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Dutch Waffen-SS Legion & Brigade 1941-44 book cover
Dutch Waffen-SS Legion & Brigade 1941-44
2020
First Published
4.80
Average Rating
48
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This illustrated title details the campaign history, uniforms, and insignia of a major foreign volunteer formation of the Waffen-SS before its final transformation into a full division in the winter of 1944. Goebbels' 1941 propaganda campaign to present Germany's invasion of the USSR as a battle for European civilization against Asian barbarism convinced many men in occupied “Germanic” European countries, such as Scandinavia and the Low Countries, to volunteer to fight on the Russian Front. One of the strongest national legions of such a kind was raised in the Netherlands, where it was supported by a large pro-Nazi movement led by Anton Mussert. The 3,000-man Netherlands Volunteer Legion fought on the Leningrad front in regimental strength, from the Red Army's winter 1941/42 counter-offensive until April 1943. The survivors were then reinforced to form a 5,500-strong Panzergrenadier Brigade, and after anti-partisan service in Croatia, they returned to Army Group North as part of Steiner's III SS Panzer Korps, fighting in the most arduous battles of 1943—44 until driven back into Pomerania. In the final months of the war the division formed the nucleus of the new 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division “Nederland.” In this illustrated study of the Dutch Waffen-SS Legion and Brigade, specialist Massimiliano Afiero explores the full history of this important formation from its establishment in 1941 until it was incorporated into the “Nederland” Division in 1944. Contemporary photographs and full-color illustrations support the text and reveal key details including aspects of uniform and insignia.

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Author

Massimiliano Afiero
Author · 2 books
Massimiliano Afiero was born in in Afragola (Naples Province) in 1964. An information technology teacher and programmer, he has been interested in military history since his youth, specializing in the history of Axis units during the Second World War and particularly in the Waffen-SS. He has published numerous articles in the principal Italian-language history magazines and has contributed to many military history websites and published numerous books dealing with foreign volunteers in the German armed forces during the Second World War. In December 2015, he began publication of the magazine, The European Volunteer (L'Assalto Edizioni), dedicated to the military history of Axis units during the Second World War and in January 2017, he began publication of the magazine The Axis Forces. He lives in Naples, Italy.
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