“Warfare and the Third Reich: The Rise and Fall of Hitler’s Armed Forces (Classic Conflicts)”, edited by Christopher Chant

 

450 pages, Smithmark Publishers, ISBN-13: 978-0831772895

Warfare and the Third Reich: The Rise and Fall of Hitler’s Armed Forces is part of a series called “Classic Conflicts” – of which I have no other volumes. Ah, well. Be warned that this is not your typical faithful reproduction of the war, but rather a collection of interesting facts of the people and events that impacted the war. The story begins in the 1930s with Hitler’s rise to power and the henchmen that helped him achieve it, i.e. Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, amongst many others. This book is a bit of a heavy history more geared for academic study then edge of your seat page-turner, but as with any book of this size, there are always bound to be interesting bits of information, and Warfare indeed does deliver on that. There are a number of details on army group makeup, command structure and tactics as well as a good review of German Army campaign citations and medals, besides.

As for the battles, there are writings on the air war over Britain, the fight for control of the Atlantic, and the battles for Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk and many others. German weapons, from pistols to tanks, are also discussed and include the advantages and disadvantages the German soldier faced against his (many) enemies. In the science and technology section there is interesting coverage of the weapons of the future, which was a pleasant surprise as it covers more than just the V1 and V2 missiles, or the Me-262 jet; German scientists were working on other missile technology that might surprise you. If you are interested in warfare and the Third Reich then by all means pick up Warfare and the Third Reich; but only if you are not a newcomer to the field.