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A review by komet2020
The 'Grossdeutschland' Division in World War II: The German Army's Premier Combat Unit by James F. Slaughter
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I've been intrigued with the 'Gross Deutschland' Division of the Wehrmacht ever since I read Guy Sajer's combat memoir, The Forgotten Soldier, in which he spent most of his service with this unit on the Eastern Front from 1943 to war's end in 1945.
This book provides a concise and fully comprehensive account of what developed into one of the German Army's elite units in World War II, seeing action in France, Yugoslavia, and on the Eastern Front. Considerable light is shed on the types of uniforms, weapons, and equipment used by the Grossdeutschland Division. There are also plenty of photos and illustrations to give the reader a full flavor of the unit's experiences, from its origins as a prewar infantry regiment which performed ceremonial functions to a fully equipped Panzerkorps with a vaunted reputation for effectively holding the line under the most severe enemy attacks, protecting neighboring units, which could then make good their escape.
This book provides a concise and fully comprehensive account of what developed into one of the German Army's elite units in World War II, seeing action in France, Yugoslavia, and on the Eastern Front. Considerable light is shed on the types of uniforms, weapons, and equipment used by the Grossdeutschland Division. There are also plenty of photos and illustrations to give the reader a full flavor of the unit's experiences, from its origins as a prewar infantry regiment which performed ceremonial functions to a fully equipped Panzerkorps with a vaunted reputation for effectively holding the line under the most severe enemy attacks, protecting neighboring units, which could then make good their escape.