Max Hastings set himself a difficult task when he tackled the events laid out in his book Das Reich, although he himself admits that the finished article is not exactly the book he set out to write. His aim was to write about the
actions and consequences of
resistance movements and their affect on the armies and battlefields of World War Two. As he delved into the research element of the book he realised that one small series of incidents in southern France in the closing months of the war epitomised everything that he wanted to say and the drive of the book changed direction. Instead of an overview of the general
methods of resistance groups and the regular troops that they are pitted against, the book became a detailed look at the actions of the Das Reich, or 2nd SS Panzer
division and the corresponding counter actions by local resistance.
On the eve of D-Day the Das Reich was refitting in southern France, having been depleted by a long spell in Russia it was undergoing recruitment and rearming in the gold and green of the Mediterranean coast, a world away from the brutality and harsh conditions of the eastern front where they had fought to a stand still through the previous winter. As the news came that an Allied invasion had begun on the Normandy coast, the Division headed north to join the last ditch defence of Hitler's would be empire. At the same
time local agents and resistance
leaders knew that their moment had arrived, all of the years of training and minor sabotage and hit and run tactics were to be replaced with all out revolt, the Das Reich must be delayed long enough so as to negate their contribution to the
german defence.
As the division moved north and the resistance grew bolder, the unit commanders began to resort to some brutal methods to break the resistance. It is when dealing with the human elements of the book that the impartiality of Hastings writing becomes evident. It would be very easy to take an anti German stance when dealing with such a subject, but Hastings belongs to a group that is whether knowingly or otherwise, is redressing the balance. History is written by the winner, but now it is being rewritten by the middle man. Hastings is in no way an apologist, but seems eager to point out that the methods and actions employed by both sides need to be examined in context. The German Panzer troops, for example, have been fighting until recently on the Russian front, a battlefield devoid of mercy, honour and rules, it was a place of survival of the meanest and the brutalities committed their by both Germans and Russians were the most extreme of the war. To bring a unit to France and expect them to change their attitude and method overnight is not realistic. Also this is a unit that knows that in its hands lay the men and equipment to stop the Germans being defeated, to put up a real defence against the allied invasion, these men are desperate to move north and do their duty, hunting resistance groups is a waste of time and manpower. The methods employed by headstrong resistance leaders were also at times questionable and would ultimately jeopardise the innocent towns folk of their regions.
Hastings also goes into a lot of detail about the characters and leaders that made up the command structure on either side. It will be seen that there were good and bad on both sides. It must also be remembered that many of the German leaders, even in an elite SS division, were not all Nazi sympathisers, and not all resistance leaders had the best interests of the local population at heart. The squabbling and power brokering amongst the defenders is quite telling as to why many poor decisions were made.
What Hastings has managed to do here is present in-depth facts about the reasons and motivation of two very different forces and two very different and non-compatible styles of fighting, without ever taking sides, a difficult feat when dealing with such heart wrenching events. It presents the facts in the raw, and as such makes for difficult reading from time to time but the resulting text does examine the details of the events and explain the reasons behind the tragic trail of revolt and retribution. A must read book for anyone interested in modern warfare, as the two week period covered here is a miniature model of one aspect of modern warfare the world over.
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