Hitler's Home Guard: Volkssturmmann: Western Front, 1944-45
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- Create Date：2021-06-17 09:54:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：David Yelton
- ISBN：1846030137
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Summary
Osprey's study of Germany's Home Guard during the latter part of World War II （1939-1945）。 The creation of the German Home Guard or Volkssturm on 18 October 1944 was a desperate measure by the Nazi regime to utilize every available manpower resource in their last-ditch attempts to delay their inevitable defeat。 All able-bodied males between the ages of 16 and 60 who were not already members of the German Armed Forces were conscripted into one organization。 The aim of the Volkssturm was to shore up the defense of the Reich， but also to restrict any possible revolt or dissent by exercising military discipline over the entire male population of fighting age。 This Nazi fantasy was the creation of a new force of highly-motivated Aryans dedicated to the heroic defense of their fatherland。 However， the Volkssturm failed due to poor equipment， lack of training， and low morale。 Men who had no experience of combat and little or no inclination to fight， and who had little interest in the Nazi regime found themselves sent into battle against impossible odds and achieving little or nothing。
The focus of the book is the section of Germany's western front where the Volkssturm fought in vain to slow the advance of Canadian forces and where the desertion rate was very high。 David K。 Yelton follows the experience of a Volkssturm conscript from his call-to-arms， into action and through to his capture and time as a POW， examining his personal reaction to the creation of the German Home Guard and his response to the fighting into which he was thrust。
The focus of the book is the section of Germany's western front where the Volkssturm fought in vain to slow the advance of Canadian forces and where the desertion rate was very high。 David K。 Yelton follows the experience of a Volkssturm conscript from his call-to-arms， into action and through to his capture and time as a POW， examining his personal reaction to the creation of the German Home Guard and his response to the fighting into which he was thrust。
Reviews
Mark A Simmons
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An interesting and well written narrative history of the Volkssturm， which unlike most Ospreys， follows a fictional character's story to illustrate real events in 1944-1945。 I liked the way the narrative exposed the physiological pressures on the ordinary German civilian caught up in the Nazi's fantasy of "The Aryan Volk"， and found myself empathising with their plight and impotence in the face of the Allies。 Unfortunately this detailed focus on events in Western Germany leads the author to comp An interesting and well written narrative history of the Volkssturm， which unlike most Ospreys， follows a fictional character's story to illustrate real events in 1944-1945。 I liked the way the narrative exposed the physiological pressures on the ordinary German civilian caught up in the Nazi's fantasy of "The Aryan Volk"， and found myself empathising with their plight and impotence in the face of the Allies。 Unfortunately this detailed focus on events in Western Germany leads the author to completely miss out other relevant facts， such as the role of the Volkssturm on the Eastern Front and in The Fall of Berlin。 Young People caught up in the conscription are hardly mentioned， and there's nothing about the German's emergency rifle and machine-gun manufacturing programme， which produced simple and crude last-ditch firearms for the ill-equipped people's militia。 The latter is especially strange when you consider that this series's target audience includes those interested in military technology and weapons。 In summation， a good introduction to an often-overlooked subject， but which is sometimes too narrow in its focus。 。。。more
Sean McLachlan
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Full disclosure: I have written seven books for Osprey Publishing so I can't really be called an unbiased reviewer。 On the other hand， I don't know the author or artist and WW2 is a bit out of my specialty。 I read this as research for a novel I'm writing。This is a look at a little-covered aspect of the war， Germany's desperate formation of a militia to supplement the exhausted and depleted Wehrmacht。 These teenagers， old men， and men taken from essential services were given little training， insu Full disclosure: I have written seven books for Osprey Publishing so I can't really be called an unbiased reviewer。 On the other hand， I don't know the author or artist and WW2 is a bit out of my specialty。 I read this as research for a novel I'm writing。This is a look at a little-covered aspect of the war， Germany's desperate formation of a militia to supplement the exhausted and depleted Wehrmacht。 These teenagers， old men， and men taken from essential services were given little training， insufficient weapons， and were sent against the full force of the Allied assaults in late 1944 and early 1945。 No prizes for figuring out what happened。The author goes through the formation of the Volkssturm， and how individuals were recruited and trained， using a fictional character in a real unit as an example。 Other reviewers have criticized using a fictional character， but given the paucity of sources for the Volkssturm I didn't see this as a problem。 One limitation， however， is that it only covers the Western Front。 The author notes that the Volkssturm on the Eastern Front were better armed and motivated， and I was hoping that a second book would be written about their story。 Since it's been 10 years since this book's publication I guess that's not going to happen。Another missed opportunity is that the Volksgewehr， a series of cheap gun designs introduced late in the war， are not really described。 There isn't much written on these guns and it would have been appropriate to add something here。Despite these shortcomings， I found this book a gripping read。 It goes into detail about the civilian experience and the terror these half-soldiers must have felt when a helmet was plunked on their head， a rifle thrust into their hands， and they were sent against thundering columns of tanks。 A large section is dedicated to the process of surrendering， internment， and repatriation。 That was the main war experience for a lot of these guys！All in all， a good overview of a little-known aspect of the war。 。。。more
Dimitri
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