Feldgrau.net

Richard, could you tell us more about that last book by David Rolf?

Rolf wrote The Bloody Road to Tunis, which covers the campaign in Northwest Africa from 8 Nov 1942 until 12 May 1943, focusing primarily on the fighting in Tunisia. His is the first operational study of that campaign, though from the Allied perspective. It's not bad at all - though he focuses primarily on the British Forces, he gives more than adequate coverage of the actions of the Americans, the Germans, Italians and French. If you read this and Atkingson's An Army at Dawn, you've got 2/3 of the story - what's needed still an account from the German perspective from the operational level. I highly recommend Rolf - it's very well written as well.
Regards,
Doug Nash

I have heard from a relaible source (the author) that "Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp" began shipping today. I just faxed in my order to Aberjona. Her's a link to Aberjona's Web site for more details on the book and how to order.

http://www.aberjonapress.com/catalog/vwbtg/index.html

John

My copy of "Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp" arrived in the mail today. Glancing through it I can see that this book contains a lot of new photos that are nicely printed along with plenty of detailed maps. It looks sufficiently interesting that I'll put aside the good book that I am presently reading, " A Vineyard in Tuscany", and start on Doug's.

Has anyone finished reading their copy and could they post some comments here?

John

I've received my copy, and I'm presently reading it. It is impressive, but I'll save the detailed comments for the review I'll be posting once I have finished. For the moment, I'll simply say that Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp is highly recommended for those who want to know about late war conditions in the German Army.

Marc Rikmenspoel wrote:...Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp is highly recommended for those who want to know about late war conditions in the German Army.

Or more about the VGD concept in general!

I can't wait to read the reviews from those fortunate enough to have received the book so far!

Well, I read the initial manuscript, but I know he made some changes. I'm looking forward to seeing what!

Doug,

Glad to hear your second book is out.

Nate (308th CA BDE)

I finished reading “Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp” today. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to others. This book was especially detailed concerning the organization and structure of the Volksgrenadier divisions along with the associated armaments. The author added a personal touch to the book by describing the personal lives of many of the members of the 272nd VGD. The main characters in the 272nd Füsilier Company were generally sympathetic and one can’t help but be a little saddened when reading about how they met their ends. One thing that struck me was the frequent instances of large numbers of prisoners being taken by both sides, often after little, if any, fighting had taken place. I’m not sure if it had something to do with the stage of the war or the differences between the opposing forces on the Eastern Front. I found the book especially meaningful as I had previously visited the battlefield during the mid-1970s while stationed in Germany. It was easy to visualize the scenes that the author was describing. Signs of the fighting could still be found in the forested areas where artillery craters were in abundance and field gear scattered all over. Below are some of the items that I picked up.

Surprisingly, I found a couple of examples of the shortcomings of automated spell-checkers on pages 149 and 233

John

John,
I saw many of the same things you describe during my various journeys to the area - there are still many foxholes, trenches and of course the remains of Westwall bunkers and dragon's teeth. I wasn't really looking for relics though, but I did come away with a rather nasty 12-inch long shell fragment (with brass rotating band) from the field west of the village of Huertgen that I cleaned up and polished. I also broke off a chunk of a demolished bunker (#358) that Klaus Schulz had defended when he was there as a Fahnenjunker with the 353rd Inf.Div. in Sep. 1944. The area that most fascinated me was where I slept one night under the trees - it was an area about 500 meters west of the village of Germeter along the eastern bank of the Kall. This area, which was carpeted with smallish fir trees, was literally pock-marked with shell holes and foxholes - from both sides, probably. Though the features had been softened by 60 years of erosion and blankets of pine needles, you couldn't help but notice that some very serious fighting had taken place there. Signs of the fighting are still all over the place, though the buildings themselves bear few of the scars (just about everything had been destroyed and had to be rebuilt).
As for the typos, that surprised me - so I went back to my original manuscript and lo and behold, my original spelling was correct but at some point along the way, during of the many edits, someone used a spell checker with slightly different dictionary and made the change to the manuscript. After viewing the manuscript about a hundred times, I missed that one (and who knows how many others) because after a while, your eyes glaze over and you can't spot errors even if your life depended upon it. So I guess those will have to be fixed if there is a second edition. Also, I noticed that a detailed footnote about how the Jg.Pz. 38 came to be called a Hetzer also got deleted - can't explain that one, though I guess that AFV purists everywhere are probably shaking their heads at my ignorance -
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the book - after writing and proofing it a thousand times or so, I was getting pretty tired of it, to tell you the truth and was wondering if I had accomplished what I set out to do. From what I've heard so far from about a dozen people who have read it, I guess I struck a nerve, in a good way. Hope that this addresses the historical record and shows people that the VGDs could be pretty damned good and certainly, at least when they were first fielded, did not consist of callow teenagers and drooling old men.
Cheers,
Doug

Also, I noticed that a detailed footnote about how the Jg.Pz. 38 came to be called a Hetzer also got deleted - can't explain that one, though I guess that AFV purists everywhere are probably shaking their heads at my ignorance -

(Soooo Doug, what exactly did the footnote say? Come on--you can trust the Commissar, right.......? )

Bestens,
David

Hello -
Remy Spezzano and I are putting together a book about the siege of Kovel from March to May 1944 and are looking for quality photos. This little-known battle, that began with a Soviet encirclement of some German security troops located on the strategic Brest-Litovsk lateral railway hub in the town of Kovel, quickly morphed into a classic relief operation, where German mobile forces (including elements of the Wiking Division) carried out a grueling weeks-long advance to fight their way into "Fortress Kovel" and rescue the thousands of men trapped therein and once again open the rail line for traffic. Many of you have seen the photos of the brand-new Panthers of II./SS-Pz.Rgt. 5 fighting their way into the village, as well as those of General Gille who was flown in to command the fortress. However, what we are looking for at RZM are quality PK, war correspondent, or press photos depicting elements of both encircled and relieving forces, from both the Waffen-SS and Heer. If you have any photos that fit this discription, please send me a PM - should we use your photos, you will recieve full credit in the acknowledgements.
Best regards,
Doug Nash

Doug,

Just finished "Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp". Really great read, thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next installment!!

Nate