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by Douglas E. Nash, Sr.
Hardback (6.3×9.3 inches). 371 pages. 2023.
Subtitle: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag – December 1944
This is a history of an SS penal unit filled with a bunch of sadists, rapists, and murderers. Think of it like The Dirty Dozen only it’s The Dirty Thousands. Originally an anti-partisan unit, its activities were so heinous, the SS administrator of Poland threatened to arrest them if the unit wasn’t shipped out. The Soviet Union was the next stop and the atrocities continued, followed by Slovakia.
I won’t kid you. This is a hard book to digest — no heroes, just scum. Even the SS disowned the unit and gave it unique crossed rifles and grenade unit patch instead of the lightning bolts.
Eventually, as the Soviet offensive rolled into and through the Balkans, the unit, reinforced with convicted communists and Russian POWs, was sent to fill a hole in the line at Ipolysag (Hungary).
A combat unit this was not. It had small arms, but no AT guns or tanks and it went up against a Mechanized Corps. Between the defections and scurrying, the unit unhinged a semblance of a line and so the Soviet attack continued. Counterattacks by depleted combat units failed to stem the steamroller. Oddly enough, the Brigade was upgraded to a full division — 36th Waffen SS — in Feb 1945 (p264), although it never achieved the TO&E of a full division.
Typos: “reported the capturedd of 492 rifles” (p11) has an extra d; “All but 600-700 troops reached the safety of their own lines…” (p245) should read “Only 600-700 troops…”; and a really poorly written sentence about trucks for the unit (p28) that I can’t quite fathom.
The book contains 63 black and white photos, nine black and white maps, and three black and white illustrations. The OOB for the unit is well done.
The battle of Ipolysag is quite detailed, including movements and attacks of adjacent German units and enemy Soviet units.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
