This book does a lot to dispel some of the myths of the “easy” German invasion of Poland. While it does so, it is also not the focus of the book, but rather the nascent Waffen-SS evolving into a military arm of the Nazi war machine. Author Massimiliano Afiero writes,

In September 1939, the Waffen-SS was effectively only three regiments plus several hodgepodge units. Poland would be its baptism of fire: during the campaign, SS combat units participated in operations attached to formations of the Heer. Still considered more parade troops than frontline soldiers, they did not prove a decisive factor in the fighting, but the campaign was important for their transformation into real fighting units.

By 1937 the SS was divided into three branches: the Allgemeine-SS (General SS), the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), and the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV) which administered the concentration camps. On 17 August 1938, Hitler decreed that the SS military formations were to be placed at the "disposal" of the army in time of war.

The Waffen-SS in Poland, 1939 succinctly tells part of this history and is composed of the following chapters:

• Timeline of Events
• Glossary of German Military Terms
• Introduction
• The Danzig Question
• Fall Weiß
• Employment of SS Units
• The Panzerverband Ostpreußen
• SS-Verfügungstruppe
• The SS Heimwehr Danzig
• Gruppe Eberhardt
• The Attack Begins
• The Attack on the Polish Post Office
• The Attack Against the Westerplatte
• Employment in Other Sectors
• Employment of the Other Totenkopf Units
• Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler in Action
• Early Clashes
• On the Bzura Front
• Fights in the Modlin Area
• Panzerdivision Kempf in Action
• The Modlin Forts
• The Germania Regiment
• Employment of the SS-Pionier-Bataillon
• Aftermath
• Further Reading
• Index

This book really does a great job of highlighting how the Waffen-SS participated in the early battles for Poland, learning their lessons and developing into a formidable force in future campaigns. But in Poland, they had a lot to learn and were piecemealed to Heer formations. It is enlightening to see how the author lays out their formations, leadership and training and how it often did not stand up to the harsh realities of combat. The Poles were not the oft believed pushovers and bloodied the SS, and Heer, throughout the invasion.

The early moves in the campaign showcased the SS units and their contributions to seizing key positions and targets, particularly in Danzig. The SS Heimwehr (literally home guard), were instrumental in removing Polish authority in the key city and the Polish/Danzig Corridor established after World War I. This vital corridor was the missing link between Germany and Prussia, and Hitler saw it as a German possession. Working in conjunction with the Panzerverband Ostpreußen in East Prussia, these units closed off Danzig and opened northern Poland to German forces in a pincer movement while other German units, including SS units, moved in to form the southern pincer. The SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS Dispositional Troops) played their roles as well, and the SS units performed particularly well as paramilitary forces, and not as well in the direct combat role.

The Waffen-SS units were largely criticized for their performance and lack of professionalism. In the words of General der Artillerie Herbert Loch, Commander of the 17^th Infantry Division, he “complained of the poor use of the SS units in the field but above all that the fact that the villages where the shots had been fired had been systematically torched, thus depriving the troops of shelter for the night and creating further obstacles for the troops on the march.”

The author did an amazing job of profiling the Waffen-SS leaders involved, both in the main body of the text, and providing further details in the “In Profile” sections giving bibliographical details and their SS numbers.

From the Aftermath section,

From effectively three regiments, and several hodgepodge units on September 1, 1939, the Waffen-SS, or more properly at the time the SS-VT, was to grow into the juggernaut of 38 divisions of 900,000 troops that it would ultimately become. Regarded with much skepticism and derided by senior Heer officers as purely ceremonial troops incapable of blitzkrieg tactics, criticism was leveled at the Heer for the cynical misuse of the SS-VT units in the Polish campaign – although answerable only to Hitler, in military operations, Waffen-SS units were absorbed into the Heer order of battle.

After Poland, “Himmler became convinced that if his units were used autonomously they could have better demonstrated their full potential, leading him to push for the SS to be considered a separate fighting force.”

This battle-tested force would soon grow from regiments to divisions. Besides the infantry, “other troops, including artillery, reconnaissance, signals and engineers, gained invaluable experience on the battlefield, with the SS-Pionier Bataillon excelling.” Despite its heavier (pro rata) SS deaths that exceeded those of the Heer, several Waffen-SS leaders, including Paul Hausser, Sepp Dietrich, Fritz Witt, Huber Meyer, Kurt “Panzer” Meyer and many others, soon became household names.

The Italian author, Massimiliano Afiero, has written several books about the Italian and German units in World War II, and is the Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly magazine, The Axis Forces. He has an engaging style and six of his books have been reviewed by the IPMS/USA Review Corps. My only complaints are that while there is a Glossary of German Military Terms, they don’t address the Waffen-SS ranks or titles, and while there are maps, more detailed maps detailing the actions described would go a long way.

Modelers cannot help but have a lot of inspiration for their models, vignettes, and dioramas from this book. The period photographs provide great details for early WWII German Heer units, the nascent Waffen-SS and the Polish army. While a lot of current modeling focuses on mid-to-late war uniforms, equipment and gear, the early years are often relegated to the past. The photographs in this book do a lot to motivate modelers as the German war machine learned its gruesome craft.

This book is worth your hard-earned hobby money and is outstanding reference material for the Polish campaign in 1939.

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