I looked forward to reading this ARC supplied by NetGalley (thank you) but sadly found it dry and hard work. I think the subject matter could have been made much more engaging and stimulating, whereas here we had blow by blow descriptions of unit reorganisations. It
might be the very subject matter that is the issue but I felt it was its treatment that left me disappointed.

There should have more visceral descriptions of the combat operations, the equipment used, it’s effectiveness or lack of and more action led narration.

A fascinating look at the men recruited by Himmler to fight for one of the most evil regimes of the 20th century. Why they fought is important to understand this dystopian period of history.

Military historian Anthony Tucker-Jones http://atuckerjones.com is the author of more than 50 books. Hitler’s Armed SS: The Waffen-SS at War, 1939–1945 was recently published in August of 2022.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. I categorize this book/novel as ‘G.

The book traces the origins and development of the armed or Waffen SS. It began as an elite personal protection unit for Hitler, and grew into Himmler’s 38-division strong army. The SS was not comprised of the regular Wehrmacht soldiers. Members of the Waffen SS were fanatic Nazis. They were not trained in combat as thoroughly as the regular Wehrmacht troops, nor were they as disciplined.

Units fought on all the fronts on which the Germans were engaged. Many were deployed on the Eastern Front, where they committed numerous atrocities. Several SS units also took part in battles in the West. What they lacked in tactical ability was made up for by their fanatic adherence to the Nazi cause.

I enjoyed the 10 hours I spent reading this 354-page WWII history. This is the fourth book by Tucker-Jones that I have read. The others have been Radio Operator on the Eastern Front: An Illustrated Memoir, 1940–1949, Churchill, Master and Commander: Winston Churchill at War 1895–1945, and Life and Death on the Eastern Front: Rare Colour Photographs From World War II. They all have been interesting. The book is full of details about the Waffen SS units. I like the chosen cover art. I give this book a rating of 3.4 (rounded down to 3) out of 5.

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The title of this book is a clue as to what the original title and meaning of the SS stood for and the gradual transformation by Himmler into the armed or Waffen SS. The armed SS started as an offshoot from Hitler’s personal guard in the 1920’s and gradually grew into the intimidation group that persecuted any opposition to his rise to power. Himmler assumed command of the SS in 1929 and started build an empire that was based on the belief they were the guardians of German racial purity. Gradually, the unarmed members of the SS usurped any opposition that stood in the way of Hitler’s seizure of power in 1933-35 and then grew rapidly as an elite organisation that e=was to be kept separate from the army but would provide the ‘fanatical’ spearhead in any future operations and would be controlled by Himmler.
The book traces the activities of the growth of the Waffen SS and its operations throughout WWll in detail and shows the tensions that existed between the army, the Wehrmacht, and the Waffen SS mainly because Himmler was not a military officer but a former poultry farmer who rose to incredibly power as a civilian wit the authority of Hitler behind him. Eventually he was to prove his incompetence towards the end, and he was sidelined.
The excellent book is another example of the ‘other side’ in WWll and goes a long way to explain that Germany lost the war more through incompetence by non-professionals than any other reason.

Factual historical writing is a skill. Something that requires preciseness and yet have insightful input. Regrettably, this book is just a very linear account of facts of history that has no presence or engagement whatsoever.

This is a overview of the many German SS units and their leaders as well as some of the battles they were in. This book gives examples of Hitlers disowning his elites after they lost in Hungary which I never new happened, If you are curious about the elite units of the German Army this book is a great place to learn.

I am grateful to Pen and Sword for providing me with an ARC of the soon to be released "Hitler's Armed SS: The Waffen SS at War 1939-1945," by Anthony Tucker-Jones. The SS has long fascinated historians (military and otherwise) and has provided, in recent years, fertile ground for attempts to understand the Third Reich. Unfortunately, the deliberate complexity of Hitler's SS (by design) makes it a very difficult organization to easily categorize. This is particularly true of the Waffen SS. I am pleased to report that this book does a good job of focusing on several key factors without getting lost in the weeds. For example, one thesis of the book is that the Waffen SS, as a whole, has been largely misunderstood as an elite military formation when in fact that characterization is really most aptly applied to a few elite Panzer Divisions rather than to the much more numerous supporting military formations which also received designations as SS formations of one type or another. It is also worth noting that Tucker-Jones is clear eyed in his understanding of SS crimes, unlike any number of works which seem intent on concentrating on SS military prowess to the exclusion of their equally well documented misconduct. One of the ways he gets at this is by paying particular attention to SS leaders at the tactical level with only mild digressions into Himmler's fantasy world. In this way, it becomes clear that Himmler and the highest SS leadership was both criminal and incompetent while at the army level and below, military competence was very much in evidence, accompanied by ideological fanaticism which often found expression in war crimes. There is no easy way through this morass of conflicting perspectives, but the author does a good job of trying to keep tightly focused on the military and organizational history of the Waffen SS without getting into so much tactical detail as to lose sight of the forest for the trees. This is no small accomplishment.

A good look at the history behind one of Germany’s elite units during WW2. While some fought honorably, others were known for their horrific actions during the war. The story is well told and contains many firsthand accounts from members of the units. This is a great read for the history enthusiast.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A quite good history lesson on the armed SS, having lived in what was west Germany in the 1980s and seeing the aftermath and denial of their history I think books like this should be mandatory in German schools and universities