Outside the battered Reichstag the sound of artillery and small arms fire echoed across the ruins of the Königsplatz. The building shook as chunks of stone were torn off in great showers of debris. Inside cowered the remains of Heinrich Himmler's mighty Waffen-SS. How had his private army that once numbered almost 40 divisions been reduced to this? Hitler, in the closing months of World War II, vainly hoped that the Waffen-SS could turn the tide on both the Western and Eastern Fronts. Ever since the assassination attempt on his life on 20 July 1944 he had refused to trust the German armed forces - especially the army.
Instead Hitler put his faith in Himmler's Nazi fanatics and it was the SS who spearheaded his last two offensives. First in the Ardennes to halt the British and the Americans, and then in Hungary to stop the Soviets. These operations represented Hitler's last stand yet both were characterised by poor planning and political infighting. The result was defeat and Hitler angrily denounced the SS. It was only in the dying days of the Third Reich, as they fought to defend the Nazi capital, that Hitler found it in his suicidal heart to thank the SS.
Rejuvenated SS
The Allies became aware in late September 1944 that Hitler was withdrawing his armour from the Western Front to build up a very large panzer reserve. Intelligence indicated that the 1st SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, 2nd SS Das Reich, 9th SS Hohenstaufen and 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Divisions were being refitted for renewed combat. Most notably, the two SS Panzer Corps were swiftly rebuilt as the strike force of SS-Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich's new 6th Panzer Army. This was not officially designated an SS army until 1945 as it also included army divisions, but nevertheless led by the Waffen-SS was considered as such.
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THE OTHER OPERATION OVERLORD D-DAY'S GHOST ARMY
Historian Taylor Downing discusses the cunning use of intrigue and deception during Operation Fortitude
D-DAY LANDING CRAFT
Over 4,000 Allied landing craft took part in the Normandy Landings with a huge range of designs created for specific roles and capabilities
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Spearheading the invasion of occupied France in 1944 were a small number of Special Forces soldiers dropped deep into enemy territory. Among them was a young Londoner, fresh from training here he reveals how he survived guerrilla warfare in France and beyond as part of the fledgling Special Air Service
JIMMIE MONTEITH
In the crucible of battle at Omaha Beach on D-Day, this officer of the famed 1st Infantry Division earned his nationâs highest honour at the cost of his life
KLEINKAMPFVERBÃNDE - GERMANY'S COUNTER-ATTACKS
As Allied forces crossed the Channel and stormed into Normandy, Hitler's navy fought back using a deadly new breed of maritime weaponry
STORMING GOLD BEACH
War veteran Ron Peet helped assault Gold Beach on D-Day Here he shares his experiences
UNDERGROUND WREN
Deep in the bowels of Fort Southwick, radio operator Marie Scott was one of the first to hear reports as Operation Overlord got underway, passing critical communications between the men on the beaches and high command
MINESWEEPER OFF NORMANDY
After helping clear the path to France, Royal Navy veteran Claude Sealey and his crewmates experienced a deadly encounter with their own countrymen
THE RECCE RIDER OF RANVILLE
After fencing behind enemy lines in Normandy, William Billâ Gladden conducted us reconnaissance on his motorcycle
SWORD BEACH
The easternmost sector of the 6 June Normandy Landings was a mostly British affair, and Saw some of the biggest territorial gains of the first day of the Allied invasion