10 Best Ww2 Books From German Perspective (2023 Updated)

The hopelessness of the defenders is made clear in one compelling account after another. These are the recollections of the Germans — men who were amazed by the relentless conduct of of the Americans in particular.

Amazed at the nature of the American logistics. The Germans expecting summary execution were astonished that the Americans didn’t even seem curious to look at them but just sent the POWs to the beach to be evacuated.

A common theme was that the Germans thought they were defending Europe and couldn’t understand why anyone would come from thousands of miles away to fight them. I enjoyed one recollection in which a hand full of men from the 82d Airborne Division suddenly leaped over a hedge and began killing a group of Germans in hand-to-hand combat.

The German relating that such ferociousness was not at all “European. “.

Hard to read stories about the Germans shooting our Allies! But the horror of the invasion was on both sides. Many of the German forces were older or injured soldiers put in France because it was considered “easier” duty.

Also many Russian troops were there and I had never heard of that fact. In the end probably these men were there just to slow the invasion down- they were expendable. The horrifying scenes witnessed by both sides on July 6th, surely must have haunted them to the end of their days.

Very well written- The English text is a translation of the book(s), which were originally written in German. Some readers may find the text a little bit convoluted at times. Nevertheless, the book(s) are real eye-openers.

They are are fascinating read of what it was like to be on the opposite side of the June 6, 1944 Invasion of Normandy. Recommended for ALL students of World War II, AND for the casual reader, as well.

GREAT story about a German ace (Stigler) who took pity on an American bomber crew and allowed the crippled bomber to flee German airspace. I just have a few issues with it (thus 4 stars instead of 5) as I do most current ww2 revised history books.

First of all the author states that he focuses on the German side because there are already lots of American stories in print. Perhaps, BUT the American pilot, Brown, was on his first mission. He had 24 more to go and they are treated with a line or two.

So while there are American bomber stories in print, there is NOT any stories about Browns career. This book really is about Stigler and not Brown. The author really needed to devote more print to the American side.

The entire crew. Next problem is my main problem and that is the trend so current in history WW2 history today. The trend is that the Germans were ‘just like us’ and most had no idea what was going on regarding the Jewish people.

Sorry. NOT TRUE. They HAD to see the treatment of Jews during the 6 years before war broke out. Didn’t they wonder why entire neighborhoods were depopulated? Come on! The German ace in this book obviously was capable of empathy and emotion, and it is a GREAT story as to what he did allowing the American bomber to leave German airspace, yet he did continue to fight for the German cause, which WAS the Nazi cause.

Sorry. I don’t buy the ‘Germans were good guys’ ruse. Look on a certain video internet channel and type in ww2 German reactions, you will see WW2 German vets even today staunchly denying or downplaying the holocaust.

Unbelievable. One video in particular has a now 90 something years old tank crew saying the holocaust wasn’t as big as the allies make it out to be. And for Stigler to downplay his role in it is audacious.

Sure, he fought for his country because he HAD to fight for his country, but at least come clean about the cause he was fighting for. Make no mistake, if his side won, we would be seeing, even today, that they were not ‘just like us’.

Unfortunately the author was duped. Even so this book is well worth the read. 4 out of 5 stars it is.

Absolutely a fantastic story that really happened. Over the years I’ve tried to enjoy novels and sometimes I almost do, but at some point I lock up on the plot. Pretentious nonsense. This read takes you real deep into the lives of two men who went through hell and survived , good stuff.

It would be difficult to recommend this excellent book too highly. I first read it as a book in my town’s library. I liked it so much that I bought one, and recommend it to everyone I know that might – even remotely – be interested in reading it.

It is a true page-turner. I hated to put it down for the night, and could not wait to pick it up again to see what would happen next. The focus is on the German Pilot, Franz Steigler, and covers his life from boyhood to his eventual death at age 92, with most of the coverage being during the war years.

What emerges is a portrait of a very human man, someone we can easily relate to, someone who strongly believes in doing the best he can regardless of the situation. What also emerges is a man whose life is strongly influenced, even guided, by the ‘higher call’ of the title, that there is something – and ultimately Someone – beyond what we experience on this earth.

Think or say what you will, there is a third major player in the story whose picture is not on the cover. The roughly 1/3 of the book devoted to the American pilot and crew is in much the same vein, though covering a smaller period of time.

