In Final Defense of the Reich

by Rusieki, Stephen M.

• ISBN13: 9781591147442
• ISBN10: 1591147441
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-10-15
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Summary

In April 1945 the American 71st Infantry Division exacted the final vestiges of life from the Reich's 6th SS Mountain Division in central Germany. This analysis of the battle demonstrates that the Wehrmacht's last gasp on the Western Front was anything but a whimper, as some historians charge. Instead, Stephen Rusiecki argues, the Wehrmacht fought to extract every last bit of pain possible. The book follows the histories of both the German and American divisions from their inception until their fateful confrontation in April 1945 and serves as a testament to the human experience in war, both from the perspective of the soldiers and from the civilians who suffered the brunt of the fighting. This book is published in cooperation with the Association of the U.S. Army.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Figures	p. viii
Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Prologue	p. xvii
Birth of the Nord Division	p. 1
Operation Nordwind and Beyond	p. 23
The Saar-Palatinate Falls	p. 46
Convergence	p. 77
Nord Falls Behind, 31 March 1945	p. 91
The First Day: Assenheim and Altenstadt, 1 April 1945	p. 108
The Second Day: Waldensberg, 2 April 1945	p. 172
The Second Day: Leisenwald, 2 April 1945	p. 234
The Third Day: Dissolution, 3 April 1945	p. 284
Completing the Record	p. 323
Table of Comparative Ranks	p. 356
Glossary of Terms and Equipment	p. 358
Select Order of Battle	p. 363
Notes	p. 371
Selected Bibliography	p. 415
Index	p. 425
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