Panzer Leader

Others here have written better reviews than I can now, since it has been so long since I read it as one of my University textbooks. Briefly, when I had to jettison so many of my textbooks-THIS one I kept. If only his boss wasn't Hitler, there is so much to admire in him- including his being about the only one to stand up to Hitler and get away with it- as I remember, that fact is pretty well documented and not a bogus story to endear him to the Allies while in prison following the War.

Very incisive book. If Hitler listened to him Germany might of won the war. He was against invading Russia and so many interesting tactics he developed. The general staff was ready to fight WW1 all over again.Same tactics. Great book.

As others here have said, this is a mesmerizing read as an account of WW2. It is written from the aspect of one of Germany's top Generals; an account of General Guderian's personal experiences coupled with many evaluations of decisions made and also of the people who made them.The writer impresses within a couple of pages as an "officer and gentleman" of the old (Prussian) school. Kenneth Macksey describes him as "proud, dignified, honorable, kind and courtly, with a twinkling sense of humor" in his Introduction, and this came across throughout the book. The reader also cannot miss Guderian's distress at seeing his homeland again devastated in war, though he seldom states this openly (except as critiques of those he holds responsible), and mentions only in passing his own personal losses. An interesting sideline from Macksey is Guderian's "debt" to Capt Liddell Hart (para 3, p20), which doesn't reflect well on the latter. I'd like also to add a personal note of appreciation for the translator, Constantine FitzGibbon, as the book flows easily and preserves the character of its author.This is a book crammed full of detail which no serious student of WW2 should be without. Highlights for me were -- Guderian's inter-war interest in Tank warfare (and the opposition to it); His eye-witness account of the Anschluss (and his challenge to Churchill); the campaign up to Dunkirk (and the escape of the BEF); his account of the assault on Moscow (and the reason for it failing); the discussion at the end of the book on the German General Staff.An easy to read book, full of fascinating insider knowledge. In the dispute as to who was responsible for the loss of Barbarossa, Hitler or his Generals, this volume is unambiguous. Written by an obviously patriotic soldier, the events he so vividly portrays have shaped the world we live in today, for better or worse.I gave this book four stars rather than five because as I continued to read through it, there came an impression that this was written to please the victors. Guderian was one of 2,000 German officers picked by the Americans immediately after the war to write memoirs. This is not to say his negative views of the Nazi hierarchy aren't correct, and even held genuinely by him, but by the end of his book it had taken on for me a flavour of appeasing the winners, just as he had inserted the above-mentioned (unjustified) "tribute" to Capt. Liddell Hart. Excellent read for all that.

Patton, Montgomery, MacArthur, Yamamoto, Zhukov - names anyone interested in WWII should know. But no one was more responsible for developing Germany's armored "blitzkrieg" strategy - and then executing its early successes - than the soldier/scholar Heinz Guderian. An inter-war thought leader, along with BHL Hart and JFC Fuller and, to a lessor extent, de Gaulle, on the development and use of tanks, Guderian also got to put his theories to work in Poland, France and Russia. His was a hard-hitting strategy: "punch them don't slap them", and his tireless advances earned him the endearing sobriquet "Hurrying Heinz" from his adoring soldiers. His book is an absolute must-read, certainly for his personal record of his operational experiences, but probably far more so for his sobering descriptions of his interactions and many confrontations with a host of familiar Third Reich military and political leaders. His sympathetic fondness for Manstein, his disdain for Himmler, and his fearless, often frightening confrontations with Hitler make for edge-of-your-seat reading.Guderian was a Prussian gentleman, cleared of any wartime wrongdoing by the Nuremberg tribunals. His love of country, while difficult to sympathize with since his country was Hitler's Nazi Germany, is always expressed honestly and without either apology or defensiveness. His disdain for Hitler and his cronies is equally palpable. His is a unique and singularly important narrative of war and leadership during the Thousand Year Reich.

It is clear from the text of this book what kind of man Guderian was. Foremost a soldier, a patriot, and a man of character. As with most memoir's by the German general's of ww2, much of the text is dedicated to the structure, or lack of it, of the German high command and Hitler's ever increasing desire of control over all military conduct. Guderian sheds some light on the struggles of the general staff both on and off the battlefield as the army commanders are continually contradicted by der Führer and top elites as politics and social favoritism is ever increasingly brought into the mix in a place where such things hardly belong. One of the most impressive things about this book, and even more so about Guderian himself, is the undying patriotisom for which he and his fellow officers contained. Even in the darkest years of the war, they fought the loosing battle not for the Führer or his political party, but for absolute love and loyalty to their country and it's people. This book is just a small glimpse into the mind of the man who not only pioneered modern tank and armoured warfare, but also had a particular skill for being able to see the strengths and weaknesses not only of military operations, but also in people, and quite clearly the structure of Germany's high command and the government as a whole.

