In March 1940, Oberleutnant Wilhelm Walther transferred from
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5, an armored reconnaissance unit, to
Bau-Lehr-Bataillon z.b.V. 800 - forerunner of what would soon be known
as the 'Brandenburger'. Two months later, he led a commando action in
the Netherlands and became the first of his unit to be awarded the
Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross). By May 1944, Walther was an Oberstleutnant
and an experienced regimental commander in what had evolved as the
Division 'Brandenburg'. He would eventually join Obersturmbannführer
Otto Skorzeny's SS-Jagdverbände as Chief of Staff, before seeing out the
last days of the war with the short-lived Schutzkorps Alpenland.
More than 200 images, together with English captions, portray the life
and times of this career officer, from the German annexation of the
Sudetenland in 1938, to operations in Russia, Greece and the Balkans
during 1941-44.
In comparison with other units of the Second World War, relatively
little has been published about Germany's commando forces. This is
hardly surprising, considering the paucity of source material available
and the air of mystery and intrigue still surrounding this specialist
formation.
This unique collection of rare images was sourced from the photograph
album of Wilhelm Walther and is sure to appeal to all with an interest
in the war in the West and on the Eastern Front, as well as to militaria
collectors, modelers and reenactment groups.
