SS Hell on Western Front

Despite their success during the invasion of Poland in 1939, the Waffen-SS still had something to prove as a fighting organization when they arrived in the west for the attack on the Low Countries in May 1940. SS: Hell on the Western Front describes in vivid detail the exploits of the Waffen-SS in Western Europe from 1940 to 1945. The book begins with the formation of the Waffen-SS and its growth and development into a combat arm. The successes of 1940 are examined, as the SS troopers swept all opposition before them, as is the darker side of the organization, with the first atrocities committed against Allied prisoners. After the German victory, Himmler used the newly conquered territories as a fertile recruiting ground for the war against Communism. As the preparations for the invasion of the Soviet Union advanced, Hitler was distracted by the crisis in the Balkans, where the Waffen-SS added to their growing reputation, capturing Belgrade and driving Allied troops out of Greece.