Courage, and brains, are not the property of one side... | Panzer Leader

Good inside story of the German military | Panzer Leader | Heinz Guderian, General Heinz Guderian

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	• Panzer Leader Heinz Guderian, General Heinz Guderian Da Capo Press, 2001 - 552 pages average customer review:based on 37 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Heavy duty tactical stuff

Guderian was a military theorist and innovative General of the German Army during the Second World War. Germany's panzer forces were raised and fought according to his works, best-known among them Achtung - Panzer!

As some have already pointed out, this is not a cowboy action book like a "D-Day" or "Bridge too far". Instead, it is a detailed account covering the formation of german tank forces, key battles and an exhaustive analysis of the russian campaign. This book is not for casual WW2 readers - you need to be passionate about WW2 to appreciate this book. The lack of coherent maps (while describing campaigns, strategies, offense etc) is the only reason why I am giving 3 stars instead of 4.

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Courage, and brains, are not the property of one side...

My son got me this for Christmas a couple of years ago...it may well be the finest memoir by a General Officer I have ever read [I have to admit that most of those by Confederate Generals are bure bilge]. Heinz Guderian was a commander of early, primitive, tanks in WWI, essentially invented modern tank warfare between the wars, then commanded Panzers in WWII, leading the invasions of Poland, France, and Russia.

General Guderian makes no moral judgments on the right or wrong of his job; he was told to go after lebensraum, and he did it. A devout Christian man, he must have been bothered at times, but....remember, Pope Benedict XVI fought for the same cause, though far below General Guderian's pay grade. He makes plenty of judgment on the stupidity of the Russian campaign, and on the defective plan in France, but that's all.

This was no modern day JEB Stuart [tanks are the military descendent of horse cavalry]; Guderian left the flash and style to the likes of Patton and Rommel, on whom it looked better. Maybe Guderian was Wade Hampton or Joe Wheeler. [The are no comparisons for Forrest; he was unique, though so few are].

This fine book is, of course, a translation. I can't vouch for the accuracy, as I can't read German, but it is quite readable. In most wars, the books are about, and by, the winners; the two exceptions are Germans from WWII, and Confederates. It has been said that that's because those are the two losing sides that still have adherents....maybe, but if you want to find out how a horse turned into a tank, and how a modern army is built, start right here.

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Good inside story of the German military

Heinz Guderian's "Panzer Leader" provides an inside story of the development of the German armored forces before World War II and the operation of those forces during that war. Guderian was one of the major figures helping to develop the Panzer doctrine of quick striking and deep thrusting armored attacks. And the book portrays the resistance from more traditional army leaders in the German military.

The Introduction (by Kenneth Macksey) observes that (page vii): "'Panzer Leader' is about one man's endeavor, at a moment of institutional change, to defend his country by the modernization of its army." An obvious question is what do talented military leaders do when serving political leaders who are not worthy of their loyalty? In the "Foreword," B. H. Liddell Hart casually notes that (page 13): "'Their's not to reason why, theirs but to do and die. No nation that maintains fighting services can afford to revoke that rule of experience. Where soldiers begin to question the rightness of the cause for which they are fighting, armies soon collapse." And perhaps Hart unwittingly makes a point. When should a military recoil from the madness of a leader like Hitler? Hart may be far too forgiving of soldiers fighting for wicked causes. Still, a difficult issue.

The book itself traces, briefly, Guderian's early life. It then considers his role in the development of German armor and the consequent doctrines of warfare based on the use of armor. He discusses the German movements against Austria and the Sudetenland and then the invasion of Poland.

The role of armor was most dramatically seen with the German attack on the Western front. The Panzer divisions sliced deep into the allied defenses, creating havoc. Only Hitler's foolish calling off the army at Dunkirk allowed the English to rescue substantial elements of its ground forces.

