The 12th SS

The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division (volumes 1 and 2)
Hubert Meyer

This divisional history of the famed 12. SS-Panzer Division 'Hitlerjugend' is written by it's staff officer, Mr Hubert Meyer, and is split into 2 paperback volumes from Stackpole publishing, unlike the original out of print version by J.J Fedorowicz publishing. The book is extremely well researched with some photos, personal wartime accounts from soldiers of the division and detail of the fighting up to platoon level with lists of daily casualties. However there are many parts which are dry reading and unfortunately it heavily covers Normandy, in which almost every aspect of the Waffen-SS in combat there has been covered by divisional histories and books by writers like Michael Reynolds, while mention on the campaign in Hungary in 1945, although detailed, covers less than one quarter of the whole book, and volume 1 exclusively covers Normandy, and so does nearly the first half of volume 2. If one is looking for light reading and exciting combat accounts like Black Edelweiss, then this is not the book for you, however if one is interested in this division and the Normandy Campaign it's a 'must have'.

K