Massimiliano Afiero Bücher

This illustrated title details the campaign history, uniforms, and insignia of a major foreign volunteer formation of the Waffen-SS before its final transformation into a full division in the winter of 1944.

This account provides a detailed and illustrated exploration of the SS units involved in the Battle of Kharkov. It features comprehensive analyses of their strategies, operations, and the historical context of the battle. The book includes visual documentation that enhances the understanding of this significant military engagement, making it a valuable resource for history enthusiasts and scholars interested in World War II and the Eastern Front.

The book explores the military campaigns and strategic maneuvers of Italian forces in East Africa during the early years of World War II, specifically from 1940 to 1942. It delves into the challenges faced by the Italian military, including logistical issues and the impact of Allied opposition. The narrative highlights key battles, troop movements, and the broader geopolitical context of Italy's colonial ambitions, providing insights into the complexities of warfare in this region during a tumultuous period.

Focusing on the Italian military's involvement in World War II, this volume provides a detailed examination of their formation, structure, and operations alongside German forces in Russia from Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 until their defeat in early 1943. It offers a thorough exploration of the unique dynamics and contributions of the Italian contingents during this critical period of the war, making it an essential resource for understanding their role in the larger conflict.

A fully illustrated study of the Wehrmacht's French volunteer units and their actions on the Eastern Front and in North Africa during World War II. It is little known that, in late 1941, French volunteer units were among Wehrmacht troops defending Germany in the first bitter winter on the Eastern Front, and also among the last fighting for Berlin in April 1945. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, some 13,000 Frenchmen enlisted in the 'Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme' (LVF), which was reformed as the Wehrmacht's Infanterie-Regiment 638 and posted to Russia. This volume examines the involvement of French volunteers, not only on the Eastern Front, but also in the 'Phalange Africaine' in Tunisia and in the 'Légion Tricolore', a short-lived military organization under the control of the French Vichy government. Using archive photographs and specially commissioned artwork, it casts a new light on forces fighting for the Axis and studies the French personnel's equipment, insignia and uniforms while describing their involvement in some of the most gruelling battles of World War II.

"At the start of the German occupation of Belgium in May 1940, Flemish recruits from northern Belgium - considered by the Nazis to be 'Germanic' - were accepted individually into Waffen-SS units. After Hitler's invasion of the USSR in June 1941, additional recruits from the French-speaking south (Wallonia) were also drafted in. Both communities formed volunteer 'Legions' to fight (according to Goebbels' propaganda machine) 'for European civilization against the Bolshevik threat'. The Flemish Legion was incorporated into the Waffen-SS and the Walloon Legion into the German Army. Both served on the Russian Front in 1942-43. The Walloon Legion was then transferred into the Waffen-SS (the decorated Walloon officer, Leon Degrelle, became a publicized 'poster boy' for foreign SS volunteers). Both Legions were then redesignated as SS Assault Brigades and, from then onwards, saw extremely heavy fighting in the Ukraine and on the Baltic front. In autumn 1944, their survivors were withdrawn from the front and incorporated into two new SS Divisions: 27. 'Langemarck' and 28. 'Wallonien'. This new account, featuring detailed color plates of uniform and insignia, recounts the battle history of the French and Flemish-speaking Belgian SS, up to their final transformation into full divisions in the winter of 1944/45." --Amazon.com

Eighty years ago, exactly in the summer of 1941, on June 22, 1941, German military forces invaded the Soviet Union, beginning one of the largest military campaigns of the entire Second World War. We will start from this issue of the magazine to retrace the fundamental stages of the war on the Eastern front, dealing, as always, mainly with foreign voluntary units. Let's now analyze the contents of this new issue of the magazine. Let's start with the history of the Walloon Legion on the Eastern front, we continue with the second part of the history of the Frikorps Danmark, with the use of the Nord Division in the summer of 1941 on the Finnish front and finally we close with an article dedicated to the insignia used by the Italian volunteers in the Waffen SS.

In this number: We begin with a long and interesting work on the employment of the Totenkopf division during the counter-offensive on the Ukrainian front between February and March 1943, following the SS-Panzer-Korps. This is followed by the biography of Egon Christophersen, a Danish non-commissioned officer first in the Wiking division and then in the Nordland division, who distinguished himself during the fighting on the Narva front, earning himself the Knight's Cross. We continue with an article on the Tunisia campaign, fought by the Italian-German forces between the end of 1942 and the spring of 1943. We close with the second part of the article dedicated to the Wiking division in the Caucasian regions in the summer of 1942.

In this issue we start with an article dedicated to the use of the SS Totenkopf division on the Western Front in the spring of 1940. This is followed by the history of the bersaglieri (light infantry) units of the Republic Sociale Italiana, in particular ofthe 'Italia' division, with many unpublished photos. The biography of this issue is dedicated to one of the most important characters in the history of Waffen‐SS, Paul Hausser. We continue with the second part of the article dedicated to the recruitment of the Cossacks into the German armed forces and finally we close with an interesting article dedicated to the Panzerfaust, the deadly German anti‐tank weapon.

Let's start with the formation of the SS Division Nord in 1941, on the eve of its employment on the Finnish front. Following is the biography of Josef Rollecke, a man decorated with the Knight's Cross, of the 3. SS-Panzer Division 'Totenkopf'. We continue with the first part of an in-depth study on the history of Frikorps Danmark, the Danish volunteer formation. Another biography dedicated to Georg Keppler, commanding officer of the Waffen-SS follows. The study dedicated to Italians decorated with the Iron Cross is certainly interesting and we close with the fifth and last part of the article dedicated to the employment of the Cossacks in the German armed forces.