Blood and Steel 3: The Wehrmacht Archive: The Ardennes Offensive, December 1944 to January 1945

by Donald E. Graves

Overview

Blood and Steel 3, The Wehrmacht Archive: The Ardennes Offensive, December 1944 to January 1945 is an extensive and colourful collection of translated German military documents, private letters and diaries relating to one of the most hard-fought battles of the Second World War. This rare material was gathered by the intelligence section of the American, British and Canadian armies and ranges from orders issued by Feldmarschall von Rundstedt down to jokes told by the ordinary German soldier, often at the expense of his superiors. The infamous use by the Germans of troops disguised as Americans, driving captured US vehicles, to sow confusion behind enemy lines, is described as it happened, including a desperate plea by two Germans captured in US uniforms to be spared execution.This unique collection gives an unparalleled insight into German tactics, organisation, morale and attitudes to their opponents during the Battle of the Bulge, the last desperate gamble by Hitler to defeat the Allied offensive in the West, and is required reading for all historians and enthusiasts of the period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848322370
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

DONALD E. GRAVES is one of Canada’s best-known military historians and the author or editor of more than twenty books dealing primarily with early nineteenth-century conflict and Second World War land and naval subjects. Amongst his more recent publications is Dragon Rampant, a history of the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the Napoleonic Wars. Donald E. Graves’ first volume in The Wehrmacht Archive – Normandy 1944 – received highly favourable reviews.

Table of Contents

List of Plates ix

Introduction xi

A Note to the Reader xx

German Ranks and Their Equivalents xxii

Abbreviations and Acronyms Used in Text and Notes xxiii

Chapter 1 Orders: 1 December 1944 to February 1945

Order of the Day, C in C West, 15 December 1944 1

Orders, 66 Corps, December 1944 2

Order of the Day for Christmas 1944 4

Order of the Day from C in C West, 13 February 1945 6

Chapter 2 Special Forces (1): 150th Panzer Brigade and Operation Greiff 7

Special English-Speaking Units in the German Army 7

Orders Regarding Special Units 8

Germans Disguised as US Troops 10

German Deception 14

Germans in US Uniforms 16

Account of Wilhelm Schmidt, Einheit Stielau 18

German Soldiers in American Uniform Department - Appeals and Apologies 19

Chapter 3 Special Forces (2): Kampfgruppe Peiper 21

An American Officer with Kampfgruppe Peiper 21

From the Bulge to the Rhine: An Unhappy Austrian Flak Sergeant with Kampfgruppe Peiper and Afterward 28

Chapter 4 Special Forces (3): Kampfgruppe von der Heydte 90

Parachute Battle Group von der Heydte 90

More About Parachute Battle Group von der Heydte 92

Freiherr von der Heydte's Last Battle 94

Personality: Lieutenant-Colonel von der Heydte 96

Chapter 5 Formation and Unit Organization and History 101

Organization: 1st SS Panzer Division 101

1st SS Panzer Division: Mission and Atrocities 104

9th SS Panzer Division 'Hohenstaufen' 106

12th SS Panzer Division 109

501st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 111

Führer Escort Brigade 112

506th Heavy Tank Battalion 114

Sorting out the Paratroops 115

History of 23rd Parachute Regiment: Interrogation of Freiherr von Frankenburg 116

The Present State of 3rd Párachute Division 120

Radio Intercept Regiment West 122

Chapter 6 Letters To and From the Front 124

'We MARCH!': A German Soldier to His Sister, c. 14 December 1944 124

Christmas in the Ardennes 124

Ardennes Letter 125

Letters from Home 127

Three Whispers from the Reich 128

Chapter 7 Diaries 131

An Infantry Officer's Diary of the Ardennes 131

Diary of a Disgruntled Panzergrenadier 136

Christmas in the Ardennes 139

A Sniper's Diary 140

From Victory to Defeat: Diary of an Artillery Officer 141

Diary of a Stoic Panzergrenadier 146

Chapter 8 Tactics and Methods 149

German Soldier, Use Your Eyes! 149

Tricky American Methods of Fighting 151

Awards for Breaking Out of Encirclement 151

Another Ten Commandments 152

The Germans Prepare for the Winter 153

What the Americans Fear Most 158

German Tactics in Attack 159

Battalion Defence in the Ardennes 161

Loading and Movement of Heavy Tanks 162

Security Measures for the Ardennes Offensive 164

A German Tank Man Talks about German Tanks 165

Tactical Employment of a Werfer Regiment 170

Reduction of Casualties in 116th Panzer Division 173

Feldmarschall Model on War 175

Testing of Allied and Enemy Tanks 178

Gentle Order 180

Chapter 9 Interrogation of Prisoners of War 182

Interrogation of Americans 182

German Methods of Handling Allied Prisoners, Dead and Casualties 184

German Interrogation Methods at Regimental Level 186

Chapter 10 Propaganda 188

What Germany is Saying: German Radio Propaganda 13-19 December 1944 188

German Propaganda for Christmas 1944 190

Canadian Soldiers! 191

What Germany is Saying: German Radio Propaganda for Week ending 14 January 1945 192

Nazi Indoctrination Bulletin 194

This is Your Achievement… or Is It? 195

Propaganda for Paratroops 197

Chapter 11 Morale and Discipline 199

Rewards for Apprehending Deserters 199

Morale of Ardennes-Weary Divisions 200

Masterly - But Not Masterly Enough 202

Stragglers, Please Note! 203

Chapter 12 Humour (Such As It Was) 204

More about Model 204

A Day at the Cage or Never a Dull Moment 205

Chapter 13 Miscellaneous 206

This is the Enemy 207

Please Use Your Influence 208

From the File of Colonel Katzmann 209

Leave Instructions 210

Lieutenant-General Richard Schimpf - 3rd Parachute Division 211

A Nazi Sees the Light 213