Military campaigns and battles, naturally, receive the preponderance of attention in theliterature of World War II, as well as smaller but crucial, critically important “Turning of theTide” events such as the sinking of four Japanese carriers in one day at Midway or the defenseof the Volga only a few blocks from the blitzing onslaught of elite German troops. Five topAmerican military publishing companies in recent years changed all that: see the recent WorldWar II sections of their recent catalogs: Casemate, Schiffer, Osprey, Naval Institute, andMcFarland.In the inordinately superior masterwork from Schiffer Publishing we have, in the opinion of asimple reading WW II buff of 69 years the best book ever published on the SS-Waffen, and byno less than one of the two top authorities on the subject. See Massimiliano Afiero’s books onthe 7 th , 23 rd , and 27 th Waffen – SS Divisions, and other specialized books, articles, consultancyemployment titles. The Oxford Companion to World War II, on page 1044 defines the SS as,“SCHUTZSTAFFELN, or ‘protection squads’, which became from 20 July 1934 an independentorganization within the German National Socialist, or Nazi, Party (NSDAP). Like no otherinstitution of Hitler’s Third Reich, the SS represented the arrogance of Nazi ideology and thecriminal nature of the Fuhrer’s regime”.It didn’t take long for “The Black Order” to penetrate the prerogative of the Wehrmacht.While insignificant at first, it had a huge impact on Germany’s victories and defeats. By the endof WWII in 1945, it encompassed 800,000 troops formed into 38 divisions, more than a quarterof them killed in battle. Afiero’s effort here focuses on the “Nordland”. Or, as his title makesclear, the 11 th SS Freiwilligen, or Volunteer, Panzergrenadier Division made up of Norwegiansand Danes the core or backbone of the new 11th after it was formed in earl 1943 and deployedfor anti-partisan operations in Croatia in the fall. A year later, in mid-1944, Nordland wasinvolved in serious fighting with heavy casualties against the Soviet armies on the outskirts ofLeningrad, Narva, Tannenberg, and Kurland. Then, in its final 1945 battles, the division, createdmostly from non-Germans, fought valiantly in Berlin. Massimiliano Afiero new illustratedhistory of the 11 th division includes hundreds of photos from the most-extensive privatecollections in Europe.As always in Schiffer Publishing war books, the subject matter is meticulously researched,compiled, studied over time, and formed into a flowing, east-to-digest narrative. Alfieroprimary sources includes memoirs, period documents, extracts from official bulletins, thedivision’s war diary, and hundreds of photographs and maps. We have 15 thoroughly developedchapters, a truly worthy bibliography, sound Endnotes, and an incredible Appendices of a
variety of German documents containing unit information, Order of Battles, Rank Equivalents,
Waffen-SS/Heer, “Nordland” Knight’s Cross recipients as well German Cross in Gold recipients,unit commanders by name, etc. An absolutely incredible purchase for $45. Chapter XIV, “Berlin,the Final Battle”, with photos, and Chapter XV, “Escape Plans”, are, please excuse the pun, areto die for, suggesting that outstanding. In short, Massimiliano Afiero has provided us WWII
buffs with one of the best Waffen.
