- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Weidenfeld Military; UNKNOWN edition (11 Nov 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 185409176X
- ISBN-13: 978-1854091765
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,792,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Book Description
A fine study of the creation of battle groups - shock troops - and the skill in using them that gained for the Wehrmacht victories throughout the Second World War.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Battle groups were key men taken from their units and thrown together to form crack storm troops. The author here relates the action of these groups from the opening shots in 1939 through all theatres until the final collapse in 1945. The book should offer an insight into the heart of the war.
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First Sentence
Helmuth von Moltke, the famous German military commander of the 19th century, wrote "...no plan of operations will ever extend, with any sort of certainty, beyond the first encounter with the hostile main force", and also stated that success in battle was gained through the commander's ability "...to recognise the changed situation, to order its foreseeable course and to execute this energetically...". Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Helmuth von Moltke, the famous German military commander of the 19th century, wrote "...no plan of operations will ever extend, with any sort of certainty, beyond the first encounter with the hostile main force", and also stated that success in battle was gained through the commander's ability "...to recognise the changed situation, to order its foreseeable course and to execute this energetically...". Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It would be very pleasant if the author of this book wrote less like a boys' own comic book and more like a real historian; the subject is interesting and colouful enough not to need the style Lucas employs. Worse, the style ain't up to much either. Perhaps the exclamation mark in the title should have given the game away. I hoped it was homage to Achtung- Panzer! written by one of the architects of modern mobile warfare, Heinz Guderian.
Lucas could also do with cutting down the number of studies of battle group operations and instead engaging fewer in some more depth. We are left with a large array of bare sketches, with few real details and little real understanding as to why battle groups were so important or effective.
This is a book written by an enthusiast, and its quality and scholarship reflect it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Well written collection of vigenettes on Kampfgruppes
7 Mar 2001
Format:Hardcover
Not a history of the development of the infamous adhoc battlegroups that the German army and Waffen SS used with such great effect in WW2, but a compilation of articles detailing 17 separate operational level engagements that superbly illustrate the challenges of forming these improvised composite units under stressful conditions and their ability to influence the results of a battle out of proportion to their modest numbers. The articles feature battle group examples from Case White thru final desperate defense of East Prussia against the Red army. Its a concise work overall {173 pages} but Lucas richly endows his articles with vivid imagery of the desperate horror of the battlefield in addition to his solid research. Could probably have used better maps to go along with his detailed expositions on the tactical environments thus presented but this is hardly more than a minor quibble. Definitely recommended for the slightly above casual to serious military history buff.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Variety of examples
3 Jan 2003
Format:Hardcover
Given the prevalence by necessity towards the end of the war , this book provides interesting examples throughout the war of adhoc battle groups. Typical easy reading Lucas style makes it accessible to readers without greatly adding to the understanding of this facet of military experience.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A complilation of German Battlegroup formations + exploits
3 Jan 2005
Format:Hardcover
An excellent compilation of various battlegroups (Kampfgruppe) during various phases and fronts during WWII. This is a must for the military enthusiast and would be very useful for wargamers. My only critisism is that I wish there were more chapters!! A very good read. The book relates the operations of 17 different specific battlegroups, including operations in Poland, France, many in Russia and later again on the eastern front as the war was brought right through the Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and Prussia. There is a chapter devoted to a Hitler Youth unit operating in France in 1944. One of the most interesting chapters relates the creation of a Kampfgruppe that was to operate in England during operation "Sealion". Highly recommended.
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