In the process we get glimpses of what life was like for the bomber crews who flew over Europe, a life so tough that they could go home if they made it past 25 missions. The book also has a lot of eye-opening revelations of life in Germany from 1933 to 1945, civilian and military, revelations that have me re-thinking my perceptions of the periond, the people involved, and what happened.

Among other things. If your taste in ‘war stories’ is flag-waving rah-rah, beat the ‘bad guys’, this is not that kind of book. If you want something that is thoughtful, insightful, and thoroughly human and relateable to, pick it up and pass it on.

It is well worth the trip.

Chivarly died in the Middle Ages, right? Or Maybe the American Civil War, right? Well this story tells you it still made an appearance in the skies over Europe in 1943! An American B-17, on its very first mission, suffers severe damage from flak during their bombing run and then are set upon by German Focke-Wolfe 190’s as it tries to make it back to England.

Sufering more damage but maneuvering away from the enemy fighters its crew finds their guns frozen in all but the top turret, and many of the crew injusred during the attack and startes to attend them, when a singe Messerschmidt Bf109 begins to close on them from the rear, But what happens next is utterly amazing! But I won’t ruin it for you! Buy the book and find out what the “Higher Call” is all about!.

An excellent, meticulously researched, and deeply thought-provoking work. What happens during the combatants’ encounter, and the agonizing decision(s) veteran Bf-109 Luftwaffe ace Franz Stigler must make regarding the crippled B-17F Ye Olde Pub, is worth the price of the book.

But it is more. One intriguing point made in the book notes that Luftwaffe pilots were not only usually not members of Hitler’s National Socialist Party, but actually prohibited from joining it and actively resisted Nazi efforts to undermine the basic integrity of the Luftwaffe.

Another related to Luftwaffe debate, as late as early to mid-1943, over how to attack USAAF B-17s in the most effective manner, including whether to attack them head-on. Yet Saburo Sakai’s classic book “Samurai!” chronicles how Japanese Naval Air Force Zero fighter pilots developed an effective overhead pass against “F” model Flying Fortresses as early as Summer, 1942; it is extraordinary that despite the undisputed coordination between the two Axis powers and their superb intelligence services, if both accounts are correct then Luftwaffe pilots were unaware of the successes achieved by their Japanese counterparts nearly a year before — and, eerily, the vertical downward spiral technique used by Stigler toward the end of the book while flying not just 109s but also Me-262s was exactly that practiced by Sakai against B-17s and B-25s before the U.

S. invasion of Guadalcanal in August, 1942. There is still much left to be told of this tragic conflict. Otherwise, in all aspects WORTH THE READ.

The first section of the book is actually fairly poorly written, it is not until Otto Carius is in the East that the pace and the ferocity of the fighting really pick up, as does the book. Stick with it this far and you can get to see how the German tanker in WW2 faired in combat under very harsh conditions.

Although it is a very good book, parts of it are so poorly written that it can actually be a hard read. Overall, it was a good book.

Storey of one of the worlds most decorated and brave tank soldiers, the Germans once committed to battle just carried on, they didn’t have the numbers to get much down time. This storey shows very much so the strain of constant fighting in a armoured vehicles, brave, skilled and lucky kept him alive, as a former armoured vehicle commander one of the soldiers I have studied and one to be admired.

If you enjoy military history read this.

Fantastic book, written and about a very brave man. If youre into this subject matter, then this book is a must

Truly a great tribute to a small bunch of Americans caught up front at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. For President Carter to single them out for recognition as the most outstanding group showed great forethought and insight.

It is a great stop on your visit to Belgium and makes you proud to be an American.

awesome read, makes you wonder what happened to us.

This story is a must read for any WWII researcher! A GREAT book full of information about the Battle of the Bulge and an incredible group of soldiers fighting in the Ardennes forest. You won’t waste your money if you buy this book.

James Holland is a prolific war writer, but he isn’t always compelling, or even original. His recent “Sicily ’43” chugged mundanely along the same tracks as several previous books on Operation Husky, without noticeable flair.

Indeed, it missed several notable campaign moments which could have altered the entire operation, such as the surprise American amphibious landings behind German lines in the north of Sicily. The initial success of those landings surprised the Americans as much as the Germans, and might have become great victories except that the German response was quicker than the American reinforcement of success, allowing German forces to escape.

However, in the case of “Brothers in Arms”, Holland has a fresh path to follow over the year that elapsed from D Day to VE Day; allowing his narrative to pursue a single Tank Regiment’s campaign that is both original and compelling.

