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Title: Steel Inferno: I Ss Panzer Corps in Normandy by Michael Reynolds ISBN: 1-885119-44-5 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: June, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.65 (17 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Good Read
Comment: Michael Reynolds unapologetically recounts the role played by two famous (some might prefer infamous!)Waffen SS divisions in the post D-Day battles in Normandy.
A number of reviewers have already drawn attention to the possible inaccuracy of some of the incidents described by the author as well as the credibility of the sources. I will not add to these expect to say that, having seen active service myself, it must be nigh impossible to record and later review any battle with deadly accuracy. For any number of reasons even 'official' sources are not necessarily an accurate record of an event.
What Reynolds does do very successfully is to leave the reader with very plausible reasons as to why the German military machine functioned so effectively for so long - often against an enemy which was numerically superior in every sphere from manpower through armaments to aircraft.
Clearly the ideology of the SS was instrumental in providing the appetite for a fight but it would seem that the genuine cameraderie between officers, NCO's and troops is what really enabled them to function so well without resorting to suicidal tactics.
Had the defending forces enjoyed anything close to parity in aircraft during this period it is highly conceivable that the invasion might have ended in a bloody and tragic failure for the Allies. Most accounts seem to convey to the interested reader that tactically they were anything but inspired.
Rating: 2
Summary: Good read - but is it trustworthy?
Comment: After the first read-through, Reynolds book comes across as a well-researched and well-written account of the Battle for Normandy from the perspective of the I. SS-Panzer Korps.
However, the author is clearly impressed with the fighting ability of the Waffen SS divisions in Normandy and less so when it comes to the performance of the British forces. It is perhaps this fascination with his subject that has clouded his judgement on several accounts.
As an example, Reynolds conclusions on the battle for Villers-Bocage on 13.06.44 becomes distorted due to several glaring errors.
1. Reynolds claim that Brig. Hindes decision to halt his brigade group at Livry in the evening of 12/13 was "incomprehensible" and that Hinde instead of halting should have advanced "the mere 6km to Villers-Bocage". The distance is actually double that...
2. Reynolds scorns the British for using the arrival of 2. Panzerdivision on June 13th as their "excuse" for pulling out later that day: "the whole business of 2nd Panzer is a myth anyway..", "..only part of the reconnaissance and various advance parties arrived on the 13th.." and "a company of 1/7th Queesns ran into the enemy...these turned out to be a 2nd Panzer Division staff car and two motorcycle escorts - hardly the deployment of a Panzer Division advancing to contact.."
The odd thing is that Reynolds is flat out ignoring the post-war papers prepared by 2nd Panzer commander von Lüttwitz and the history of 2nd Panzer by Strauss. Both clearly states that both the divisions Panzergrenadier regiments had arrived on June 13th and commenced the attack against Villers-Bocage, Amaye-sur-Seulles and Cahagnes.
It is errors and distortions such as these that makes this reader doubt the general accuracy Reynolds account.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good in depth discussion...
Comment: This book provides good in-depth coverage and discussion on it's subject matter; the I SS Pz Corps. I just read it as a companion to Kurt Meyer's 'Grenadiers' and found it fascinating. For those serious students of WWII this is worth the read. If you are looking for a general overview of the Normandy campaign then this is probably not the right book for you.
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Title: Sons of the Reich: The History of II Panzer Corps by Michael Reynolds ISBN: 0971170932 Publisher: Casemate Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Men of Steel: I SS Panzer Corps: The Ardennes and Eastern Front, 1944-45 by Michael Reynolds ISBN: 1885119666 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius (Stackpole Military History Series) by Otto Carius, Robert J. Edwards ISBN: 0811729117 Publisher: Stackpole Books Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Operation Epsom: VIII British Corps V 1st Ss Panzerkorps (Battleground Europe Normandy) by Tim Saunders ISBN: 0850529549 Publisher: Pen & Sword Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Armor Battles of the Waffen SS, 1943-45 (Stackpole Military History Series) by Will Fey ISBN: 0811729052 Publisher: Stackpole Books Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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