Joining Hitler's Crusade European Nations and the Invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941

The reasons behind Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union are well known, but what about those of the other Axis and non-Axis powers that joined Operation Barbarossa? Six other European armies fought with the Wehrmacht in 1941 and six more countries sent volunteers, as well as there being countless collaborators in the east of various nationalities who were willing to work with the Germans in 1941. The political, social and military context behind why so many nations and groups of volunteers opted to join Hitler's war in the east reflects the many diverse, and largely unknown, roads that led to Operation Barbarossa. With each chapter dealing with a new country and every author being a subject matter expert on that nation, proficient in the local language and historiography, this fascinating new study offers unparalleled insight into non-German participation on the Eastern Front in 1941.

List of figures; Notes on contributors; Acknowledgement; Preface David Stahel; Part I. The National Armies: 1. Finland Carl Henrik Meinander; 2. Romania Dennis John Deletant; 3. Hungary Ignác Romsics; 4. Slovakia Jan Rychlik; 5. Italy Thomas Schlemmer; 6. Croatia Rory Yeomans; Part II. The Volunteers: 7. Spain Xavier Moreno Juliá; 8. The Netherlands Evertjan van Roekel; 9. Denmark Joachim Lund; 10. Belgium Nico Wouters; 11. France Oleg Beyda; 12. Norway Sigurd Christian Sørlie; Part III. Collaborators from within the Soviet Union: 13. The Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia Valdis O. Lumans; 14. The Soviet Union Igor Petrov and Oleg Beyda.

David Stahel is a Senior Lecturer in European history at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia. His latest book, The Battle for Moscow (Cambridge, 2015), was shortlisted for the British Army's military book of the year, 2016.