Customer Reviews

Heroes or Traitors: The German Replacement Army, the July Plot, and Adolf Hitler

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What a disappointment! I bought this book because it was billed as a study of the "German Replacement Army, the July Plot and Adolf Hitler." I think it was a reasonable assumption to expect a analysis of the role of the replacement or Home army in the July bomb plot. Not so! Instead I got a detailed analysis of what division was where and when with virtually no useful discussion of the use of the Home army in the bomb plot. The fly leaf is indicative of the depth of analysis - it repeats the old chestnut that the officers involved in the July coup only launched their conspiracy when the war turned sour for Hitler. The author can't even get Generaloberst Freidrich Fromm's name right - and he commanded that army! Not to matter I guess as he's only referred to on a couple of pages - got to leave room for all those fascinating division numbers! If you want to know the Home army's order of battle at various times, buy this book. If you want a scholarly analysis of the role of Home army in the July plot, buy Peter Hoffmann's "History of the German Resistance."

Although this book has some weak points, like the repetitions of the author's arguments and the dry writing style in some cases, it has also some great merits for the military history buffs. Mr Dunn may be not the gifted storyteller but he has done a lot of research on his subject and he can speak by numbers which I think is very impressive and useful for the real student of World War II. The book is full of statistics and details about the Replacement Army, its units and how these were withheld from the battlefronts in the crucial period of spring 1944. I think though that the real gems of the book are the analytical accounts of how the German Army was defeated in Normandy and Belorussia due to lack of reserves. Overall, this is not the book to pass your time nor an easy read, but very useful as a reference source.

This book is not exciting, unless one gets excited researching numbers. However, it does provide food for thought, in that the author explains how a handful of men in key places managed to prevent reinforcements from reaching the front lines during critical times, thus managing to shorten the war.

Well researched, this volume starts by explaining the workings of the German Replacement Army, how the system worked at the divisional level. This is accomplished by explaining the replacement system as it developed from that used during WWI. The author explains how recruits are incorporated, as well as convalescents waiting for their return to duty. Also discussed is the `waves' of divisions were formed during the course of the war.

The remainder of the book breaks down the war into key periods. These are 2-43 to 6-43, 6-43 to 2-44, 2-44 to 6-44, then the two separate catastrophes in France, and the East. I will not go into separate discussion on each of these periods. Essentially, the author describes the machinations of the plotters, and how in the face of Führer decrees, they managed to manipulate the numbers of men throughout the replacement army, and keep them from the front.

One of the key goals of this manipulation was the July Plot. While Operation Valkyrie is not a key here, it is interesting to read how the plotters not only managed to keep what amounted to their own army, but how they intended to use these forces. While it does not go into great detail of the Plot, it would make good collateral reading for those studying the Plot.

This book is not exciting in the manner of a battle narrative. It is, however, very informative. It includes several tables throughout that help to understand the text. I will admit to having to go back a few times to re-read certain sections. One problem that I found is that there are often so many numbers in a paragraph, (divisional designations, numbers of men, numbers of divisions, etc.), that I got confused.

After reading this book, and the author's conclusions, I will agree that had these men not worked so hard against Hitler, the course of the war would have gone rather differently. It would have lasted at least one more year as the author states.

I found this book to be only "1 mans point of view"...yes Dunn states alot of numbers and figures about divisions. yet there really isnt anything backing up what he is trying to say..he states in the beginning of the book that his "information" comes from the sources he has listed in the bibliography and his own personal records ..further examination of his "sources" in the bibliography reveal nothing really in the way of "proof" of his claims...they are not records from the german military or bundesarchiv. in most cases it is "information" gleaned from other authors and thier books..in one case he even tells a story in his book of a supposed german veteran, this account was taken from Guy Sajers Book forgotten soldier which in itself has come under a microscope for its authenticity..in other cases he also refers to things he has gotten from interviews with "veterans" yet in no place do I find any reference to whom that "veteran" was...even if the person wished to remain unkown, most if not all authors at least note the persons initials...he does bring up an interesting argument but thats about it....further research and study is needed on this subject of the replacement army.perhaps some truth in what Dunn is trying to say is there.....but DUNN hasnt proven it at all.... read with a grain of salt

A typical Dunn book, written in execrable English but a gold-mine of information.IT IS NOT A HISTORY OF THE JULY PLOT, as some reviewers seem to have thought when they bought the book. Dunn's hypothesis -that the group of conspirators around the command of the replacement army used the "Walküre" planning to hoard military manpower in Germany for eventual use in the coup attempt and therefore, unwittingly or not, assisted considerably in the Allied victories of 1944 by cutting the fairly steady flow of new and reconstituted divisions to the German fronts- is very controversial and in all honesty I do not know enough (except that it was tense) about the manpower situation of the Reich in 1944. It is true, however, that German divisions in both France and the Russian Central Front that had not been heavily engaged in the winter-early spring 43-44 had full personnel complements and their reinforcement according to German practice could only be effected by creating further divisions. Dunn tries to be persuasive about his point, but further study on this topic is required. Recommended reading for anyone with interest in Second World War strategy and German Army organizational issues.

Serious warning for all prospective readers of this book: this is the most misleading title ever created. This book has almost nothing about about the July 20,1944 bomb plot by Count von Staufenberg against Hitler. Of course you'd think this would be about that topic since the title mentions this event. Forget it! Instead, it's a lengthy, boring and ultimately unreadable account of the German Home Front in 1944-45. That's a fairly interesting subject, but not when you expect to read something about July 20, 1944. I didn't even finish this twaddle, Hitler appears on a scant 14 pages, Staufenberg is a non-entity here. A crushing disappointment.

I can only reinforce the misgivings of the earlier reviewers.

The author postulates that the failure of the German Army to field a large number of new divisions in early 1944 was a deliberate attempt to hold back manpower from the front for an internal coup to accompany the Bomb Plot in July 1944.

However, he then fails completely to offer any evidence of a causal connection. As a result, on its central theme this book is closer to conspiracy theory than history.

This is a pity, as the German Replacement Army was a major military institution that badly needs a good study. This disappointing book is very definitely not it.