You get to follow the tracks, meet the troopers and learn the trials and tribulations of the Sherwood Rangers as they battlevabd batter their way across Europe and into Germany during the last year of the war.

It’s a good story, and well told. Almost begs to be made into a TV series called “Band of Brothers”. No, wait. !.

Brothers in Arms is more than an account of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry from D Day to the end of the war. The author has gone to great lengths not only to research this book, but to personalise the story.

He gives the history of the battalion while introducing the reader to individual members from officers to the other ranks. He then interweaves the personal experiences of the men into a comprehensive and readable story line.

ln doing so he takes the reader through the highs and lows of being a tanker in WW 2. From the effects of being in combat, death and life struggles from horrific injuries, to the battalion’s chaplain who made it his personal mission to account for every missing, injured, or deceased member of the battalion.

This is an exceptional book written from personal accounts of the men who were there woven into a very readable book for anyone who may have even the slightest interest in WW 2.

Brothers in Arms in time consuming. It is not a general read. Unless you specifically want to know about this tank company. Dont buy. James Hollands other books are fabulous.

Very well written book from a machine gunner who was on the Eastern Front. Content purely around his experiences and feelings and the horrendous times he and his comrades went through in the battles around Stalingrad.

Pleasantly for once no comment about the capability of either his officers or the powers that be. Furthermore this is not an account overladen with unit details/locations or yard by yard excruciating detail.

Once started this book is very hard to put down. Definitely an eye opening account. Well worth the money.

This is a very good account of a simple soldier trying to do his duty look after his comrades and survive. A machine gunner was a highly priced target for Russian snipers. To survive on the Eastern front in this roll is amazing.

The author tells the story in great detail, and it is very hard to put the book down. A good priced book from the works.

Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. You could feel this young soldier grow into a determined rifleman, in every battle he was involved with. You could feel also how Russia had changed him, from shy to a self desiplined front line fighter for the Reich.

You really noticed that change once he fought on the western front. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone. The Germans may have lost the war, but no one can say that their troops weren’t the best trained military in the world back then.

first book about n. africa and WWII won a pulitzer; second on Sicily gripping; last book on Normandy and beyond fantastic. All details that make it fresh and new, unbelievable little quotes and historic details.

Hard to put any of them down. This was the last and just as great as the first. I read it chapter by chapter with my father’s own 94th Division history to get the background the division historian missed.

highly recommend =can’t imagine any veteran not finding the books of interest and those who appreciate history.

Well written and detailed book covering the European perspection of World War II. You really need to have Volumes ! – African Campaing & Volume 2 – Cicily & Italy which gives you the full perspective of World War II.

With all 3 volumes, it gives you a full detailed perspective and planning strategies of the entire war. Very Good, informative book & well written.

This is the last volume of a trilogy on World War II. It is very well done. It is a series that is graphic and compelling. One sees the horror of war in its entirety.

Even if you are not an avid horse lover, this story is so mesmerizing as you go thru the ups and downs of their journey. So interesting that you become involved with the horses and the charactets. Loved it!!! A great read set in the Hitler regime and how many men fought for the well being of those horses.

The hurdles they took but the pride they showed in their shows. Absolutely worth reading. I may read it again.

Excellent history lesson, but Ms Letts has a tendency to ascribe human feelings to horses. not very much, but it can be fairly annoying. Still, the research stands up and the arc of the story is explained in detail.

All in all, a story that needed to be told YEARS ago and finally sets the record straight on who saved the Lippizzaner. and it was NOT Patton, as Disney wished us to believe.

sarah rose has put together one of the greatest nonfiction accounts of world war 2 about 3 daring ladys who spied on the germans destroyed countless trains desrupted many communications and ambushed countless enemy soldiers all with the german police hot on their trail i found this book very fasinating cause these women did alot to help our allies win the invation of normandy yet their gallant efforts is not verywell known this book is very hard to put down.

sarah rose has put together a remarkable account of 3 of the bravest women of world war 2. leading up the d day invation these 3 women were responsible for blowing up trains countless spy work prison breaks destroying enemy power lines and also shooting german soldiers and thus messing up invation plans this book was very fasinating to me because i did not know of the great service that these women performed.

This story was interesting as it told stories of women who were pressed into service as spies and dropped into France during World War 2. I felt that the women were not well trained, and didn’t have much of a chance at success if what was written in this book was true.