Crumbling Empire: The German Defeat in the East, 1944

by Samuel W. Mitcham

Release Date: 15 September, 2001

Edition: Hardcover

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The outline and definition of defeat.

By 1944 the direction of world war two is moving inexorably against Germany and evidence of this is seen on every military situation map.
Crumbling Empire: The German defeat in the east 1944 is written from a German divisional and corps perspective and follows the last desperate attempts of the German Wehrmacht to wedge the crushing Soviet offensive against Germany and her axis allies, particularly Romania and Hungary. The detailed text includes unit assignments and aggressive tactical warfare, including accounts of the lesser-known atrocities of SS units like the Kaminsky and Direlwanger battalions.
The well-written text includes a survey of the German diplomatic mission developing in the face of exponential military losses. Despite last-ditch espionage and effective rearguard actions, the German military position remains difficult throughout the entire campaign as there is literally no effective response against a vengeful Soviet onslaught that is determined to make the final moves in the great patriotic war.

Situation East: Steel meets the Hammer.

September 7, 2002
Crumbling Empire:
The German Defeat in the East 1944
By: Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr.

By its very title, this book is a detailed account of the changing tide of the war in the east.
Written mainly from a German intermediate corps and divisional perspective, the author intersects both graphic tactical details and a strategic explanation into a coherent discussion of the actual battles.
The book also includes biographies and accounts of lesser known but historically valuable leaders and units which served in this area. From the flanked, preempted commands of Field Marshal Ernest Busch to the largely unknown and less than honorable actions of the Kamensky and Direlwanger battalions; in addition to the vitally important role of famous and elite units like the 3rd SS panzer division "Totenkopf" and the 5th SS panzer division "Viking"--assigned missions of futility and impossibility (and almost achieved them).
At appropriate times, the author overlays with a description of the strategic military and diplomatic situation in the region or sector, and its impact on the vital control of natural resources--copper, bauxite, grain and petrol. It is not mentioned, but also needed foreign currency and gold reserves. Aspects in the war in the east that argueably caused the defeat of the German Reich faster than tactical bloodshead on the battlefield.
Supporting material includes substantive photographs and well documented, detailed footnotes and order of battle diagrams. And some front line situation maps which are lacking. In appearance, it looks as if the maps are hand drawn templates that have been photocoped. The information is compressed, cluttered and difficult to discern against the textual material referenced.
Beyond this, the book is well written and detailed towards the issue. The reader can both imagine and understand the inexorable situation facing the Germans, the ferocity and desperation of the battles themselves and an accurate survey of the strategic situation in the east in 1944 during declining months of the great patriotic war.

Sean Marche