The author, Jeff D. Eberle, started collecting authentic photographs and albums from World War II. “Sourced from veterans, auction houses, rummage sales, and antique shops”, he accumulated thousands of photographs. The author’s focus over 30 years ago was the Eastern Front, although he also has the Western Europe, Battle of Britain, North Africa, Norway, the Balkans, and the war at sea present in mostly chronological order. A collection of over 400 of these photographs are presented in this magnificent book.

The photographs and their captions are the focus of the book except for the three pages of commonly used terms and a page and a half introduction. This photographic reference book is composed of the following sections:

• Glossary of Commonly Used Terms
• Introduction
• Part I: 1939-1942
• Part II: 1943-1961

The Introduction is succinct and summarizes the book well:

This is not intended to be a history book; thousands of those detailing the campaigns and battles of this era already exist. My intent is to showcase my personal collection of rare wartime photographs at a time where most books use the same handful of highly publicized images that have been used repeatedly for the past seventy years. I present a study of the images themselves, with pertinent historical background information. Around 80 percent of the photographs featured in this book have never been published before, and are one-of-a-kind snapshots taken directly from the photo albums of the men who fought the battles. Around 20 percent of the images are what is known as a ‘Press Corps Photo’ or Kreigsberichter (war correspondent) photographs, which were widely distributed during and after the war through international media outlets, and have appeared in print before.

The 255 pages of this book are amazing. Since the focus is on the German military, the evolution of the soldiers from 1939 to 1945 is striking. Part I is focused on the high tide of the German war machine. Part II, surprising titled 1943-1961, reflects the German war machine in retreat on all fronts to its ultimate, desperate demise. So why does the book move past 1945? The author goes beyond the normal and shows German POWs returning home from years in Soviet captivity and the formation of East German military units based on the Wehrmacht model, including a great caption about the NVA’s (Nationale Volksarmee) distinct M56 steel helmet that was barely introduced as the German M45/IIB helmet in the final days.

I, for one, am glad the author has been collecting German WWII photographs for the over 30 years. His photos reflect the multitude ethnic people recruited (or coerced) into the German military, including African-German, Russian, Belorussian, Kalmyk, Cossacks (Astrakhan and Siberian), Ingushetian and Dagestani Muslims, Danes, Indian, Spanish, Armenians, Bosnian, Croatian and even British soldiers.

The price of this book is definitely good value for the money. The photographs are superb and the detail amazing. The author does a great job of identifying weapons, awards, and small details that really explain the images. It is hard not to be impressed and inspired to build figures, vignettes, and dioramas on any given page. The toll of war is clearly shown on the faces of soldiers throughout the book. The Blitzkrieg era soldiers are soon given way to old men and young teenagers. A careful observer can read their faces. As a combat veteran, I can attest to the hard stares looking at something far away, the disbelief of still being alive, the harsh reality of combat and resignation of your fate.

From the Casemate webpage for this book is the following summary of the author,

Jeff D. Eberle is an author, photographer, and amateur historian. Over thirty years ago, at the age of twelve, he began collecting militaria, with a special emphasis on authentic World War II photographs. The main areas of focus of his collection are images from the Eastern Front and images depicting small arms in use. Over the last three decades, his photo collection has grown to number in the thousands. As well as collecting, Eberle also deals in, appraises, and authenticates wartime photographs. The author was born, raised, and lives in Colorado.

Based on this book, I truly hope Jeff Eberle continues the success of Frontkämpfer. This book is worth every penny and will be on my bookshelf and desk for a long time to come. I have at least three ideas for vignettes, and plenty of models in my stash to make it so. If you have an interest in the German forces, particularly on the Eastern Front, this is a great book to add to your reference collection.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS/USA for providing the review sample.