Waffen SS: The Asphalt Soldiers

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Weapons Book #16

by John Keegan

One of the Ballentine Illustrated history of WWII Series, this is the Weapons Book No. 16. Paperback, with many photos and illustrations, about the Waffen SS.

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

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan, OBE, FRSL was a British military historian, lecturer and journalist. He published many works on the nature of combat between the 14th and 21st centuries concerning land, air, maritime and intelligence warfare as well as the psychology of battle.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, profusely illustrated in black-and-white, this book details the history, structure and fate of the 'armed' branch of the SS. Insofar as there is a thematic question addressed it as regards the condemnation of the SS, as an institution, at Nuremburg: Was the Waffen-SS a criminal organization by the terms of established rules of war?--or any more criminal than the uncharged Wehrmacht?

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book. John Keegan is slumming here, a really great Military History author conforming to the Ballantine's 160 Page format to give us the story of the Waffen SS- Hitler's Politically motivated soldier "elite" that fought so many of the hardest battle for the Nazis- and carried out some of the worst atrocities. Keegan never lets the reader view the corps as either truly elite or "just soldiers". Their role as Racial and Political "SuperMen" was conjured up by Himmler in a sort of Racial/Homoerotic fantasy. And as a counterweight originally to the SA, Hitler's political thugs that had smoothed his way to power, Himmler was able to start with A BodyGuard for Hitler- and associate it with his Police/Security/Concentration Camp guard formations. Keegan shows that these three roots never really left the Waffen SS, so many of its personnel had Gestapo experience.
As war approached and arrived, Himmler kept trying to expand his fiefdoms- adding Military Formations to the SS- until by war's end there were 39 units that called themselves "Waffen SS"- most of them for organized thuggery. The first 7 however did have Military Value- even as they also carried out atrocities almost everywhere they went. Keegan tells the story of both the "Real" Waffen SS- the first 7 units(like "Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler", "Wiking", and "Polizei") as well as the rest of the fascist riff-raff that peopled the rest of the corps. It's fascinating- and horrifying at the same time.
This is a great book to explain this phenomena to the younger reader without glorifying it. The Atrocity descriptions do not get too involved. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, this is a great little tome- tonnes of B/W pics- good line drawings of typical uniforms- and just enough anecdotes to help with Scenario/diorama development. It's really just enough to get you interested in more substantial books on this topic. But a strong rec for those who just want to learn the basics of this Military Murder Corps.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published in 1970, 'Waffen SS - the asphalt soldiers' sets out to tell the story of the Waffen SS, arguably one of the most notorious of Germany's operational military formations during WW2. It is number 16 in Purnell's series of 'Weapons' books, and suffers from the fixed length of the books in the series as well as the poor production values of the book itself. In telling the story of the Waffen SS, it does not succeed; the text is random and disorganised, as are the accompanying photos, some of which may be seriously mis-captioned. Not Keegan's finest.

[Waldir F. Reccanello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neste pequeno, mas prazeroso, livro, o autor John Keegan dá uma verdadeira aula de História Militar, trazendo ao leitor, sem os misticismos que a cercam, a história real da Waffen SS, a "elite" de "super soldados" de Hitler, fanática e politicamente motivados, que lutou em muitas das mais difíceis batalhas da Segunda Guerra (também carregando, para mancha eterna de seu nome, algumas das piores atrocidades do período). Apesar de toda a evocação de Himmler acerca de seu indubitável papel como "super homens" raciais e políticos (o livro sugere uma espécie de fantasia homoerótica de seu criador), o autor nunca permite ao leitor ver aquele corpo paramilitar nem como uma verdadeira elite nem como "apenas soldados". Iniciada como um contrapeso às SA (mais uma horda de bandidos que verdadeiros soldados), e associadas desde seu começo a uma formação de guardas de polícia, seguranças e campos de concentração, Keegan mostra que, apesar de todo o heroísmo demonstrado em batalha (em especial pelas divisões originais, destacando-se a "Leibstandarte", a "Das Reich", a "Totenkopf", a "Wiking", a "Hitlerjugend" e a "Hohenstaufen"), aquelas três raízes nunca deixaram completamente a Waffen SS, razão porque, excetuando aquelas divisões citadas, a maioria de seus integrantes não passava de bandidos organizados sem grande valor militar, tendo realizado atrocidades em quase todos os lugares. É uma história ao mesmo tempo fascinante e assustadora, e o livro tem o mérito de explicar seu fenômeno sem jamais o glorificar. Detalhe para as muitas fotos em preto e branco e para os bons desenhos dos uniformes típicos.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Waffen SS were the most potent and effective military force since the days of the Romans. Hitler's personal creation, the "Armed SS", this was to distinguish them from the police units who manned the concentration camps, boasted of soldiers imbued with "the spirit of National Socialism". The Waffen SS came to be feared by their enemies and desired by the rest of the German armed forces, who had to petition Hitler for their transfer into the Wermacht. Swift, brutal victories in Poland, Norway, France, the Balkans, and Russia solidified their legend. When the Eastern Front began to collapse after 1944 Hitler relied on them more and more, particularly his favorite commander, Sepp Dietrich. The Battle of Budapest that year was fought entirely between Dietrich's troops and the Red Army. Nothing could stem the Red tide, however, and a last failed attempt at counterattack on the outskirts of Berlin in April 1945 spelled the end. John Keegan, military historian extraordinaire (THE FACE OF BATTLE, THE WARS OF AMERICA) tells this amazing story through majestic and crisp prose.

[carl theaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the Ballantine's Illustrated series good in general and this volume
by prolific WW2 author John Keegan continues the trend.


Ballantine books was the main source for WW2 books in the 60 & 70s and
this was part of an innovative illustrated series, a godsend to history
fans. The intro is by Liddel Hart to show you they had credentials.


160pgs w/b&w photos and ample text telling the story.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Afflicted by a somewhat herky-jerky, prickly prose style (at times it felt kinda like I was reading a cactus). And the photos seemed strewn more or less randomly about the book. One more thing: it took an awful lot of time to finally get to the Waffen SS. I thought the book could've actually started somewhere around page 50.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but informative look at the history of the Waffen SS. Topics covered include the culture of the SS, whether or not it was truly "elite", its formation, etc.