January 2024 MBR The Military History Shelf

The Military History Shelf

Facing the Red Army in Festung Posen
Hans Klapa, author
Alfred Kriehn, author
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781399061759, $32.95, HC, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Facing-Red-Army-Festung-Posen/dp/1399061755

Synopsis: "Facing the Red Army in Festung Posen: First-Hand Accounts of German Soldiers on the Eastern Front in 1945" by co-authors Hans Klapa and Alfred Kriehn features the personal combat stories of two German soldiers who took part in the battles for Festung Posen (Pozna Fortress) in January and February 1945.

Never before published in English, the accounts of Hans Klapa was written immediately after the war (1946) and that of Alfred Kriehn came later (early 1990s). Together they provide details relating to the course of the battle, as well as the armaments of the German garrison, its morale and even first-hand descriptions of individual actions during bloody street fighting.

Although describing the same battle, both memoirs are completely different as they represent different branches of the armed forces and each takes place in different parts of the city. While Hans Klapa fought only in the eastern part, Alfred Kriehn describes the fighting on the western side.

However, what separates the two accounts the most is the fate of both heroes immediately after the battle, with Klapa describing his epic, months-long struggle with his comrades not to fall into the hands of the enemy and to avoid being taken prisoner by the Soviets at any cost.

Critique: Unique, detailed, and an exceptionally riveting read from start to finish, this dual memoir of the same battle from the German perspective, "Facing the Red Army in Festung Posen: First-Hand Accounts of German Soldiers on the Eastern Front in 1945" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library World War II History & Biography collections. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Facing the Red Army in Festung Posen: First-Hand Accounts of German Soldiers on the Eastern Front in 1945" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Editorial Note #1: After previous combat experience fighting on the front, Wehrmacht soldier Hans Klapa was sent on an officer's course at the V School of Infantry Cadets in Pozna (Schule V f r Fahnenjunker der Infanterie Posen) in November 1944. Following the Red Army's offensive in January 1945, Klapa, along with 1,300 cadets of the V School and other German soldiers, was conscripted into the Festung Posen garrison (Pozna Fortress) to take part in merciless, month-long battles for the Polish city.

Editorial Note #2: Alfred Kriehn fought on the Eastern Front from 1944 as an assault gun loader (Sturmgeschutz) in the elite Sturmgeschutzbrigade "Grossdeutschland". In January 1945, his unit was transferred from East Prussia to the area of Kutno (then Warthegau) in order to stop Red Army troops advancing towards Pozna . After a dramatic escape, losing his vehicle along the way, Kriehn and several of his colleagues reached Pozna , where, as a member of the assault cannon crew and the Festung Posen garrison, they again resisted the Red Army.

Nazis on the Potomac
Robert K. Sutton
Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
Tantor Media
https://tantor.com
9781612009872, $34.95, HC, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Nazis-Potomac-Top-Secret-Intelligence-Operation/dp/1612009875

Synopsis: Now a green open space enjoyed by residents, Fort Hunt, Virginia, about 15 miles south of Washington, DC. was the site of one of the highest-level, clandestine operations during World War II.

Shortly after the United States entered World War II, the US military realized that it had to work on exploiting any advantages it might gain on the Axis Powers. One part of these endeavors was to establish a secret facility not too close, but also not too far from the Pentagon which would interrogate and eavesdrop on the highest-level Nazi prisoners and also translate and analyze captured German war documents.

That complex was established at Fort Hunt, known by the code name: PO Box 1142. The American servicemen who interrogated German prisoners or translated captured German documents were young, bright, hardworking, and absolutely dedicated to their work. Many of them were Jews, who had escaped Nazi Germany as children -- some had come to America with their parents, others had escaped alone, but their experiences and those they had been forced to leave behind meant they all had personal motivation to do whatever they could to defeat Nazi Germany. They were perfect for the difficult and complex job at hand. They never used corporal punishment in interrogations of German soldiers but developed and deployed dozens of tricks to gain information.

The Allies won the war against Hitler for a host of reasons, discussed in hundreds of volumes. This is the first book to describe the intelligence operations at PO Box 1142 and their part in that success. It will never be known how many American lives were spared, or whether the war ended sooner with the programs at Fort Hunt, but they doubtless did make a difference. Moreover these programs gave the young Jewish men stationed there the chance to combat the evil that had befallen them and their families.

