As part of Michael B. Butler's WW2 book series, and the pictorial series specifically, he has just released German 1941-43 War Campaign Pictorials Across Russia on Operation Barbarossa & in North Africa with Rommel's Afrika Korps, which clocks in at 470 pages with over 600 photographs. In this large format installment, two prominent German miliary leaders are featured, Generals Heinz Guderian and Erwin Rommel.
Photos created by German combat cameramen and propagandists, which later became property of the U.S. National Archives, allowed the author to fashion parallel 1941 operational stories of the 29th (Motorized) Infantry Division, part of Guderian's Second Panzer Group, and when an unknown Erwin Rommel was promoted by Hitler and made head of the Afrika Korps. This allowed for exploration of the complete strategic war situation leading to 1941 and throughout that watershed year.
One chapter focuses on the lead up to the Battle of Stalingrad with a photo gallery and compelling stories, another chronicles the history of famed Prussian-German General Staff and another Germanic Culture going back 2,000 years, to when the Romans found conquering Germania a difficult problem. Bonus sections include chapters on the 1917 Russian Revolution, August 1991 Soviet Union's collapse and 2003 Photo Gallery/Story Snapshot of St. Petersburg three years after Putin came to power.
Operations of famed General Heinz Guderian's Panzer Corps in Russia, through the story of the 29th Infantry (Motorized) Division, is related in detailed for invasion from Poland on June 22, 1941, until the entry into Ukraine in late August. General Rommel also plays a key part here as he was sent to North Africa in February 1941. Promoted to Lt. General, Rommel soon became famous as the Desert Fox. Those first crucial months of his brilliant operations, run a shoestring, are chronicled in detail from the German and Allied sides. Hundreds of photographs, many taken by the Rommel, supplement compelling story of desert warfare.
When World War Two ended in Europe, the U.S, Army and various intelligence agencies collected reams of evidence relating to the conduct of the war. A large number of photographs became property of the U.S. government and then the U.S. National Archives. This publication was created from those collections.
Following Michael B. Butler's first pictorial book, German 1940 Western Campaign Pictorials from Heinrich Hoffmann, Erwin Rommel, Combat Cameramen & Propagandists, the scene shifts to 1941-43 and the Soviet-Russian and North African campaigns. Having control of the majority of Europe, but failing to bring Great Britain to heel, Hitler cast his eyes on the vast, resource-rich Russian landmass. However, locking down Eastern Europe & North Africa, in part because of his weaker Italian partner, proved a vital and necessary pre-cursor to the main event, Russia. On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched the largest land war in history, a campaign of genocidal conquest from the Baltic to the Black Sea, from Leningrad to Stalingrad.
Michael B. Butler's previous books are: History Leading to the 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2: My Journey Thru World & Family History Landed at Omaha Beach, 6/6/94 and Round the World & Across Russia in 21 Days, 30 Years Later: 12 planes & 22 Aviators Thru 11 Countries When the Soviet Union Fell & Russia Returned and Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Who Escaped Justice.
About:
Michael B. Butler's first book, A World Flight Over Russia, was published by Wind Canyon Books in 1998. In January 2019, he was contracted by Vonda Pelto, Ph.D. to co-write Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Who Escaped Justice, which was published in September 2022 and continues to sell internationally. 25 years the World Flight book was published, Michael B. Butler retrieved the rights to the story and created an updated version, Round the World & Across Russia in 21 Days, 30 Years Later, which came in 2024 with additional pilot's journals and updated historical context.
In early 2025, the first of a two-book set, History Leading to the 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2, was published with extensive stories of Butler's family military history and his unlikely journey to Omaha Beach for the D-Day Anniversary commemorations. Before finishing Book 1 of that series, centered around his trip to the 50th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, he published two World War II Pictorial books based on extensive German photographic files, he created two the first two German 1940 War Campaign Pictorials from Heinrich Hoffman, Erwin Rommel, Combat Cameramen & Propagandists (2025) and German 1940-43 War Campaign Pictorials Across Russia on Operation Barbarossa & in North Africa with Rommel's Afrika Korps (2026).
Three more books, two of them pictorials, will be released over in the near future.