Das Reich in France 1940 - book cover
 
Title: Into the Cauldron, Das Reich in France 1940
Author: Robert Michulec and Dmitiry Zgonnik
Publisher: Concord Publications
ISBN:  962-361-169-2
 
By the end of WW2, the divisions of the Waffen-SS had earned themselves a reputation for many things.  I recall my fathers' memories being that they were simply tough opposition to be reckoned with.  At the start of the war though they were still only a small part of the German fighting machine, and smaller units were beginning to be formed into larger, complete divisions.  Smaller units such as Germania and Der Fuhrer.  They eventually merged into the Reich division.
 
This book of photos follows the normal Concord Publications style, with well captioned pictures, split in the middle of the book by four pages of colour artwork, illustrating different uniforms.  Pictured during the campaign in France it shows the SS troops mostly in their early plane-tree pattern camouflage smocks, quite different from the standard field grey uniforms of the Wehrmacht.  The opening pages show them in their barracks, well away from any combt area, while the rest is a marvellous set of pictures of these troops during the French campaign of 1940.  Whether among captured French equipment, or lines of motor-cycle combinations and cavalry, bridging equipment and so on, this is another very useful reference if you have an interest in this early war period.  Passing through or stopping in French towns and cities, there are plenty of very characteristic shots and scenery.
 
There were one or two well known pictures, but most were new to me, and give a good look at the variations in uniforms and equipment when troops are in a combat zone, not on a parade ground.  With some showing things like bridging equipment in use, or the use of the large rubber boats used for river crossings, there are plenty of ideas in here that you could use to think through some potential dioramas.  Captions are well written and provide useful commentary onthe pictures themselves.
 
Overall another neat reference from Concord if you have a particular interest in the early war period, and the invasion of France.  The examples taken from the book below show you the covers to look out for, along with an example of the artwork, and another with the sort of interesting photos and captions you will find.
 
Thanks to Casemate Publishing, the distributors in the UK for my example, it is available now.

For full details on this title, and all other Casemate Publishing titles, please visit the Casemate website.

For ordering outside the US please see here: Casemate UK

For within the US: Casemate Publishing