Critique: A unique and hitherto obscured aspect of the American involvement in World War II, "Nazis on the Potomac: The Top-Secret Intelligence Operation that Helped Win World War II" is an exceptionally well written, organized and presented account of a once heavily classified military intelligence gathering program. Informatively enhanced with the inclusion of an eight page Bibliography, twenty-six pages of End Notes, and a six page Index, "Nazis on the Potomac" will prove of immense value to readers with an interest in World War II political and military intelligence. Excellent in organization and presentation, "Nazis on the Potomac" will prove a prized addition for community and college/university library World War II collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and military history buffs, that "Nazis on the Potomac" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781636243771, $24.95), in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Audio, 9798212081351, $46.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Robert K. Sutton recently retired as Chief Historian of the National Park Service, which culminated a 33-year career in the service. On his first day in this position, he met with the team interviewing the veterans who served at Fort Hunt during World War II. He encouraged the group in their efforts and was able to subsidize travel to complete the interviews. National Park Service historians did an absolutely masterful job of tracking down surviving veterans and capturing their stories. Sutton is writing this history with the belief that it should be a vehicle to share these stories with as wide an audience as possible. In addition to this volume, Sutton has published a number of books, articles and reviews on various public history topics.

Anzio Nettuno: A Battle of Leadership Mistakes
Jorg Staiger, author
Matthias Strohn, editor
Linden Lyons, translator
Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636241913, $45.00, HC, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Anzio-Nettuno-Leadership-Mistakes-Wehrmacht/dp/1636241913

Synopsis: The Allied amphibious operation code named Shingle was launched in late January 1944. It was opposed by German forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno. Success depended on the element of surprise, and the speed with which the invaders could build up strength and move inland. This was understood by General Mark Clark, commander of the US Fifth Army, but not fully understood by his subordinate commanders.

"Anzio Nettuno: A Battle of Leadership Mistakes" by Jorg Staiger is a German account that focuses on the landing at Anzio as it was the only one that failed to achieve its objective of smashing the German defense and achieving operational freedom of movement. The battle lasted over six weeks, with mistakes made by leadership on both sides, and consequently also great sacrifice by soldiers on both sides.

But the operation was not a German success either, and attempts to prevent the creation of a strong bridgehead failed. Ultimately the Allies would reach Rome, and the Allies applied lessons from this battle to facilitate the success of Overlord, launched five months later.

While not complete, as Jorg Staiger did not have access to some of the war diaries of higher levels of German command, this is still one of the best German accounts of Operation Shingle and is edited by Matthias Strohn and translated into English for the first time by Linden Lyons .

Critique: An eye-witness account from the German army perspective, "Anzio Nettuno: A Battle of Leadership Mistakes" is an invaluable and unreservedly recommended contribution to personal, professional, community, and college/university library World War II European Theatre collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: In writing "Anzio Nettuno: A Battle of Leadership Mistakes, Jorg Straiger draws upon his own personal experiences as a commander of the 11 Battalion of the 26 Panzer Regiment during that campaign. He is also the author of "Retreat through the Rhone Valley" (Casemate, 2023).

Editorial Note #2: Matthias Strohn is head of historical analysis at the Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research and the British Army's strategic think tank, visiting professor of military studies at the University of Buckingham, and a member of the academic faculty at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Matthias was educated at the universities of M nster (Germany) and Oxford. He holds a commission in the German Army and is a member of the military attache reserve. He deployed to Iraq (with the British Army) and Afghanistan (with both the British Army and the German Bundeswehr). Matthias was awarded the highest German military decoration, the 'Ehrenkreuz der Bundeswehr in Gold,' and has published widely on 20th-century German and European military history; he has authored and edited over 20 books and numerous articles.

Editorial Note #3: Linden Lyons holds a master's degree in history from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He studied German at the University of Freiburg and librarianship at the University of Canberra. He is the translator of several titles in the Die Wehrmacht im Kampf series, most recently Counter-Strike Operations, Normandy, and Rome to the Po River.

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