The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division: Volume Two

by Hubert Meyer

Part two of the defining work on Hitler's elite fanatical boy soldiers continues with the survivors of the bloody fighting in France regrouping to make a final stand in the Ardennes and Hungary before Germany was overcome by the Allies. A detailed and gripping account of the most famous, and infamous, division to fight in World War II for any side.

Genres: Military History, History, World War II, War, Nonfiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

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[Martin Kauschmann]

The 12th SS Volume Two: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division
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The 12th SS Volume Two: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division

[James Yee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume wraps up the Normandy battles and then follows the division to what we commonly refer to as "The Battle of the Bulge". That campaign is the bulk of the book, and then it covers their transfer to the Eastern front and their final battles against the Soviets and ultimate surrender to US forces.

One of the more interesting parts of the book is actually in the appendix. Towards the end of the war, Germany's manpower shortages meant that they didn't have the time to train their troops for the usual duration. Appendix 4 "Guidelines for Firearms Training under Combat Conditions" was very enlightening on the shortcuts they had to adopt to try to get troops out to the frontline as soon as possible. For example, under normal conditions the soldiers would have been taught the theory of ballistics before they even got to pick up a rifle and learn to shoot. But by the autumn of 1943, that was being dropped to focus on the more practical skills under combat-conditions.