Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Huertgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich available on April 20 2016 from Amazon for 18.77
ISBN bar code 9781612003054 ξ1 registered April 20 2016
Product category is Book
Manufacturered by Casemate
Product weight is 0 lbs.
As the Allies were approaching the German frontier at the beginning of September 1944, the German Armed Forces responded with a variety of initiatives designed to regain the strategic initiative. While the "Wonder Weapons" such as the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 missile and the Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter are widely recognized as being the most prominent of these initiatives upon which Germany pinned so much hope, the Volks-Grenadier Divisions (VGDs) are practically unknown. Often confused with the Volkssturm, the Home Guard militia, VGDs have suffered an undeserved reputation as second-rate formations, filled with young boys and old men suited to serve only as cannon fodder. This groundbreaking book, now reappearing as a new edition, shows that VGDs were actually conceived as a new, elite corps loyal to the National Socialist Party composed of men from all branches of Hitler's Wehrmacht and equipped with the finest ground combat weapons available.Whether fighting from defensive positions or spearheading offensives such as the Battle of the Bulge, VGDs initially gave a good account of themselves in battle. Using previously unpublished unit records, Allied intelligence and interrogation reports and above all interviews with survivors, the author has crafted an in-depth look at a late-war German infantry company, including many photographs from the veterans themselves. In this book we follow along with the men of the 272nd VGD's Fusilier Company from their first battles in the Huertgen Forest to their final defeat in the Harz Mountains. Along the way we learn the enormous potential of VGDs . . . and feel their soldiers' heartbreak at their failure.Among Douglas Nash’s previous works is Hell’s Gate: The Battle for the Cherkassy Pocket, January-February 1944, a work unsurpassed for insight into the other side of the hill in WWII.REVIEWS In this new edition of his text, author Douglas E. Nash investigates the contribution of the Volks-Grenadier Divisions (VGDs) of the German army to the Nazi war effort throughout World War II. Beginning with their first battles in the Hrtgen Forest and culminating in their final defeat at the hands of United States forces in the Harz Mountains, the author reveals the true nature of the VGDs as elite ground forces selected from all branches of the Wehrmact to serve the interests of the National Socialist Party. The author is a retired U.S. Army Colonel currently employed by the U.S. Navy’s Marine Corps University in Virginia.Protoview
^Douglas E. NashVictory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Huertgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich, Casemate. Amazon. ISBN 9781612003054 (revised Apr 2016)
This is an excellent book describing first of all the problems of jelling and training the new influx of men from the Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine along with the "old hands" of the remnants of the 272nd ID, which was for all intents and purposes destroyed in Normandy. It describes the organization and purpose of the VG Divisions and the importance placed on their fusilier battalions. What is interesting is how all down time ,once sent into action, was used for t..
