Originating in Hitler’s personal bodyguard, the Waffen-SS was expanded as a fourth branch of the Wermacht and became regarded as the tough elite of the German Armed Forces. Known as Hitler’s ‘Asphalt Soldiers’ they fought on all main battle-fronts, but most notably in the East against the Soviet Union. Gordon Williamson describes the organisation, equipment, tactics and personalities of the Waffen-SS in the Second World War. The author has travelled to Germany to interview numerous surviving Waffen-SS soldiers and corresponded with many others, obtaining first-hand accounts of their wartime experiences.