HISTORY:
** Whether it is their innovative technical development or the Nazi propaganda harping them as revolutionary wonder weapons, readers interested in World War II find the research on 'German secret weapons' captivating.
The V1, a flying bomb we would now call a cruise missile, opened in June 1944 and soon dozens of them were hitting England day and night. Churchill was so worried that he issued a memorandum proposing to drop poison gas on German cities. To strengthen the faith of the German people in the final victory, despite an increasingly desperate military situation, Nazi propaganda gave the name to this new weapon, V1 for Vergeltungswaffe 1, weapon of revenge number 1.
The first V2s, a large liquid-fuelled rocket, were fired against Paris and London on September 8.
The V1s and V2s, but also jet engines, were produced by slave workers in the underground factory of Mittelwerk. Inmates from nearby Dora concentration camps provided the labour force, the usual gruesome methods were employed, and over 20,000 of the forced laborers of the Mittelwerk perished. The SS finally seized power not onlye of the production of V-Weapons but also of their operational command.
The last months of World War II, when Germany was on the defensive on all fronts and desperately looking for 'wonder weapons', saw a number of ineffective, albeit innovative, technical developments. Among them were the HDP and the Rheinbote, the third and fourth V-Weapons, which were launched into battle in small numbers.
V-weapons were indeed inventive weapon concepts, but it must be remembered that Nazi Germany failed to realize that the real super-weapon was going to come from nuclear technology. The only real superweapon of World War II, the atomic bomb, was developed by the Western Allies.
The Allied powers had recognized the technical potential of the V2s and to learn German technique of launching long-range rockets, an Operation 'Backfire' was conducted in the summer of 1945 with captured German personnel supervised by British technical experts. Three V2s were launched in October. The United States wasted no time in acquiring 120 top rocket scientist Germans and the first test of a V2 on American soil took place on March 3, 1946. The Russians also captured German rocket technicians who quickly resumed their work in Russia. **
** Quoted from the book’s dust jacket and the Pen & Sword Books website.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books has released Vergeltungswaffen, The Third Reich’s V-Missiles, Then and Now as part of their After The Battle series of books. It is a 256-page hardcover book, 6.93 x 1.18 x 10 inches in size. Included with the text are black and white and color photographs. The book has a 2024 copyright, a publication date of November 4, 2024, and the ISBN is 978-1-0361-0138-1.
CONTENTS:
Preface
Introduction
Groundbreaking Technologies
V1, The First Cruise Missile
V2, The First Ballistic Missile
Hochdruckpumpe, The ‘England’ Cannon
Rheinbote, 4-Stage-Rocket
End of the Third Reich
V-Weapons, Victims and Damage
Operation ‘Backfire’
From ‘Paperclip’ to the Moon
V-Weapons Then and Now
THE TEXT:
Author Jean Paul Pallud provides a well written and informative text detailing Germany’s missile and rocket, commonly referred to as “Vengeance Weapons”, program during World War II. The author goes into great detail with a no-nonsense type of writing and provides a plentitude of information on the different weapons starting with the research and development of the different weapons and on to the production and use of the weapons and the continuation of the development and testing of the weapons, after the war had ended, by the Allies with the assistance of the German scientists that were involved with the development of the weapons during the war. The author covers the V1 flying bomb, the V2 rocket, the V3 cannon and the V4 or "Rheinbote" missile. As well as the technical information being covered, the author also discusses the individuals that were responsible for the design, development and testing of the weapons, the facilities where the weapons were produced, how the weapons were constructed and the slave labor that was used in their manufacture, the testing of the weapons, the weapon launch facilities, the damaged that was caused by the weapons on their intended targets, response to the attacks by the Allies such as Operation Hydra, as well as the damage that was caused by the Allies when bombing the various German sites associated with the rocket programs. A subject also discussed that I found to be interesting was the detailing of the capture of the various sites by the Allies and what was required to transport the captured weapons to Allied territories. In addition to his own words, Jean Paul Pallud has also provided quotes from individuals on both the Allied and Axis side of the conflict as well as excerpts from the official German war diary of Artillerie-Regiment zV 901, the division responsible for the control of the missions of the V 2 rockets. I feel that the author has covered Germany’s missile and rocket programs, well and has provided the information in an easy-to-read format which the detailed oriented reader will benefit from. Jean Paul Pallud doesn’t use what I refer to as fluff writing where a large amount of non-essential extra text is provided just to help fill the pages. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be an important factor to everyone however it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 366 black and white photographs and 68 color photographs are included in this volume. Author Jean Paul Pallud chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. Most of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few of them are somewhat blurry and a few of them appear to be too dark, while others appear to be too light. This can be typical for the period of history being discussed and the quality of the photographs is of no fault of the author, and they do not take anything away from the book. There is a vast array of photographs dealing with the German Vergeltungswaffen rocket program. They include photographs at the start of the program through the rocket’s development, construction and use, the rockets launch sites and factories during construction and then after being captured by the allies and the continuation of the rocket program by the Allies after the war ended and other such subjects. There are several photographs of the internal and external components and subassemblies of the various rockets, slave laborers constructing the rockets. There are photos of German blueprints, charts, official drawings, as well as sketches by the Allies and also by a French agent. There are also photographs of maps, operation layouts, and aerial reconnaissance photographs. The reader should be aware that there are photographs of deceased laborers that had been killed by the Germans at places such as the Buchenwald, Dora-Mittelbau concentration/forced-labor camp and also those killed by allied bombing raids. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be of great interest to anyone interested in early history of the German rocket development and use in combat during World War II due to the details they contain.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs nicely. The captions go into very specific detail as to the actions taking place, the type and model of rocket shown, types of launching ramps and pads, rocket engine types and fuel used, specific target locations, dates and locations and time of day, types of anti-aircraft weapons, specific type of aircraft shown, types of bombs used by the allies on rocket sites and what damage they caused, individual’s names and military rank, military units, personal quotes, and other such pertinent information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. I was impressed by Jean Paul Pallud’s captions as they are very helpful to the reader due to their detailed content.
CONCLUSION:
As with the other volumes of the After the Battle Then and Now titles from Pen & Sword Books I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains a well written informative text, many subject specific photographs, well detailed captions and more, all detailing the German Vergeltungswaffen rocket program during World War II. As with the other Pen & Sword Books titles, I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal military reference library.
PRICE
UK £29.99 / US $39.95
https://www.casematepublishers.com/
This book, from Pen & Sword Books, was provided to me by Casemate Publishers. Please mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when making your purchase. Thank you.