8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer

Ian Baxter

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2023
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781399062824
• Subtopic: Eastern European History
• Index: History

Covers the operations of a leading SS Calvary Regiment and describes fighting under desperate conditions on the Eastern Front.
Formed in 1942 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer was soon deployed to the Eastern Front where Hitler's ambition to conquer Russia was stalling badly. In common with other SS units the Division was responsible for razing towns and villages, poisoning wells and genocide often against unarmed civilians. This scorched earth policy was aimed at hindering the Red Army's advance. After moving South, the Division took part in the retreat from the Dnieper River before operating in Hungary and Croatia. The end came when trapped in Budapest by Soviet and Romanian forces, the Division was destroyed in December 1944. By the end of the siege only 800 of the 30,000 men in the SS Corps reached German lines. Using many startling contemporary images, this latest book in the Author's Images of War series vividly illustrates the horror of warfare on the Eastern Front.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Author
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Birth of the SS Cavalry Division: 1939–42
• Chapter Two: Eastern Front: September 1942–December 1943
• Chapter Three: Croatia and Romania: December 1943–April 1944
• Chapter Four: Hungary: November 1944–March 1945
• Appendix I: Structure of the SS Cavalry Brigade in Belorussia
• Appendix II: Order of Battle: Summer/Autumn 1943
• Appendix III: Lineage
• Appendix IV: Operation SPRING AWAKENING: Order of Battle
• Appendix V: Order of Battle: 37th SS.Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division Lützow
• Appendix VI: Recruitment of the Waffen SS
• Notes