Author(s): Douglas E. Nash & Remy Spezzano

Language(s): English text

Format: Hardcover, large format, 12" x 12"

Pages: 300 pages

Photos: 243 Duotone wartime photos by Ernst Baumann

Biographies: 13 Biographies for key unit commanders

Maps: 5 tactical maps

Published: 1st Edition May 2025

ISBN: 9798991811507

WIKING SOMMER (Viking Summer) is the final installment in RZM Publishing’s 3-volume photo book series, which includes Unternehmen ILSE and Kampfgruppe Mühlenkamp. The series chronicles the operations of the 5. SS-Panzer Division “Wiking” in eastern Poland from April to August 1944. The photographs featured in these publications were captured by renowned German photographer Ernst Baumann. This third title picks up the historical narrative following Kampfgruppe Mühlenkamp’s dramatic rescue of Grenadier-Bataillon z.v.B. 560, which had been cut off behind enemy lines. The engagement took place as Heeresgruppe Mitte (Army Group Center) struggled to recover from its decisive defeat during Operation Bagration, the Red Army’s summer offensive. The German front line was ultimately restored, and numerous Soviet infantry and cavalry divisions were encircled and destroyed, thanks to a successful counterattack by the Wiking Division and the 4. Panzer Division.

While these actions were covered in the previous book from the perspective of the Kampfgruppe as a whole, this publication focuses primarily on the fighting as experienced by III. Bataillon (gepanzert)/SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 9 “Germania.” Commanded by SS-Sturmbannführer Paul Kümmel, this elite panzergrenadier unit was fully outfitted with armored personnel carriers and often operated alongside Wiking’s panzer regiment. Wiking Sommer meticulously documents the battalion’s operations over an 18-day period from late July to mid-August, capturing its tactical maneuvers, logistical efforts, maintenance routines, and everyday activities. Through vivid imagery, the book provides a comprehensive portrait of the Waffen-SS in combat on the Eastern Front during this critical phase of the war.