Men of Steel: 1st SS Panzer Corps 1944-45

By Michael Reynolds

Book Overview

This authoritative account completes the history of the only Panzer Divisions to bear Hitler's name - 1st and 12th SS - as they lead the last German offensives of the war - through the Ardennes in December 1944 and in Hungary two months later and it concludes with their capitulation and captivity in Austria in May 1945.

Men of Steel traces the origins, formation and early history of I SS Panzer Corps.

Packed with detail it covers the German retreat from Normandy to the West Wall, the Leibstandarte & Hitlerjugend Panzer Divisions' crucial part in the 'Battle of the Bulge', Jochen Peiper's dash for the Meuse, the 'Malmedy Massacre', the 'Battle of the Twin Villages', Bastogne, the elimination of the Gran Bridgehead in Hungary, February 1945, Hitler's last gamble on the Eastern Front--the 'Lake Balaton' offensive, the attempt to stem the Soviet 'Tide from the East', the last desperate battles to defend the Greater German Reich and the final capitulation to the Americans.

It also includes information on the unit's captivity and war crimes.

Illustrated with rare photographs, many high quality maps and appendices.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932033513
• ISBN13: 9781932033519
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Perfect book

The best book about the LSSAH (1st SS Division)and the 12th SS Divsion "Hitlerjugend". The British Army admires it, many the best world historians and WW2 experts admire it, so there should be no question about reliability of this book. You can find every single thing about the history of those 2 SS Divisions. This is probably the best book about the 1st SS Panzer Corps you can buy. This book is highly usefull not only for people interested in just reading about history, but also modelars can find it extremely useful when trying to make a diarama or preparing a battle simulation with their models. This book has information about all officers of those 2 Divisions (from lieutenant to the highest officers), all engagements on both Eastern and Western front, numbers of casualties, reinfocements and strength of units through the war. I have not found anything missing in this book. It is great work, both in style of writing and also in research that had to be done. Everybody interested in WW2 should have this book at home. It is worth much more than 20 dollars.

Interesting book, but biased

Reynolds' wrote Men of Steel by distilling German histories of the I SS Panzer Corps, US Army AAR's, other published sources, and a few personal interviews and trips. In other words, it's more a compilation of what's out there than a book shedding light on unknown corners of WW2 (a la David Glantz's books). In any event, its an interesting book, because you can follow things through the German perspective. There are three problems with the book. The larger problem is that Reynolds implies the SS atrocities were no big deal. He mentions many times where the LAH murdered surrendered US soldiers and Belgian civilians, but gives a few US examples. I think, after "Citizen Soldiers" and "Saving Private Ryan", we all understand not every German trying to surrender made it to a POW camp. However, Reynolds' examples include the shooting of a German prisoner trying to escape, the death of a tanker bailing out his tank in the middle of a battle, and the mistaken grenading of Belgian civilians by a green US soldier (and the survivors were all immediately given medical attention). These "c'est la guerre" examples don't come close to the organized murder of prisoners at Malmady (which Reynolds treats strangely as well). The other problem is that US formations smaller than a regiment and Soviet formations smaller than a division are typically not named in the text, and a footnote identifies the unit. This is just annoying. Lastly, there are many cases where the US AARs and German histories don't match up. Sometimes Reynolds presents all sources and says "decide". Sometime Reynolds copies the US AAR but says "this is definitely wrong". If a source is wrong, it's better for him to omit it, and write what his research and analysis say was the actual course of events.With those caveats, it's an interesting book, and a good counterpoint to the US-centered WW2 histories we're used to reading.

Buy it

I am very glad I gave this a chance, because I have not read any of Michael Reynold's previous works, and from the outside, this appeared to be pretty dry reading. Not so.This is an excellent overview of the ISS PK and their operations during the latest stages of the war. Michael Reynold's is extremely objective in this, letting the reader form his own opinions and even encouraging creative thought if the the details of a given battle arent fully recorded. It is extremely well researched, and an absolutely indispensable tool for learning about the the 1 and 12SS Panzer Divisions. Men of Steel gradually shows how the two panzer divisions became intertwined and eventually fought less as a Corps, and more as a single division they worked so closely.I really cant wait to pick up Reynold's other works. And wish I had read the first book in the history of the 1SS Panzer Corps in Normandy before this... Definetly pick it up and enjoy.

Great sequel!

This book is a great sequel to "Steel Inferno". For readers of the first book, some of the early parts of the book can be skipped. A great account of the fighting record of these two infamous Waffen-SS units. Told descriptively from first person accounts and the author's great writing. A must for those who enjoyed the first work.