PANZERDIVISION HITLERJUGEND - Tome 1 - Volume 1

Find the true story of the 12.SS-Panzerdivision “Hitlerjugend” 1943-1944! After several decades of research and with the help of more than a hundred veterans of the Division, the author offers you an encyclopedic study of this famous elite unit which will ultimately count 3 volumes. This first part of Volume 1 reviews the history of divisional formations (Divisions-Stab, SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt.25, SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt.26, SS-Pz.Pi.Btl.12, SS -Pz.Aufkl.Abt.12, SS-Pz.Art.Rgt.12, SS-Flak-Abt.12, SS-Pz.Nachr.Abt.12), from their establishment in the summer of 1943 in Flanders , until June 1944 in Normandy. But also all the creation processes of this Panzerdivision. What was the exact nature of this unit nicknamed “Baby-Division” by the Allies? From the idea of ​​forming a large unit entirely made up of Hitler Youth volunteers as young as 17 years old until the operational availability of the 12.SS-Panzer Division, find out what methods of training and indoctrination have been employed by Fritz Witt, now 35, one of the youngest division commanders in the German army. How did he and his officers manage to turn these teenagers into soldiers who turned out to be formidable combatants during the fighting in the summer of 1944 in Normandy?

You will follow through numerous unpublished documents and testimonies the history of this unit, from the methods of recruiting the Black Order and its excesses (forced recruitment) to the evolution of the training of young volunteers, their indoctrination, their daily lives, possible problems of discipline and behavior ... All the answers to these questions and so many others, associated with the history of the units, make this 496-page book essential documentation for a better understanding of the Battle of Normandy.

Exceptional iconography with more than 800 photographs and documents - including more than 500 unpublished - (period photographs, portraits, Soldbücher and archive documents, etc.).

A reference work on one of the most famous Divisions of the III.Reich, for all the specialists of the German units engaged in Normandy 1944 and the enthusiasts of military history!