Soldiers of the Leibstandarte

Soldiers of the Leibstandarte
Author: Thomas Fischer
Hardback - 352 pages
Publisher: JJ Fedorowicz
Price: £47

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Introduction

Over 60 years have passed since the end of World War Two and yet we are still being treated to books such as this which is lavishly illustrated with many unpublished photographs of one of the most storied Divisions in the German Armed Forces of this period.

The Book

The photographs would be nothing without the text and the author, Thomas Fischer, has done an excellent job of providing the biographies for over 50 members of the LAH, from the Division Commander Mohnke to the ordinary soldiers who fulfilled the 1001 positions needed to staff a Division. Some of the biographies are more extensive and this seems to depend on the soldiers rank. However we do not get many Staff Officers, instead this book focuses on the lower ranks and is the better for it . Because of this approach, it is easy to gain an insight into the everyday workings of units within the Division. Although some of this may appear to be run of the mill, it seems that all members of the LAH were expected to fight and this is amply demonstrated in a few of the biographies from some of the non combat elements of the LAH.

This book may not be for the average modeller. Certainly not in the case of the Armour modeller. Although there is a section on the Panzer units of the LAH, there are not a huge number of photographs of the LAH's Panzers, again this falls outside what this book's purpose is. What there are cover the following Panzers. Early StuG's, Marder II and the P IV G. Other vehicles covered include the Schwimwagen, Sdkfz 250 and 251.

However, for the figure modeller there are hundreds of photographs of uniforms, both front line and dress, dating back to the pre-war years and many of which have not been seen before. Based on that I would say this is a book a figure modeller should consider if they want to model a member of the LAH.

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Conclusion

If you are interested in any of the major battles of the Second World War that the LAH took part in then this book would be a definite addition to your library. Not only for the photographs, but the biographies provide the type of first hand information that makes a book like this stand above other publications on the LAH.

Contents

Hard cover, (12”x9 ½”), English text and 352 pages. Almost unique among publications concerning the Leibstandarte is the appearance of nearly 700 photographs, 165 images of award documents and more than 70 other illustrations, with almost all of the pre-war and wartime photographs having been previously unpublished! In addition to never-before-seen candid images of Hitler, Dietrich and a number of other leading military personalities, there are exceptional photographs of the forces in the field and with their weapons and equipment. In all, there are 352 pages, with numerous appendices and extensive footnoting.

The book is separated into chapters dealing with different Units of the LAH. There are ten sections and the largest is the section on the Artillery. Other units covered are the Flak, Armour and Signals.