The Leibstandarte or, to give its full name, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler(LSSAH), was the first and is probably the most well-known of the premier Waffen-SS Panzer divisions. At the end of the Second World War in 1945 theLeibstandarte had become a fully-fledged armoured division with more than its fair share of popular personalities, Michael Wittmann among them; this was indeed a far cry from its more humbler beginnings during the dark times that was Germany in the 1920s.

Politics in Germany during both the period after the end of the First World War and the 1920s was for the most part a perilous affair, with leaders and speakers often being threatened by opposition strongarm groups; to combat any potential threat, many of the main factions both on the left and right of the complicated German political spectrum created bodyguard detachments composed of their most loyal followers to maintain order in meetings and protect speakers. The fledgling Nazi party was no different in this respect, and in March 1923 the Stabswache or Headquarters Guard was formed, led by two of Hitler’s early stalwarts, Josef Berchtold and Julius Schreck. Two months later, this small group was provided with the more belligerent sounding monicker Stosstrupp Adolf Hitler, or “Adolf Hitler Shock Troops”...