the pre-war SS-Verfügungstruppe (Special Purpos

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.; First edition (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076430593X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764305931
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A detailed recollection of the DF Regiment, June 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Comrades to the End: The 4th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment "Der Führer" 1938-1945: The History of a German-Austrian Fighting Unit (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

This book provides a detailed recollection of the Der Fuhrer Regiment's actions during and after the war from several of the units senior officers. There is a good mix of small unit and individual battle stories in addition to descriptions of the units that fought with and alongside the DF regiment. There is a detailed description of the events at Tulle and Oradour which (compellingly) disputes much of what is most often printed in other sources. Having spent many years in various US Special Forces units I also greatly appreciated the no-nonsense approach the authors took in writing this book, and highly recommend it to both historians and casual readers.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Memoires of the commanders of "Der Fuhrer"., March 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Comrades to the End: The 4th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment "Der Führer" 1938-1945: The History of a German-Austrian Fighting Unit (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

"Der Fuhrer" was a regiment in the "Das Reich" Waffen SS division. It was created in 1938, and fought with distinction until 1945. This book is a series of 4 sections, each written by the regiment's commander in the corresponding period, with a preface by Hausser. It is a translation of the 2nd edition of an old book (Hausser passed away in 1972) that was originally in German. Most discussion of tactical situations is at the regimental level, with virtually no discussion of anything above division level, and only moderate coverage of the actions of individual soldiers. Within this genre, it is a fairly good book.

The authors have broken out of the usual post-war memoire habit of sucking up to the western allies, while denouncing the Soviet Union in a play on Cold War sympathies. They denounce a war crime commited by the Dutch, of all people, and acknowledge battles in which the Soviets behaved themselves properly. Of course, there is also the usual denunciation of the shabby treatment that the West German government gave them after the war. However, the book does not get bogged down in whining with self pity.

In the middle of the book, there is a section of black and white photographs, one of which contains an interesting variant on the Hanomag armored personel carrier.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars comrades to the end., July 1, 2005

By 

paul mckerracher "boogle" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comrades to the End: The 4th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment "Der Führer" 1938-1945: The History of a German-Austrian Fighting Unit (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

Anyone with an interest in the waffen ss or the das reich division will proberly really enjoy this book.
Written by Four Regimental commanders, this book recounts the formation, the war history, and after war history of this fine regiment. Warning though, this book is not for the causual ww2 reader in my opinion. I think it would be hard going for anyone without an interest in the waffen ss or das reich.
It is a book for somebody with a special interest in these topics, or regimental histories in general.
Having said all that i found it to be a well written, informative account of this regiment. It is forthright, detailed and incredibly interesting and enlightning.What this unit achieved is impressive, considering the situations it kept finding itself in. If you want to know the history of a truly elite regiment in a truly elite division then you will enjoy this. A fair amount of history on the sister regiment too.
Photos too and plenty of maps, and no messing around, its all too the point and not a wasted word.