A soldier with the German Army’s Wallonian Legion chronicles his experience as a foreign volunteer for the Nazi war machine during WWII. A french-speaking Belgian, Fernand Kaisergruber volunteered to fight with the military force that occupied his country. His detailed chronicle of that time reads like a travelogue of the Eastern Front campaign. Until recently, very little was known of the tens of thousands of foreign nationals who fought with the Germans. Kaisergruber’s book sheds light on issues of collaboration, the experiences and motives of volunteers, and the reactions they encountered in occupied countries. Kaisergruber draws upon his wartime diaries, those of his comrades, and his later work with them while secretary of their postwar veteran's league. Although unapologetic for his service, Khemakes no special claims for the German cause. He writes instead from his firsthand experience as a young man entering war for the first time. His narrative is full of observations of fellow soldiers, commanders, Russian civilians, and battlefields.

The everyday, circuitry, and scalability -- Sociality, reciprocity and reciprocity -- Power -- Parley, truce and ceasefire -- Everyday peace on the battlefield -- Gender and everyday peace -- Conflict disruption.

'The Reckoning is vivid history, the tragic Eastern Front brought to life through the widest range of Russian and German sources I've ever read. Bravo.' – Peter Caddick-Adams, author and broadcaster From critically acclaimed Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar, The Reckoning is a masterful re-evaluation of the fateful year of 1944, and how the Red Army irrevocably turned the tide of war until the final defeat within the heart of Germany itself was guaranteed. The fighting throughout the Ukraine and Romania was brutal, with the German defence dogged and desperate. But for too long the Wehrmacht had relied on the superior combat prowess of its fighting men. What had not been taken into account, however, was that the Red Army would not only rely on its sheer size, but would fine-tune its fighting performance from its senior commanders right down to the individual soldier battling both fear and the elements to take each line, each trench, each inch of land. Ultimately it is a story not of how the Germans lost, as is all too often told, but of how the Russians increasingly learned how to win.

From an award-winning and bestselling historian, the first comprehensive military history in over fifty years of Hitler's famous and infamous personal army: the Waffen-SS. The Waffen-SS was one of the most feared combat organizations of the twentieth century. Originally formed as a protection squad for Adolf Hitler it became the military wing of Heinrich Himmler's SS and a key part of the Nazi state, with nearly 900,000 men passing through its ranks. The Waffen-SS played a crucial role in furthering the aims of the Third Reich which made its soldiers Hitler's political operatives. During its short history, the elite military divisions of the Waffen-SS acquired a reputation for excellence, but their famous battlefield record of success was matched by their repeated and infamous atrocities against both soldiers and civilians. Waffen-SS is the first definitive single-volume military history of the Waffen-SS in more than fifty years. In considering the actions of its leading personalities, including Himmler, Sepp Dietrich, and Otto Skorzeny, and analyzing its specialist training and ideological outlook, eminent historian Adrian Gilbert chronicles the battles and campaigns that brought the Waffen-SS both fame and infamy.

Under the surveillance of General von Seeckt the Germans re-established their military, which Hitler utilised for his aggression of recovering Germany’s military greatness. This book explores some of the leading military figures. The often-ignored Field Marshal Keitel is explored, to see if there were any substance in the Allied belief that this Chief of the OKW was the driving force behind initial German success or was he merely Hitler’s lackey and bureaucrat. He was derided by his contemporaries because of his unstinting Prussian obedience to Hitler. This sense of total compliance was also reflected by General Paulus, who although obedient, was reluctant to carry out Hitler’s barbaric orders relating to Jews and prisoners, but otherwise was obedient and trusting of Hitler even though he knew it would lead to military disaster. It took time in a Russian prison camp to turn him against the once adored German dictator where he eventually became anti-Nazi. In striking contrast to the failed Paulus Field Marshal Manstein is examined. He was a skilled strategist and tactician and proved this in his victory in France. He lacked the social sophistication of many other leading military commanders, but he was one of the very few who had the courage to challenge Hitler’s military directions and decisions. He was eventually dismissed by Hitler and postwar wrote two books to regain his reputation, despite the fact he was convicted of war crimes, and whether he deserves a pedestal remains with the reader.

"The classic exploration of Eastern religious thinking and philosophy"--Cover.

Reese writes about her prophetic journey to a deeper intimacy with God in an attempt to inspire readers to discover the never-ending love God has for them. (Christian)