Waffen-SS Armour in Normandy presents the combat history of SS-Panzer
Regiment 12 and SS-Panzerjäger Abteilung 12 in the Battle for France
from June to the end of August 1944 based on transcriptions of their
original unit war diaries from the Military History Archives in Prague.
Both armored units belonged to the 12.SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend.
SS-Panzer Regiment 12 was fully equipped with Panzer IV and Panther
tanks. The main AFV of SS-Panzerjäger Abteilung 12 was the Jagdpanzer IV
L/48 tank destroyer.
The structure of the volume is partly source publication (documents of
SS-Panzer Regiment 12) and partly study (the deployment of
SS-Panzerjäger Abteilung 12). The text was written and footnoted by the
author based upon original wartime files in Prague that have remained
almost unknown.
The book starts with the story of the units' establishment and training
in 1943/1944, including, for example, the shipments of equipment, orders
of battle and tactical numbers of the tanks. After this introduction, a
highly detailed daily chronology of the combat actions is provided, from
12.SS-Panzer Division traveling to the Caen sector to Operation Totalize
and the withdrawal to the Seine River.
Documents from SS-Panzer Regiment 12 presented in the book include the
following: combat reports, list of knocked-out enemy tanks, German
personnel and tank losses, combat orders, summary of acquired combat
experiences and others.
This is an impressive look at tactical-level events and command
decisions, highlighting the armored combat tactics that were able to
stop Montgomery's Army Group from breaking through the German lines near
Caen for two months. The study includes a number of detailed maps and
excellent photos. In addition, the book has benefited from the
contribution of rare information, photographs and documents from the
archive of noted Waffen-SS historian Mark C. Yerger.
