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Order of Battle: Hitlers Werewolves

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As the Reich began to disintigrate in the autumn of 1944, Himmler set up the Werewolves to spread terror and destruction behind allied lines. They are not known to have achieved much, although they did assassinate the mayor of Aachen (who surrendered to the Americans), decapitate some GIs with tripwires and pour sugar into some Russian petrol tanks. Danish born author Ib Melchior served in US army counterintelligence during world war two, and has adopted a fictional approach to telling the Werewolf story. He says, however, it is based on fact. The most sensational claim is that there was a nazi plot to asassinate Eisenhower. The book is a well paced read from both the US and the German perspective. However, given that the events are in April 1945, there is remarkably little atmosphere of Gotterdammerung. And there are some historical mistakes. His claim that the SS were gassing and burning Jews at Dachau(!)at this late stage of the war is certainly mythical. The book was originally published in 1972, but the new 2000 edition has a more recent prologue. The epilogue contains a translated account of original Werewolf inspired documents. The organization may have failed - Germany was already in chaos - but the intentions were deadly serious.