What do you think of "Hitler's Last Levy: The Volkssturm" ?

[SergioDV]

The question is in the topic title. What do you think of "Hitler's Last Levy: The Volkssturm 1944-45", book written by Hans Kissel?

[Dutto1]

Hi

I purchased the book in September 2009.The books author Hans Kissel was the Volkssturm Chief of Staff.The book is easily the best book available on the Volkssturm giving details and well researched info on the Volksturm from its inception to its battles to defend Germany s frontiers 1944-45.
The one downside to the book is the small chapters of eyewitness accounts at the end of the book but all in all its a wothy purchase,Helion the publisher plan to reprint it this year.

[Richard Hargreaves]

Kissel is a very good study, if dated. There's also David Yelton's recent volume:

http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Volksstur ... 408&sr=8-1

Not much combat in it; it focuses on the organisation/leadership of the Volkssturm. It's the best study in English.

In German, there's Franz Seidler's excellent volume; again the emphasis is on organisation, rather than first-hand accounts from Volkssturm units.

For first-hand accounts, I'd suggest:

http://www.librarything.com/work/7477167/book/40286374

and

http://www.librarything.com/work/6513622/book/37748158

Again, both in German, sorry.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Richard,

Kissel estimates that only about 100,000 of the several million men of the Volkssturm actually served on a formal front line. That might help explain why ".....there is not much combat in it".

According to AHF member Germanicus, as transmitted by member Larry D. on another thread,10,180 battalions were planned but only about a third were actually formed. "Each battalion ran around 650 officers and men. So, one third of 10,180 would be approx. 3,393 battalions which, at full KStN personnel strength, would total 2,205,450 officers and men."

As far as I can tell from p.127 of Kissel's book, the Volkssturm suffered some 5,000 registered deaths at the time and 29,687 remained reported missing after the war. They came from some 700 different battalions, so only about a quarter of the notional 3,393 battalions formed may actually have seen combat. If so, it would mean that, on average, each of these 700 battalions lost some 50 men killed or missing, and presumably about three times as many wounded. However, I suspect their tenacity and losses varied considerably between Eastern and Western Fronts.

Cheers,

Sid.

[donwhite]

Slightly off topic but In english there is also "Hitlers's last levy in East Prussia: Volkssturm Einsatz Battalion Goldap (25/235) 1944-45 by Bruno Just who served in the unit. Its only a small book and is basically his diary of the Battalion's relevant day to day experiences-it was reformed at least twice after its initial combat debut in October'44 and at one stage even had an artillery battery integral to its order of battle.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Hitlers-Last- ... oks&sr=1-1

cheers

[Germanicus]

Hi Richard,

Kissel estimates that only about 100,000 of the several million men of the Volkssturm actually served on a formal front line. That might help explain why ".....there is not much combat in it".

According to AHF member Germanicus, as transmitted by member Larry D. on another thread,10,180 battalions were planned but only about a third were actually formed. "Each battalion ran around 650 officers and men. So, one third of 10,180 would be approx. 3,393 battalions which, at full KStN personnel strength, would total 2,205,450 officers and men."

As far as I can tell from p.127 of Kissel's book, the Volkssturm suffered some 5,000 registered deaths at the time and 29,687 remained reported missing after the war. They came from some 700 different battalions, so only about a quarter of the notional 3,393 battalions formed may actually have seen combat. If so, it would mean that, on average, each of these 700 battalions lost some 50 men killed or missing, and presumably about three times as many wounded. However, I suspect their tenacity and losses varied considerably between Eastern and Western Fronts.

Cheers,

Sid.

Dear Sid, Larry D and all on this post. My respects.

Please read the post I placed on my Volkssturm-Bataillones on page 85. I go into greater detail in relation to the above important question.

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=192705&p=2370717#p2370717

In short according to the following sources :-

Hans Kissel writes the following.

"But this number of the missing may be far too low, because it must be assumed that the relatives of many former members of the Volkssturm
who were living in the Soviet occupied zone and in Austria have not submitted any requests for searches. Also, there are no requests for searches
on the part of relatives of missing men whose place of residence was east of the 'Oder-Neisse' line".

"According to the registers of the missing, the 29,687 missing members of the Volkssturm belonged to about 700 different Volkssturm battalions
which are designated by their battalion numbers or by the names of their commanders. But because missing members of the Volkssturm are
also recorded under the Volkssturm designation of their home Kreis -without any Battalion details – and also because details of the men recorded
as missing in the ‘fortresses’ of Königsberg and Breslau are not shown within the context of their battalions, the overall number of Volkssturm battalions which were in contact with the enemy and suffered casualties is likely to be higher than 700".

Der Deutsche Volkssturm 1944/45: Eine territoriale Miliz im Rahmen der Landesverteidigung - Hans Kissel

THE FALL OF HITLER'S FORTRESS CITY - The Battle for Königsberg 1945, ISABEL DENNY Greenhill Books, London MBI Publishing, St Paul

The Reich was now forced to rely for its final defence on young members of the Hitler Youth who had been trained to prepare for self-sacrifice for the Führer and would now be conscripted into the Volkssturm. The plan was that a 6-million-strong force would have 19,180 battalions.

Source [Matthew Hughes and Chris Mann, Inside Hitler's Germany, London, 2004, p. 170]

http://prussia.online/Data/Book/th/the- ... s_City.pdf

[Germanicus]

Sorry My apologies. I posted accidently something in error.

Most respectfully

Germanicus

[Hans1906]

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Hans