Das Reich: The March Of The 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944 (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
World War II, like most significant events, has it's share of legends. There are heroes, such as the French Resistance, the British SAS, and the Allied SOE and Jedburgh teams. There are devious villains, such as the Waffen-SS men of the Das Reich division. There are daring missions behind German lines to blow up railways and gather intelligence, and there are infamous massacres in small French towns. Max Hasting's Das Reich tells the story behind these legends, or at least a very specific set of them, and the author does his best to peel back the layers of legend and simplification to present to the reader the nearest thing to the truth that his research can gather.The book covers a very specific topic, the march of the 2 SS Panzer Division from it's staging area in southern France to Normandy, following the Allied landings on D-Day. The book is also just as much about the French Resistance fighters and Allied soldiers and agents in the area of the march, and the interaction between the opposing sides and the French civilians caught in the middle of it all.One of the ways in which Hastings provides depth to the story is to explore the character of the main antagonists. The Das Reich division, at that time, had just been refitted and it's rosters refilled with new recruits and transfers. While many of the officers and NCOs were veterans, the bulk of the fighting men were novices, and many of them weren't even technically German. In short, they were not the stringently selected elite that they once were. The Resistance is also a more complex picture than is often portrayed. While doubtlessly courageous, were also rank amateurs when it came to combat and sabotage, and rife with factionalism. The two main groups, the Communist FTP and the Gaullist AS (Armee Secrete), would almost as much fight each other as the Germans. The Allied agents and special operations soldiers were also a mixed bag, coming from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of levels of competency.Hastings covers the actions of both sides in as great depth as possible, given sometimes difficult source material. The Allied side was pieced together from what official documents had been declassified (at least as of 1981) and interviews of survivors, and the German side likewise was composed from official documents and interviews. Hastings reconciles sources against each other were there are conflicts of information, and does his best to sift through the occasional aggrandizement or obfuscation in source accounts. As well as enumerating the atrocities committed along Das Reich's march to Normandy (Tulle and Oradour chief among them, though certainly not the only ones), Hastings also provides thoughtful strategic analysis of the operations of the Allied and German forces covered in the book. Hastings covers all of these topics in compelling, easy prose. He provides annotation and appendixes to provide references for those who aren't already familiar with the subject matter, although having a passing knowledge of World War II will help in understanding the narrative.
An even handed review of a dark chapter of WW2When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. So said somebody in that great John Ford film - 'The man who shot Liberty Valence.'Almost as soon as the last shot of WW2 had been fired, a mythology had sprung up about the French resistance. Given that their country was occupied for four years, it is understandable that the French would respond to tales of the underdog facing down the Nazi war machine. Accounts vary widely, and Hasting's addition to the extensive canon of literature surrounding the resistance, is welcome. Rather than focusing on the movement as a whole, Hastings details the account of the 2nd SS Panzer Division, Das Reich. The story of this juggernaut heading from the south of France to the Normandy beaches, is a story of great courage, infamy, and war crimes perpetrated against French civilians. Hastings never condones the actions of the SS, but nor is he fully supportive of Allied planning, and the naivety (brave, though misguided) of the various resistance groups that stood in the way of this armoured juggernaut. Heroes, villains, and fools. This book has them all and is a welcome addition to the subject.
What do You think about Das Reich: The March Of The 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944 (2013)?
I first read this book many years ago, and have read it many times since then!This is one of Max Hastings early works, and it shows his willingness to engage in difficult topics and explore all of the angles. On the surface it should be an easy case of plucky heroic French resistance rising up against the evil SS committing atrocities. Hastings pulls no punches about the atrocities of the SS, but at the same time through his exploration of the politics of the Resistance, the SOE and the objectives of the Western allies, the picture is more complicated.Max Hastings has made a career of exploring the reality behind the comfortable myths that have arisen around the Second World War, particularly the involvement of the British Commonwealth and the United States, and his work is fundamentally important in exploring the truth of the Second World War. Das Reich is an excellent example of this work.
—Sandy Ferguson
I suspect that Max Hastings, from a purely military history point of view, has a sneaking regard for the German Army and that comes through in this account of the movement of 2nd SS Panzer Division from Paris to the Normandy beachhead. Having said that, Mr. Hastings does not gloss over the many atrocities that accompanied the transit as the Nazis were harassed and delayed by the various factions of the French Resistance. Nor does he gloss over the lack of communication and ineptitude of aspects of the Allied Undercover Agents, particularly the futile competition between different services. Overall, not a joyful read but a compelling one.
—Philip Whiteland
After the Allies landed in Normandy in June of 1994, the 2nd SS Panzer Division, stationed in southern France, was ordered to move its 15,000 men and 209 tanks and self-propelled artillery 450 miles north to assist in repelling the invaders. A journey that would have taken 3 days wound up taking 15 days.This book tells the story of the trail of horror and atrocities left in the wake of the "Das Reich" division's ruthless journey north. Assisted by Allied agents (SOE and OSS) dropped into France to assist them, the French Resistance (The Maquis) sabotaged the roads and rails and ambushed the column on numerous occasions. The Germans retaliated by hanging resistance men they captured and killing and burning men, women and children.This book provides great insight into Allied covert operations, the French Resistance and the mindset of the commanders in the 2nd SS Panzer. It certainly fills in some lesser-known aspects of the War.The book is fully indexed, liberally sourced with a robust bibliography and complete glossary. It also contains a full Table of Organization and Equipment of the 2nd SS Panzer and drawings of the principle weapons of the Maquis and primary vehicles/tanks of the 2nd SS Panzer Division.
—John Nevola
