TO BATTLE: The Formation and History of the 14. Gallician SS Volunteer Division - Hardcover

Melnyk, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1874622418 ISBN 13: 9781874622413

Publisher: Helion and Company, 2008

Synopsis

Of all the 'foreign' Waffen-SS divisions, the 14th has arguably maintained a higher public profile and continued to attract more attention in the UK, USA, Canada, Russia, Ukraine and Poland than any other.

Drawing extensively upon a wide variety of sources, the author details the abortive history of German/Ukrainian relations during the first half of the twentieth century which preceded the formation of the Galician Division in the spring of 1943.

Set firmly within the political context of the time, this work demonstrates that from the outset both German and Ukrainian architects of the Division sought to exploit the formation for their own conflicting agendas.

The author gives a careful assessment of the Division's military engagements and explains the reasons for its tragic demise at the Battle of Brody, emphasizing how the military initiative and vast material superiority of the Red Army led to its virtual destruction during the Soviet summer offensive of 1944. The book concludes with the cessation of hostilities, when the Division, despite being the focus of Stalin's attention, escaped the forced repatriation operations undertaken by the Western Allies in the immediate postwar period.

Key Features
A widely-researched, accurate, detailed and impartial account of a particular Waffen-SS division which continues to fascinate

Contains detailed appendices

Presents over 250 previously unpublished photographs, combined with maps, documents and other illustrations

Set to become one of the most important English-language books to appear on the Waffen-SS in recent years

About this title

About the Author:

Historian Michael James Melnyk has researched the Galician Division exclusively for over two and a half decades amassing a huge amount of material on this topical unit. An established author and authority on the subject, he has extended his previous works to encompass an extraordinary level of detail in this latest offering. He is regularly consulted as an expert on this subject and has participated in television and radio documentaries for the BBC and independent stations, as well as providing source material on related topics.

Review:

"This book is a fine addition to literature on WWII and serves as a model of how history should be written. Recently a host of poorly researched and often sensationalised works have been published on the German Army and in particular SS formations. This work stands in vivid counterpoint to these 'potboilers'. The author's impeccable scholarship is readily apparent and the book will be of lasting value." (David M. Glantz)

About this edition

• Publisher: Helion and Company
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1874622418
• ISBN 13: 9781874622413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352