Bandenbekämpfung: The German Way of War in Asymmetrical Warfare

The period we call the Second World War, the period from 1939-1945 for the European Theater of War, and 1937-1945 for the Pacific Theater of War, has been the subject of thousands upon thousands of published studies. This very hostile and violent time period continues to captivate our thoughts and even our post-war actions, and will do so for the foreseeable future. This is as a result of several factors. First of all, war in all its facets is both stimulating and thought-provoking. It stimulates our senses and thoughts as to its complexity and purpose. This is why in the future there will always be a new book published on this time period. Secondly, the vast amount of documentary evidence is so large, that not even several generations of historians can put a dent as to the number of documents, photographs and files that have been researched. What continues to happen, however, is that while books are published regularly about a topic that has already been written about, perhaps from a different perspective, every now and then a work is released which covers a hitherto undocumented event or period in the war, that no one has cared nor has found documentary evidence, to write about.

It is this type of book which has always fascinated me. The unknown or little-known history of this massive conflict. For example, in the past I have written about the most obscure combat formations of the Waffen-SS (‘Forgotten Legions: Obscure Combat Formations of the Waffen-SS, 1943-1945’). I have also tackled another little-known segment of German World War Two military history, when I wrote a two-volume work on the German Ordnungspolizei (‘Hitler’s Green Army, the German Order Police and its European Auxiliaries, 1939-1945’). I have likewise covered the little studied foreign volunteer movement within the Wehrmacht (‘Hitler’s Eastern Legions: The Baltic Schutzmannschaft, 1941-1945’ and ‘Hitler’s Eastern Legions: The Osttruppen, 1941-1945’). In 2018 I released a title on the German Geheimfeldpolizei (‘Herakles and the Swastika: The German Secret Field Police in Greece, 1941-1944’). This organization is even unknown to even some experts on the Second World War. As you can see, my interests tend to go for the unusual and obscure in World War Two. This is the reputation that I have built up in close to forty years of research. This time I have tackled the unfamiliar and poorly understood topic of the guerrilla and anti-partisan war that raged behind the lines of the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1944.

I have split up this huge chunk of history into four digestible parts that I hope, will all be published when all is said and done. The first of these four works (‘Hitler’s War Against the Partisans During Operation Barbarossa, June 1941 to the Spring of 1942’), will be released by Frontline Books (Pen & Sword) in February 2025. The second is also due for release in 2025, but later in the year (‘Hitler’s War Against the Partisans During the Stalingrad Offensive, Spring 1942 to Spring 1943’). A third work is also completed and ready for editing (‘Hitler’s War Against the Partisans During the Kursk Offensive, Spring to Fall 1943). Finally, a fourth book will complete this tetralogy on the history of this obscure and little-understood topic (‘Hitler’s War Against the Partisans During Operation Bagration, Spring to Summer 1944’).

The research for this book lasted close to two decades. That is how long I have been collecting evidence by way of documents, reports, and photographs. I have made several discoveries that I convey in the books. One of them, is that it appears from all evidence studied about this asymmetrical war, that the size and scale of the campaign behind the lines almost as large, but certainly just as violent and uncompromising, as the struggle along the front lines. Luckily, I have travelled extensively to various archives in both Europe and the United States. During all that time, I never failed to collect bits here and there that, when put together, told a very interesting and unusual story. I believe that my work is the only one that covers just about all of the operations and undertakings between the largest guerrilla army the world had seen and the anti-partisan forces of the Third Reich. I believe the reader will be pleasantly surprised at the depth and detail of each study. I look forward to the release of all four books as the culmination of decades of work and research on this very esoteric topic.

Preorder your copy here.