Hitler And His Generals

Of more than a million pages of Hitler's military conferences that were recorded, about 1,000 survived destruction. This book contains newly discovered documents never before published.

The only complete edition in any language of all the known stenographic conferences. These are the first verbatim records in history of military planning at the highest level.

In the late summer of 1942, Hitler ordered stenographers to take down every word that was uttered during the twice-daily military conferences. These historical documents show Hitler directing the war from his headquarters on a daily basis.

Operation Valkyrie was the code name given to the plot to assassinate Hitler and to enact a far-reaching military coup d'etat, from Paris to Berlin, against the Nazis.

The German Generals who survived Hitler's Reich talk over World War II with Capt. Liddell Hart, noted British miltary strategist and writer. They speak as professional soldiers to a man they know and respect. For the first time, answers are revealed to many questions raised during the war. Was Hitler the genius of strategy he seemed to be at first? Why did his Generals never overthrow him? Why did Hitler allow the Dunkirk evacuation? Current interest, of course, focuses on the German Generals' opinion of the Red Army as a fighting force. What did the Russians look like from the German side? How did we look? And what are the advantages and disadvantages under which dictator-controlled armies fight? In vivid, non-technical language, Capt. Liddell Hart reports these interviews and evaluates the vital military lessons of World War II.

From the preeminent British military strategist comes this riveting biography of Manstein, Hitler's most controversial general. Among students of military history, the genius of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein (1887–1973) is respected perhaps more than that of any other World War II soldier. He displayed his strategic brilliance in such campaigns as the invasion of Poland, the Blitzkrieg of France, the sieges of Sevastopol, Leningrad, and Stalingrad, and the battles of Kharkov and Kursk. Manstein also stands as one of the war's most enigmatic and controversial figures. To some, he was a leading proponent of the Nazi regime and a symbol of the moral corruption of the Wehrmacht. Yet he also disobeyed Hitler, who dismissed his leading Field Marshal over this incident, and has been suspected by some of conspiring against the Führer. Sentenced to eighteen years by a British war tribunal at Hamburg in 1949, Manstein was released in 1953 and went on to advise the West German government in founding its new army within NATO. Military historian and strategist Mungo Melvin combines his research in German military archives and battlefield records with unprecedented access to family archives to get to the truth of Manstein's life and deliver this definitive biography of the man and his career.

The only complete edition in any language of all the known stenographic conferences. These are the first verbatim records in history of military planning at the highest level.

An account of Hitler's military campaigns as told through the precarious careers and changing fortunes of his Army commanders.

A comprehensive examination of Hitler’s military strategies. As Führer of the Third Reich, Hitler was responsible for deciding the German war aims in 1939. As head of the Armed Forces from February 4th, 1938, he was also responsible for the overall Wehrmacht strategy intended to achieve these aims. Hitler: Military Commander examines with impeccable detail Hitler's key military decisions during the Second World War, and assesses how far these decisions were militarily justified in the light of the intelligence available at the time. Perhaps most importantly, it tackles the larger questions of how a non-German former corporal, albeit the holder of the Iron Cross First Class, managed to take personal control of an army with the Prussian traditions of the German army; to appoint, sack, and sentence to death its generals at will, to lead it into a World War it was not prepared for; and to ultimately destroy it. Featuring black-and-white photographs, maps, biographical context, tactical analysis, and more, this new edition of Hitler: Military Commander will give readers the comprehensive overview of Hitler's military decisions and downfall.

These transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Nazi officers reveal “a fascinating—and chilling—insight into the German view of the war” (Financial Times). Between 1939 and 1942, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence created a number of POW interrogation camps in and around London where they secretly recorded private conversations between senior German staff officers. In this extraordinary work, historian Sonke Neitzel examines these transcripts in depth and presents the private thoughts, opinions, and secrets of Nazi officers during the Second World War. These transcripts address important questions regarding the officers’ attitudes towards the German leadership and Nazi policies: How did the German generals judge the overall war situation? From what date did they consider it lost? How did they react to the attempt on Hitler’s life in July 1944? What knowledge did they have of the atrocities? By turns insightful and horrifying, this unprecedented research is a must for any serious scholar of the period. “A goldmine of information about what the German High Command privately thought of the war, Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and each other.” —Daily Mail