Tiquet, Pierre The 3rd SS-Panzer Regiment Totenkopf. Eastern Front, 1943-45

The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" was one of 38 divisions of the Waffen-SS in World War II. Notorious for its brutailty, most notably a mass execution of British prisoners in the battle of France, it had a fearsome reputation. Involvement in the battle of France including the Le Paradis massacre was followed by the division joining Army Group North in the invasion of Russia in 1941, where heavy losses were suffered.SS-Panzer Regiment Totenkopf takes up the story from early 1943, when the division had been reformed and refitted to return to the Eastern Front. Told by the veterans and survivors themselves through a collection of unseen photographs, original documents and recollections, this is a unique collection of material.Among the veterans whose accounts are included are Walter Weber, a member of a tank crew in 5. Kompanie recounts the optimism and high spirits at the start of Operation Citadel as the Germans made initial advances, followed by retreat as winter set in and the Russians began to push them back. Unterscharführer Stettner recalls the fierce tank battles and the difficulties advancing across minefields and evading an often well-concealed foe. Corporal Fritz Edelmann records the attempts to relieve Budapest in 1945 that Totenkopf took part in, which ended in encirclement, defeat and surrender to the Americans on 9 May.

Unterscharführer Stettner remembers the fierce tank battles, the difficulties of crossing minefields and the ambushes by well-hidden enemy units. Corporal Fritz Edelmann reports on the attempts to relieve Budapest, which was encircled by the Red Army in 1945 and in which the SS "Totenkopf" armoured division took part, the encirclement in May 1945 and finally the surrender to the Americans.