German Ground Forces of World War II offers the first comprehensive order of battle for German ground troops throughout the Second World War, from the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, to the destruction of the last remnants of Germany’s Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in Berlin in 1945. Unlike similar works, these orders of battle are dynamic, and so account for the continuously changing character of Germany’s ground forces at war.

This massive new reference work by McCroden and Nutter, broken up in sections including Theater Commands, Army Groups, Armies, and Corps Commands, presents a detailed analysis of each corresponding order of battle for every German field formation above division. Additional new ground is broken by also describing the orders of battle of the myriad German and Axis satellite formations assigned to security commands throughout occupied Europe and the combat zones, as well as those attached to fortress commands and to the commanders of German occupation forces in Eastern and Western Europe. An accompanying narrative describes the career of each field formation and includes the background and experience of many of their most famous commanding officers.

For the first time, readers can follow the career of every German division, corps, army, and army group as the German armed forces shifted units to and from theaters of war, from the period of triumphant successes to the years of grinding defensive warfare and eventual defeat.

"After decades of effort, William McCroden and Thomas Nutter . . . have accomplished that seemingly impossible task. Working from primary German documents as much as possible, sources practically primary in nature (such as Tessin), and secondary sources ranging from extremely important to rather tangential, the authors have assembled what must rank as the most complete OB for German headquarters published on paper in English."

“German Ground Forces of World War II is an essential tool in determining who was doing what to whom and, most important, why. Tangentially, it also explains why German forces performed as stolidly as they did to war’s end. Thus, the book makes a major contribution to our understanding of why the flow of combat developed as it did throughout the entire war. Finally, together with recent Russian archival releases of Red Army orders of battle, McCroden’s and Nutter’s seminal work clears up many dilemmas that have vexed historians for years. This book will be of use to specialists as well as readers with a general interest in World War II.”