The German Order of Battle, Waffen SS and Other Units in World War II by George F.Nafzinger: NEW 2001 US 1st Edition Hardback

 Thanks to Brett C for the following review from www.goodreads.com:

"Non-German nationals eventually would form 57 percent of the Waffen-SS.", pg. 21

This book was loaded with specifics about the Waffen-SS and other units of the Germans in WW2. This is not a read but more of a reference tool. There was a brief introduction followed by detailed lists of organizational break-downs of each unit. This was listed from leadership staff down through the lowest support company. The total descriptions of the various units were very in-depth that included armoured, motorized infantry, reconnaissance regiments and battalions, signals battalions (radio and telephone), engineers (halftracks and flamethrowers), Flak battalions, medical personnel, commissary (butchers and bakers), supply (fuels), and administrative personnel (postal and pay). The book was chaptered into subjects including the Waffen-SS Divisions and Brigades, German Luftwaffe Divisions and Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) Forces, German Naval Divisions, and foreign formations like the Russians, Croats, Serbs, Montenegrins, Italians, and Slovaks.

The interesting pieces I learned were about the Cossack volunteers, Kalmuck volunteers, and other Hilfsfreiwilliger (Helper Volunteers, or Hiwis for short) found inside the Soviet Union. "Though it displeased Hitler, the Army High Command continued to authorize the use of Hiwis up to 10-15 percent of divisional strength and by August 1942 official regulations were issued governing uniforms, pay, decoration, and insignia. By early 1943 an estimated 80K Russians were serving the Wehrmacht in the Ostbataillonen (pg. 218)". Detailed organizational tables gave evidence of armed combatants to include Turkestani (ex-Soviet Central Asians POWS like Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs, Uzbeks, and Tajikis), Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, and other Northern Caucasus (Chechen, Ingush, Dagestani, Lezgins) troops. "The invading Germans were often seen as liberators by the various ethnic minorities living under the Soviet yoke." 

Another interesting piece was the Croatian forces that aligned themselves with Hitler. Croatia was probably the most pro-Axis state. Croatian forces offered many soldiers into homegrown units of the Ustasha, calvary, mountain troops, reconnaissance and anti-tanks battalions, and others in aiding the Germans in Yugoslavia. "Though the Free State of Croatia was purportedly an independent state, it was little more than a thinly disguised German vassal state. When it established its army, the Hrvatsko Domobranstvo (Home Defence), it did so with the complete blessing and support of Adolf Hitler 

This book is great for a highly-detailed visual of the Waffen-SS and other obscure units within the German service.