Some new books to read

A courier has just delivered two books to add to my 'to be read' pile. They are HITLER'S EASTERN LEGIONS 1942-45 and VELIKIYE LUKI 1942-43: THE DOOMED FORTRESS.

The former covers the organisation, history, uniforms, and insignia of the six 'Legions' raised by the Germans from the numerous Turkestani, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Armenian, North Caucasian, and Volga-Tartar prisoners-of-war that were captured during the invasion of Soviet Russia. These units not only served alongside the Germans on the Eastern Front, but were also deployed to garrison parts of the Atlantic Wall and other parts of occupied Europe.

Velikiye Luki was captured by the Germans during the initial stages of Operation Barbarossa, and later formed part of the boundary between Army Groups North and Middle. As such, it was a prime target for the Russians, and during the winter of 1942/43 it was surrounded and the German garrison was cut off. In an action somewhat reminiscent of Stalingrad, the Luftwaffe attempted to keep the garrison supplied by air, but after a seven-week siege, the survivors had to surrender. Very few of them survived to returne to German in the 1950s.

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HITLER'S EASTERN LEGIONS 1942-45 was written by Nigel Thomas and illustrated by Johnny Shumate. It was published by Osprey Publishing in 2020 as N0.233 in its 'Elite' series (ISBN 978 1 4728 3954 1).

VELIKIYE LUKI 1942-43: THE DOOMED FORTRESS was written by Robert Forczyk and illustrated by Peter Dennis. It was published by Osprey Publishing in 2020 as No.351 in its 'Campaign' series (ISBN 978 1 4728 3069 2).