Book Review of
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
From Formation to the Battle of Caen
Author: Massimiliano Afiero
Casemate Illustrated, Men-Battles-Weapons Series
ISBN: 978-1-63624-168-5
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022 (Brand new. Released just this September)
MSRP: $28.95
ISBN: 978-1-63624-168-5
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022 (Brand new. Released just this September)
MSRP: $28.95
The 12th Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was formed in 1943 from members of the Hitler Youth who had been born in 1926, primarily as an emergency response force to be stationed in France, to repel the expected Allied invasion. Training was initially haphazard due to lack of equipment, however in March 1944 it was attached to SS Panzer Corps and transferred to Normandy.
Base around Caen:
It was intended to repel a possible and expected invasion from the sea. When the Allied invasion came in June, it was one of the two closest panzer divisions to the landing beaches, engaging Allied paratroopers at dawn. Once the Allied bridgehead was established, Hitlerjugend deployed to Caen.
The defensive battles that took place in Normandy, particularly the four battles around the city of Caen, saw the young soldiers of the Hitlerjugend demonstrate determined resistance, conceding only due to being greatly outnumbered.
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publications is based in Havertown, PA. They are both a publisher of their own line of books and a distributor of books by other firms.
.This book is in soft-cover, of 128 pages in 7” x 10” page format.
The front cover shows 3 black and white wartime photos, a line drawing and a three-quarter sized color side view profile illustration of a German Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H, that is in a camouflage of a base of sand with a wave pattern of red-brown and dark-green. It has a black and white cross on the side of the turret, followed by a red number 618 that is outlined in white.
At the top of the cover there is a black and white photo of a line of Pz.Kpfw. IV’s, line up in a field with their crews standing at attention by them. At the lower left is a black and white photo of more Pz.Kpfw. IV’s moving down a city street with Hitlerjugend troops (Caen ?). At the lower right is the color illustration of the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H, posed over a line drawing obscuring what it is (?). Below that is a final black and white photo of a Hitlerjugend machine-gunner set up in a grassy field with a Pz.Kpfw. IV parked in the background.
The back cover shows 3 more black and white wartime photos. At the top left is an 4 man Allied howitzer crew manning their gun. On the top right is a photo of a Hitlerjugend soldier looking through a pair of binoculars next to a Panther tank in the background in the Rauray sector. The last picture, at the bottom. Shows a line of Sd.Kfz. 251 halftracks line up in a grassy field.
Packed with 141 black and white photos (including the covers), 3 maps, and 2 color profiles, this Casemate Illustrated book follows the actions of the 12th SS Panzer Division through formation and training to the four battles for Caen.
It explores key elements of military history. Extensively illustrated with the photographs, maps and color profiles of tanks, aircraft and other vehicles, each volume of the series provides a wealth of visual detail. Profiles of key individuals and units, a timeline and explanatory text boxes support the narrative, which provides a clear overview of the battle or campaign and the experience of the forces involved.
The front and back covers each have a flap on them. One flap holds the history of the Hitlerjugend, over features of the book.
In the book there are:
Three black and white illustrations of the 12th SS Panzer Division badge. It is a white shield with a black letter S crossed by a key, shield outlined in black, a time table of events, Divisional Orders of Battle for July 1943 & June 1, 1944, 2 colorized maps of Caen and black and white battle map of Caen, color side view profile illustrations are of a Jagdpanzer IV/70 and a Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H, each with specifications provided about them.
There is a propaganda poster about the Hitlerjugend, photos of officers, infantrymen, tank crews, the head of the Hitler Youth with some boys and girls, cannon crews, a row of new Pzkpfw. IV Ausf. H’s and G’s, a Sd.Kfz. 232, a German large caliber gun in an Atlantic wall defence concrete bunker, a motorcycle unit, Kubelwagen, two photos of Hitlerjugend soldiers training on a flak gun in 1944, a Sd.Kfz. 251/1 half-track with a flak gun mounted, a Panther tank, a Geschützt 3 crew, a Wespe tank, a knocked out British tank, an armored car, a Tiger tank, British POWs, a Jagdpanzer IV and an airfield.
At the end of the book there is a 2 page Index and 2 page Bibliography.
The last page shows 5 black and white cover arts of other Casemate books:
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, From Operation Goodwood to April 1945, German Armor in Normandy, The Waffen SS in Normandy, The 3rd SS Panzer Regiment and The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.
