Customer Reviews

German Army Elite Units 1939-45 (Men-at-Arms)

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The plain fact is that the German Army did not have many "elite" units in the Second World War, thanks in part to the plethora of such units in the Waffen SS and Luftwaffe. The German Army was built for mass and a force that was never more than 20% motorized could ill afford the luxury of expensive special units. Only a few units were undeniably elite - Grossdeutschland, the Brandenbergers, and Panzer Lehr. Gordon Williamson's latest Men-at-Arms volume, German Army Elite Units 1939-1945, seems to stretch the definition of "elite" to extreme proportions in order to justify covering a variety of units. Overall, this volume seems to be more of an introduction to units with fancy or unique sleeve and collar patches, rather than a real survey of elite units.

Williamson begins with the Grossdeutschland unit, which grew from regiment to division in the first years of the war. The author spends about four pages detailing the history and organization of Grossdeutschland, and three pages on uniform items like cuff bands and shoulder straps. The two interesting satellite units, the FG and FB brigades, are barely mentioned. Two pages are spent on the Brandenbergers, who grew from small commando units to division size by 1944. Panzer Lehr, formed from high-quality training cadres, also receives two pages of coverage. Thus, the author provides only 11 pages out of 42 for the truly elite units, and uses the bulk of the volume on a heterogeneous collection of other units.

The inclusion of the Feldherrnhalle Division is justified by its links to the SA, but there was nothing in actual battlefield performance that distinguished it from other divisions. Some readers might be tempted to equate Feldherrnhalle with a Waffen SS-type unit, but this was not the case. The justification for elite status becomes even murkier when the author moves on to the 44th "Hoch und Deutschmeister" Infantry Division. Aside from the fact that this unit was organized, trained and equipped as an ordinary German infantry division, the only distinguishing characteristic was a cuff band that was authorized two months before the end of the war but never issued. So a cuff band that was never issued makes a unit elite? Even more unremarkable are the 5th Cavalry Regiment "von Mackensen" and the 9th and 119th Infantry Regiments which shared the honorific title "List." The inclusion of these units with fancy names and insignia but no elite characteristics is a serious distraction from the real elite units.

The other oddity about this volume is the inclusion of several panzer and mountain units; the author includes the 21st, 24th and 116th Panzer Divisions and the 3rd and 5th Mountain Divisions. Other than participation in some sideshow campaigns like Narvik, Crete and North Africa which allowed some veterans to wear rare service badges, these units were really no different than many other similar divisions. Why include the 3rd Mountain as elite, but exclude the 1st or 2nd Divisions? There is no dispute that all these divisions were effective combat formations but the author makes no case to distinguish them as elite from other similar units in the German Army. The author concludes this volume with a brief survey of the ten non-divisional "Tiger" tank battalions. Again, these units were certainly formidable but were they truly elite? Some battalions, like the 510th, were organized late in the war and quickly swamped by the advancing Red Army. Apparently, the author feels that the "legendary" reputation of the Tiger tank renders all units equipped with it elite. Yet if lethal reputation is the prerequisite for elite status, why not include some of the longer-serving assault gun battalions that destroyed far more Soviet tanks than some of the later Tiger units?

Ultimately, the whole issue of elite units is obscured by this study's arbitrary inclusion of units without applying any objective criterion for admission. Apparently, in this author's mind, elite status can derive from the adoption of fancy uniform accessories and honorific titles just as much as special training or recruiting. Indeed, the issues of recruiting, selection and training are noticeably absent in this volume. This is a bungled attempt at a survey of elite German Army units that founders due to lack of an objective methodology. Instead of using the limited space in an Osprey Men-at-Arms title to focus on the genuine elite units, space is gratuitously wasted on "eye-wash" and celebrity units in order to bolster the market appeal of this volume. Other elite or specialist units, such as the German long-range reconnaissance units in North Africa or assault pioneer units in Russia, would have been better candidates for inclusion in this volume than units like the "List" Regiment.

The lengthy review below sums up best the selection criterion for inclusion in this book and I will not belabour that point.

I do want to point out the very excellent artwork by Bujeiro - there seems to be a resurgent interest in Spain in the Third Reich, extending to re-enacting. One of the premier artists for Battlefront games is a Spanish gentleman who does photo realistic artwork for the Combat Mission games.

Bejeiro has done excellent work; colours seem a bit off but that may be a post-production process that makes the field grey shades a bit too blue.

Text is good; as noted in another review, subject matter is a bit scattered. Another review also states there are better GD sources. There are; the colour plate of the GD policeman shows the use of the Polizei helmet decal, which seems to be unsupported in other sources though I may be wrong.

Another interesting error is the deletion of Panzergrenadier Lehr Regiment 902 - a bit of a shock as I personally interviewed a member of that regiment, and it is certainly on the order of battle in other sources! Probably a minor editing error.

Overall, the plates are great and some good photos of rare insignia. Unit organizations are only very basic, and incomplete (in addition to the deletion of PzGren Lehr Rgt 902 mentioned above).

Anyone really interested in any of the units in this book should probably find more in-depth discussions of them in other sources.

Very good volume covering some little known units, alongside the most famous Heer units of them all (GD and Pz Lehr). Good illustrations, though colours seem a bit off. Not as good as Volstad, but better than Stephen Andrews.

Good information, easy to read format. Usual cautions apply about Men at Arms works. There are better GD volumes if one is so inclined, but some of the units covered are not well represented in English anywhere else.

Very typical of books by Gordon Williamson. Well researched and filled with good information about units of interest to the researcher and the collector. Very well illustrated with both photographs and artwork.