Hitler's Brandenburgers: The Third Reich's Elite Special Forces

I own practically every book in English & German published on the Brandenburgers plus many others that have snippets of information concerning their operations. If you want a detailed factual account detailing this unit's history from 1939 to fall 1944 when it converted to a panzergrenadier division then this book is for you. Unlike the English language translation of Franz Kurowski's two part German work which I have never liked since it intermixes actual Brandenburger operations with other Abwehr information and seems disjointed at times (I own the Stackpole version-The Brandenburg Commandos) this work is well organized and goes into depth on actual commando and anti-partisan operations.The reasons I didn't give it 5 stars is 1) a lack of maps (I know there couldn't be one for every operation and theater but a few would've been nice for the general reader-for example locations of ops in Norway 1940, Southern Russia 1942 and especially the Balkan theater 1943-4 where the division spent so much time in anti-partisan operations). 2) while reading many parts of the book I felt I was reading Kurowski's book mentioned earlier or Helmut Spaeter's Die Brandenburgers word for word-the author DID NOT copy/cut-n-paste; I believe it's due to how he structured the work in a similar fashion, chronologically. 3) In the introduction the author states he wishes to correct the errors of the past and not intermix actual Brandenburg operations with Abwehr operations which drew a handful of soldiers from the commando unit. I applaud this yet he includes activities in Afghanistan & India, along with a brief mention of Iraq yet doesn't mention Operation Schamil (an Abwehr operation not Brandenburg one) where the Brandenburger Lange would win the Knight's Cross and later serve in Albania in 1943 with the division (Maybe he should have had these questionable Brandenburg operations as a seperate appendix).Having spent several decades on & off studying the Brandenburgers but failing to actually write a history of the unit I want to compliment Lawrence Paterson on a well done book that is long overdue. I know he drew from Kurowski's work but now is the time to regulate Kurowski's Brandenburg history to the dustbin and for English readers to use this book as one's starting point for learning about the unit and also as a starting point for more in depth research. You've done a great job Mr. Paterson and I compliment and thank you.Potential buyers interested in the Brandenburgers buy this work-combined with A. Stephen Hamilton's history of the Brandenburg Panzergrenadier division and you have the entire history from fledgling commando unit in 1939 through enlargement to a light infantry division in 1943/4 and it's final form as a PzGr Div dying in the last battles in eastern Germany.

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I am still looking for a book a read long ago by one of it s commanders..can’t remember name.. anyone????

A very thorough, well researched , readable if somewhat dry account of the Brandenburgers. The narrative includes some srpising revelations abot the state of the higher echelons of the German armed forces apart from the internecine rivalries which goes some way to explain why the Nazi forces lost the war.

Excellent book on this little known military organisation.

Very Happy with this kindle edition. Am about a quarter of the way through so far. Good amount of detail, and some Ops I wasn't aware of. Have read more expensive accounts, with a lot less information.