The flap on the back cover shows 4 more black and white cover arts of Casemate books:
Allied Armor in Normandy, The Falaise Pocket, Kursk 1943 and From Moscow to Stalingrad.
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All Casemate books and the books of companies that they distribute books of can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Base around Caen:
It was intended to repel a possible and expected invasion from the sea. When the Allied invasion came in June, it was one of the two closest panzer divisions to the landing beaches, engaging Allied paratroopers at dawn. Once the Allied bridgehead was established, Hitlerjugend deployed to Caen.
The defensive battles that took place in Normandy, particularly the four battles around the city of Caen, saw the young soldiers of the Hitlerjugend demonstrate determined resistance, conceding only due to being greatly outnumbered.
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publications is based in Havertown, PA. They are both a publisher of their own line of books and a distributor of books by other firms.
.This book is in soft-cover, of 128 pages in 7” x 10” page format.
The front cover shows 3 black and white wartime photos, a line drawing and a three-quarter sized color side view profile illustration of a German Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H, that is in a camouflage of a base of sand with a wave pattern of red-brown and dark-green. It has a black and white cross on the side of the turret, followed by a red number 618 that is outlined in white.
At the top of the cover there is a black and white photo of a line of Pz.Kpfw. IV’s, line up in a field with their crews standing at attention by them. At the lower left is a black and white photo of more Pz.Kpfw. IV’s moving down a city street with Hitlerjugend troops (Caen ?). At the lower right is the color illustration of the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H, posed over a line drawing obscuring what it is (?). Below that is a final black and white photo of a Hitlerjugend machine-gunner set up in a grassy field with a Pz.Kpfw. IV parked in the background.
The back cover shows 3 more black and white wartime photos. At the top left is an 4 man Allied howitzer crew manning their gun. On the top right is a photo of a Hitlerjugend soldier looking through a pair of binoculars next to a Panther tank in the background in the Rauray sector. The last picture, at the bottom. Shows a line of Sd.Kfz. 251 halftracks line up in a grassy field.
Packed with 141 black and white photos (including the covers), 3 maps, and 2 color profiles, this Casemate Illustrated book follows the actions of the 12th SS Panzer Division through formation and training to the four battles for Caen.
It explores key elements of military history. Extensively illustrated with the photographs, maps and color profiles of tanks, aircraft and other vehicles, each volume of the series provides a wealth of visual detail. Profiles of key individuals and units, a timeline and explanatory text boxes support the narrative, which provides a clear overview of the battle or campaign and the experience of the forces involved.
The front and back covers each have a flap on them. One flap holds the history of the Hitlerjugend, over features of the book.
In the book there are:
Three black and white illustrations of the 12th SS Panzer Division badge. It is a white shield with a black letter S crossed by a key, shield outlined in black, a time table of events, Divisional Orders of Battle for July 1943 & June 1, 1944, 2 colorized maps of Caen and black and white battle map of Caen, color side view profile illustrations are of a Jagdpanzer IV/70 and a Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H, each with specifications provided about them.
There is a propaganda poster about the Hitlerjugend, photos of officers, infantrymen, tank crews, the head of the Hitler Youth with some boys and girls, cannon crews, a row of new Pzkpfw. IV Ausf. H’s and G’s, a Sd.Kfz. 232, a German large caliber gun in an Atlantic wall defence concrete bunker, a motorcycle unit, Kubelwagen, two photos of Hitlerjugend soldiers training on a flak gun in 1944, a Sd.Kfz. 251/1 half-track with a flak gun mounted, a Panther tank, a Geschützt 3 crew, a Wespe tank, a knocked out British tank, an armored car, a Tiger tank, British POWs, a Jagdpanzer IV and an airfield.
At the end of the book there is a 2 page Index and 2 page Bibliography.
The last page shows 5 black and white cover arts of other Casemate books:
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, From Operation Goodwood to April 1945, German Armor in Normandy, The Waffen SS in Normandy, The 3rd SS Panzer Regiment and The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.
The flap on the back cover shows 4 more black and white cover arts of Casemate books:
Allied Armor in Normandy, The Falaise Pocket, Kursk 1943 and From Moscow to Stalingrad.
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All Casemate books and the books of companies that they distribute books of can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.