The 'Hermann Goering' Division

Men-At-Arms 385
By Gordon Williamson
Colour Plates by Stephen Andrew
Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2003
ISBN 1-84176-406-X
48 Pages, Softbound

Reviewed by John Prigent

World War Two German soldiers are popular subjects for figure modellers, and good uniform references are sought after by AFV modellers too. This book is great for both groups!

About a third of it is devoted to a potted history of the Division, from its beginnings in 1933 as a single battalion of police to its end as a Panzerkorps in 1945. The sub-units are listed for various stages in its development, too, and so are the “satellite” detachments and training units – a very useful feature. The rest of the book covers the uniforms in considerable detail – the original police uniform, Luftwaffe uniform items, tropical dress in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, camouflage clothing, and AFV crew clothing. Waffenfarbe colours are given for three periods, the different cuffbands are described and illustrated, and even the special motorcyclist’s coat and various command pennants are here. Paratroop dress is not included, having already been covered in Men-at-Arms 139.

The photographs and colour plates show a good cross-section of what’s described, making this a splendid reference for anyone modelling ‘HG’ soldiers. Highly recommended, especially to anyone looking for “different” subjects or wanting to get HG AFV crew figures dressed as they really were!