German divisional histories - quality and availability

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Dutto1
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#421

Post by Dutto1 » 20 Sep 2016, 00:14

krichter33 wrote:"Ghost Division" the new 11. Panzer Division history by Ganz from Stackpole books in now available. I haven't read it yet, but going through it reveals it to be very detailed, based on a lot of primary archival sources...
Does the book have many eyewitness accounts mixed into the text <

Regards,

Ron

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krichter33
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#422

Post by krichter33 » 20 Sep 2016, 02:22

not much at all, just some...


Jan-Hendrik
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#423

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 27 Nov 2017, 15:19

Richard Hargreaves wrote:Ewald Klapdor, Mit den Panzerregiment 5 Wiking im Osten, Selbstverlag, 1981

As I wrote in previous post this cost me a lot of money (120 Euros 8O). And as Trollelite pointed out "that one is good". Oh yes. Not, perhaps 120 Euros of goodness. But then how do you ever put a value on a good book... :D

Anyway, what you get, as with all Klapdor's books - Die Entscheidung: Invasion 1944 and Der Ostfeldzug - this is a unit history mixed with memoir (there's more of the former than the latter). And it's first rate. Klapdor obviously spent a lot of time tracking down veterans for their diaries, memoirs and battle reports. He also spent considerable time digging out maps, war diaries and other material at BA-MA.

The net result is one of the very best unit histories and, for a privately-published affair, it's very nicely produced (colour maps in some cases, no less; I actually like the contemporary maps being reproduced, but that's a 'me thing').

For anyone writing about the Caucasus (me), Cherkassy pocket, Warsaw 1944 and Hungary and Austria 1945 (me too one day...), it's a must have. Such a shame that copies are so few and far between and when they do appear they they cost a fortune. :(
Just ordered a copy....via amazon, for 29,80€ 8-) :lol:

All the best

Jan-Hendrik

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I have questions
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#424

Post by I have questions » 18 Jan 2020, 21:28

Is there a good unit history of the 83rd Infanterie-Division?

Jan-Hendrik
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#425

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 19 Jan 2020, 08:23

Yes.

'Reinhard Tiemann: Geschichte der 83. Infanterie-Division 1939 - 1945, Podzun, Bad Nauheim 1960, 381 Seiten'

Jan-Hendrik

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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#426

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 04 Jul 2020, 10:40

A very new one arrived today:

Ludger Tewes - 'Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland im Feldzug gegen die Sowjetunion 1942 bis 1945'

Really a big one, 1284 pages !

Jan-Hendrik

Michate
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#427

Post by Michate » 01 Oct 2020, 10:33

Jan-Hendrik wrote:
04 Jul 2020, 10:40
A very new one arrived today:

Ludger Tewes - 'Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland im Feldzug gegen die Sowjetunion 1942 bis 1945'

Really a big one, 1284 pages !

Jan-Hendrik
Hello Jan-Hendrik,

is it a good one, e.g. does it contain substantial information beyond Spaeter, Jung etc.?
I am particulaly interested in the period summer 43 (Kursk, Orel, Kharkov) and spring 44-45.

Kind regards,
Michate

Jan-Hendrik
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#428

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 01 Oct 2020, 11:35

It is a real good one!

Using data from BAMA/ NARA , personal diaries etc.

Jan-Hendrik

Michate
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#429

Post by Michate » 01 Oct 2020, 15:32

Thank you!

Tamari
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#430

Post by Tamari » 01 Oct 2020, 17:29

Hello to all of you,

I totally agree to Jan-Hendrik's assessment about Ludger Tewes great book about PzGrDiv Großdeutschland. I had the pleasure to read some pages at the bookstore at the train-station.

I really like that this book is not one of this typical older dry unit histories that covers all its battles and movements in detail but lacks the broader context of the unit in history, the social context of its leadership and so on.

Tewes delivers details about the unit's leadership and their rivalries and turfs (p.e. Cord von Hobe's opinion about his superiors and his relationship to Franz Halder). Tewes also compares GD with its brothers-in-arms of the Waffen-SS especially when they had fought close together in the Charkov area.

All in all I think it will be a very good book for people who are interested in GD and people who are interested how such an elite unit was formed and for what reason by whom.

Best regards

Robert

Jan-Hendrik
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#431

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 15 Dec 2020, 09:12

Now I am 'through' (durch)....

A really, really good one!

Ok, the last chapters are (for me) a little bit 'above the rim') as his argumentation gets a bit weak.

And his comparisons GD/ WSS are sometimes...weak, too.

But all in all it is the best german unit history of the last years...much to read, much info, NO pics :D

Jan-Hendrik

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hucks216
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#432

Post by hucks216 » 15 Dec 2020, 14:46

Jan-Hendrik wrote:
04 Jul 2020, 10:40
A very new one arrived today:

Ludger Tewes - 'Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland im Feldzug gegen die Sowjetunion 1942 bis 1945'

Really a big one, 1284 pages !

Jan-Hendrik
In case anyone is wondering or waiting, the publisher has confirmed that there are no plans for this to be published in English.

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kulasec
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#433

Post by kulasec » 21 Jan 2021, 18:17

Hello,

I can very well recommended the book .
I met the author during his visit at our GD meeting in Munster. He also had contacted many veterans. But he did a very detailled rechearch work in the several archives. The book describes many wiews on the unit.

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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#434

Post by DT-SC » 11 Jul 2021, 15:50

What is an opinion on Der Weg der 87. Infanterie Division von 1939-1945 overall quality and reliability? Thank you

carmilhan
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Re: German divisional histories - quality and availability

#435

Post by carmilhan » 15 Nov 2021, 16:24

Tewe's book is one of the most unstructured and worst history books I have read in the last 10 years. And I have struggled through about 1100 pages in the hope that it would be better!

So that I don't have to go into excessive detail - which I'm sure would be very long - I'll refer to the extensive reviews on amazon for this book in terms of content.

Best regards
carmilhan

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