Customer Reviews

Hitler's Northern War: The Luftwaffe's Ill-Fated Campaign, 1940-1945

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A correction for the previous reviewer: This is an accurate and reliable book, with German language sources translated accurately and apparently very carefully. Great book.

I can't comment about the contested accuracy of the German translating in this book because I can't read German. But I read the book carefully as I have long been interested in the overlooked Norwegian campaigns and I think the author has written a strong enough book with a good narrative and clear maps. I enjoyed reading it, and I learned a lot about the Luftwaffe and its commanders that I did not know. I don't think it'll ever be considered definitive, but, as I rate it a deserved four stars out of five (therefore above average), I do recommend it to readers who don't yet know much about the Norwegian campaigns, especially the Luftwaffe's participation in them.

The writer's many mistakes made while translating and even copying German titles and bibliographical details weaken the confidence I have in this work's accuracy, despite what his mate J Hayward says below. I just read an article by Claasen in a strat journal I subscribe to and it suffers from the exact same weakness (v. unreliable German trans). The very first endnote had an obvious copying error, and so did many others! All this notwithstanding the Claasen Norway book has good photos and a generally interesting narrative. It is worth a read, but grad students and others wanting precision will need to go elsewhere.

This is a rewarding study that will fill in many of the gaps in our knowledge of the Wermacht's Norwegian campaign and subsequent occupation. It goes further by discussing campaigns launched into the Atlantic and the Arctic and Baltic from Norway. I strongly endorse this book.

Despite its title,the major part of the book covers the German invasion of Narvik in some detail, though I am concerned by the fact that in consulting his sources, the author uses the relevant German KTB and the USAAF's historical researches and studies to shed light on the Luftwaffe (which is good) but relies on dubious popular history books for the RAF, which made the book detailed in part, while patchy and incredulous ans simplistic in others (eg kill claims by the RAF!).

Also I find the run of the mill exposition of the Luftwaffe's fatal lack of a startegic bomber verbose, and redundant.

I am writing with my co-author a book on the invasion of Norway and Denmark and the first four weeks of the war there. Claasen's analysis is brilliant. There may be (or not, I can not say) some errors in his footnoting but his understanding is spot on. We reference him a great deal in our manuscript.

One example: the "Rowehl" long distance recon Luftwaffe air units (using 4-engine craft) are not even mentioned in virtually all books. We knew it existed and had helped in the campaign but could not find details. We were digging through all sorts of sources and went back to Claasen who had a very short but solid understanding of what this recon group accomplished before the war in 2 pages of text. It gave Germany photographs of the harbors they were about to attack! It brought closure to our search.

Claasen also has a sound understanding of why the conflict came about.

A fascinating account of Hitler's obsessive concern over controlling the Norwegian coastline during WWII. Dr Claasen outlines the strategic naivety of Hitler's focus on Norway with brilliant insight and historical accuracy. If you are a student of wartime history, I strongly recommend this book as a valuable tool to understanding the deep and often irrational psyche of Germany's enigmatic leader during World War II. 'Hitler's Northern War' also sheds further light on the bitter interservice feuding and high command interference that was rife amongst the German forces that purposed to invade Norway. A gripping read balanced with exhaustive historical veracity.

The cover is nice, but the contents are unusually average. The author struggles to write well without polemic, hyperbole, mixed metaphors and so on. This fault is common to academics who also want to appear masters of prose. They over-do it. The high number of typos in the German endnotes and bilbliographical entries suggested to me that the writer's German is weak and maybe untrustworthy. But the book deals with a safe and non controversial topic anyway. The book is a chronicle and is detailed in places and patchy in other places. Worth reading but not as good as I had hoped having read three other books in the series this belongs to.

I admit from the outset that I know the author, who is both a good friend and a delightful colleague. I can truthfully add, however, that even if he were entirely unknown to me, I would still rate his new book highly. It is superb!

Dr Claasen made splendid use of primary sources, including many from German archives that have never been used before, to create a new and startling reconstruction of German air and joint operations in Norway during World War II. Even though it focuses heavily on the German war effort, the analysis is balanced and shows not the slightest sign of respect for the vile Nazi ideology that saw Norway swallowed up in a stunning Blitzkrieg.

Claasen masterfully explains the complex dynamics of that Blitzkrieg, including the interpersonal relationships in the German High Command as well as the doctrinal and theoretical background and operational mechanics of the rapid conquest itself.

The analysis continues through until Germany's defeat in 1945, which means that many readers will learn for the first time how the Luftwaffe in the far north functioned after 1940. And it's a fascinating story.

The prose is engaging and the pace lively. In other words, this book reads well. Scholars AND interested "buffs" will enjoy it. I'm convinced they'll also learn much. I certainly did, and I have researched the Luftwaffe for many years!

I recommend this attractive, beautifully presented book without any reservations. It's a gem, and belongs on your bookshelf.

This was my first foray into military history and I really liked it. I guess I expected to be bored by endless details of this type of weapon or that, and which soldiers were moved where, but I wasn't bored at all. It helped that Claasen put the whole thing into a strategic context. I could easily see why the northern theatre was so important (especially for its iron ore, but also as a base for air and shipping operations against Britain). While he doesn't labor the detail (thankfully) Claasen relates some great stories of the important clashes. They illustrate the argument he is making. He also focuses on the role of air power, which makes it interesting. The appalling weather conditions made this a difficult theatre for airpower, but the effort there included a number of firsts. For example, it saw the first ever paratroop drop and it provided the first evidence that the balance of air and sea had shifted forever towards the air. In the middle of this is Hitler, as Claasen calls him the "great meddler". Intriguingly, both Churchill and Hitler were obsessed with Norway at varying stages, though Hitler's interest was slow in building, it burned brightly in the end (and in some strange ways). All this was fine in the early stages of the war when the blitzkrieg was so devastating. But later, sustaining a war on a number of fronts, it was all too much for Hitler to keep control of effectively, though that didn't stop him from trying. There are other colorful characters as well, some on the ground (or in the air) in Norway, others like Goering back in Germany. Goering is blamed for Germany's fatal lack of a long-range strategic bomber and maritime aircraft. He is also criticized for his luftwaffe parochialism. He jealously guarded anything that flew from the clutches of the navy, to the detriment of both. This chronic inter-service rivalry and the lack of aircraft seriously hampered the operations and even the usefulness of Norway. It never delivered on its potential, largely because the Germans lacked the necessary aircraft. So the invasion was a complete success (thanks also to the "disjointed and shambolic" response from the allies) but from early on "Norway failed to live up to its billing".

But that doesn't stop this from being a fascinating story, and Claasen does a great job of handling it. He breaks up the essential elements of the tale, selecting what he needs without cluttering up the plot. He often writes with a colorful turn of phrase, and you get the feeling he has an eye for humor and irony in all of this. And there is brilliant material to work with. The geography of Scandinavia, with all its extremes, provides a colorful background. The fate of arctic convoys or vulnerable footholds adds to the excitement. I found this a fantastic book. It's a great read. I recommend it to layperson and expert alike.