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Old 12-31-2009, 04:07 PM
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Raellus Raellus is online now
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I haven't finished it yet but, based on what I've read so far, I'd like to recommend Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp by Douglas Nash. It's a profile/history of the 272nd Volksgrenadier Division, focusing on its assault company.

It's reinforcing my belief that the VGDs are a pretty good model of late Twilight War infantry divisions, in terms of their composition (lots of men culled from the crippled air force and navy, wounded soldiers rushed out of hospital, men at either end of the latest draft bracket, etc.), equipment (plenty of small arms but not always a lot of ammo, a handful of whatever AFV was available at inception, few, if any trucks), training (very brief, often rushed into the front line), and leadership (a cadre of experienced officers from shattered divisions; inexperienced NCOs due to attrition).

It's also raised some ideas that I hadn't thought of, like the use of "press gangs" (can't remember the term the Germans used for this) and reducing the time spent convalescing by wounded men to fill the ranks of combat units.

Anyway, so far, it's well written and very informative. I've also read Hell's Gate (by the same author) about the Cherkassy Pocket battle on the Ostfront and enjoyed it as well.
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