I felt that I had to write a brief note because so many reviews make no mention at all of the outrageous bias evidenced in this book. While i very much enjoyed the book, and found the many accounts of Guderian's interactions with Hitler fascinating, the reader must not forget that Guderian was instrumental in the effort to whitewash the crimes perpetrated by the Wermacht. According to Guderian, the Wermacht behaved with impeccable good manners during the invasion of Russia. Their kindness and conscientousness was a blessing on the population, according to him. This risible effort to spare himself and others from blame must not be overlooked, because the horrific crimes perpetrated by the Wermacht - of which Guderian was fully complicit - are a matter of historical record, despite his best efforts to pervert history's judgement.

5 stars but three huge elephants in the room need to be acknowledged:1. It's an autobiography so the author is subject to his own biases, selective memory and need for self justification.2. There's no mention of the war crimes committed by Guderian's own units. For example, the Grossdeutschland Division's murder of captured French colonial troops in France / Belgium doesn't get a mention. Throughout that campaign the Division's full name isn't mentioned and they are only referred to as "the GD Division" until the invasion of Russia.3. Whilst noting his distaste for the brutal actions of some others (but only in so far as they undermined the war effort) and referring to his own Christian beliefs Guderian chose to support a criminal regime to the bitter end.The campaign notes are somewhat dry and long stretches are given over to lists of military units moving towards / around / away from places you've never heard of before. However passages where tactics are discussed and the map illustrations are excellent.Where this book really earns its 5 Star rating is the descriptions of the inner workings of the Nazi regime and the conversations the author had with Hitler, other high ranking Nazi officials and senior military figures.This can be somewhat disturbing at times as it effectively places you at the heart of a criminal government, sharing Guderian's frustration when things go wrong.

A highly readable and unbiased account of Blitzkrieg from the German army's leading exponent of Blitzkrieg warfare. No attempt at all to self exculpate. Guderian was indeed an officer and a gentleman and writes very well. He tells it as it happened, without embellishment or exaggeration. He makes it clear that the army was fighting 2 enemies, both the Russians and the Germans' own supreme command, which did more to cause their defeat than the opposing army. Strongly recommended.

This book is a classic. Colonel General Heinz Guderian was one of the senior commanders in the Wehrmacht in the Second World War.He survived the war, even though he stood up to Hitler frequently. But he was never made a Field Marshal. The book is largely reconstructed from his own war diaries, and so get a bit tedious at times. Complaints were made that he did not describe in more detail how he coped with orders from Hitler to exterminate Jews and whole populations. Conscientious officers like Guderian had little option but to go along with orders, and do as little as possible. On the whole the book compares well with the notorious memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery who believed he was always right, and any failure was the fault of others.Guderian, like most senior officers in the Second World War, had survived the First World War. He was lucky enough to be selected as an officer in the 100,000 strong defense force, the Reichswehr, allowed to Germany. When Hitler came to power, this army had to be expanded to millions and trained. Tanks had to be built, even though Germany no longer had the facilities to make armor plate. Tank divisions, always called panzer divisions, had to be devised, furnished with tanks, and trained together.They were mostly light tanks, some armed only with machine-guns.But they brushed aside the much heavier British and French tanks.This new army was thrown into war years before the generals considered it ready. What they achieved was astonishing, hence the interest in Allied circles how they managed it. But the Wehrmacht was ground down because Hitler could never bear to give up ground. In the closing days of the war he was dismissed from all offices by Hitler for defeatist views. Churchill, who was as interventionist as Hitler in military matters, tolerated those who opposed his views. General Alan Brook, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, had constant disagreements with Churchill, but was never sacked. Had Hitler listened to Guderian's advice the war might have lasted much longer.It is no wonder that people were so eager to read Guderian's account of events

the very detailed and technical account of the war on various theaters such as Poland, France, and of course the eastern front by Gen. Guderian.This book could sound a bit repetitive as the same points are repeated again and again:- The relation between the General and Hitler- The complaints on the lack of "warm clothes", lack of fuel, etc.- As a reviewer clearly pointed out: the same text formulas are constantly repeated: "We move to A, repulsed a russian attack from X divisions, hold the position B, etc...which makes the reading a little bit dull and repetitive.I must say I have a lot of respect for the man and enjoy reading his prophetic "Achtung Panzer" but this book was quite a hard read.It is still worth a buy if you have any interest in military history but its definitely not for the amateur reader.The photographs are quite stunning while the maps a bit confusing.