Guderian's tale of the preparation for and carrying out of the attack on Russia is detailed (and dry). Much detail is provided (and see Manstein's book on the same subject, "Lost Victories"). Perhaps most telling is his tale of the slashing retreat as German forces found themselves vastly outnumbered by Russian forces and subject to the awful weather of Russia. Guderian explains the mad strategy of Hitler of refusing to let the German forces find better sites to defend their positions. For his criticisms of Hitler (pretty courageous of Guderian), he was relieved--only to come back later as, of all things, Chief of the German General Staff.

At the end, he ventures a few observations on leading personalities of the Third Reich and concludes with some very brief comments. It would have been interesting to get deeper reflections from his perspective on the nature of the war, the role of the army vis-à-vis a despotic government, his own sense of the role that he played. The final part of the book is a series of Appendices that are useful (memos of critical events, for example).

This is a book, like Manstein's, that is useful for providing graphic detail of the military struggles of the Second World War. And both reveal little perspective by the two fighting generals of their role in the misery created by the Third Reich.

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Valuable Details on WWII Battles: Blitzkrieg 1939 and Warsaw Uprising

I focus on matters not elaborated by the many other reviewers, and this review is based on the original (1952) edition.

Guderian claims that the Pomorska Cavalry Brigade charged German tanks with lances, "in ignorance of the nature of our tanks" (p. 72). This contrasts with western accounts, which blame Polish impetuousness and foolhardiness for this supposed act. In actuality, the Polish cavalry had discontinued the use of lances well before WWII (see the Peczkis review of Poland 1939: The Birth Of Blitzkrieg (Campaign)).

Otherwise, General Guderian shows more respect for the much-maligned 1939 Polish Army than did the British and Americans. "The first serious fighting took place...the leading tanks found themselves face to face with Polish defensive positions. The Polish anti-tank gunners scored many direct hits." (p. 70). He writes of the "fierce battles for Warsaw" (p. 84), and characterizes the Poles as "a tough and courageous enemy." (p. 73).

Guderian recognizes the fact that the Communist alliance with the Nazis had not been simply an innocent, tactical move: "On September 29th, 1939, Russia signed a pact of friendship with Germany and at the same time made a trade agreement that was of considerable value to the Germans in the economic prosecution of the war." (p. 140).

The much-romanticized Hitler bomb plot never had a chance (pp. 344-345). There was no means of destroying the many pro-Hitler leaders. And, when Stauffenberg flew into Berlin with his mistaken announcement that Hitler was dead, he found no significant following.

In describing the Warsaw Uprising, Guderian mentions the losses which the Germans had just inflicted on the Red Army (p. 359), and this is distorted by Soviet apologists into proof that the Red Army was thereby immobilized. To begin with, Guderian was referring to the period around August 1--certainly not the entire 5.5 months that the Red Army sat idly on the eastern bank of the Vistula. Moreover, Guderian's information is instructive. Throughout the first half of 1944, the Red Army had been routing the Germans with its "considerable superiority in strength" (p. 327), causing the total destruction of 25 German divisions (p. 336). Then, on the outskirts of Warsaw, the Soviet apologists would have us believe, the Soviet Army magically lost its strength for 5.5 months (August 1--January 12), only to magically regain it (and more) in the form of a 20:1 advantage in guns and 7:1 advantage in tanks (p. 382).

Guderian claims credit for talking Hitler into recognizing the Warsaw combatants as regular soldiers (p. 356)--otherwise they wouldn't surrender knowing that the Germans would kill them all anyway. He mentions the frightful atrocities of the Dirlewanger and Kaminski units. Against the impression that Bach Zelewski had stopped them as a matter of principle, we find that nothing so noble was at work: "Von dem Bach took the precaution of having Kaminski shot and thus disposed of as a potentially dangerous witness." (p. 356)

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Panzer Leader

Too many German Units by numbers, Maps(sketches) hard to read. Mayby great for a true student, but for me a little hard to follow.

General Heinz Guderian?s revolutionary strategic vision and his skill in armored combat brough Germany its initial victories during World War II. Combining Guderian?s land offensive with Luftwaffe attacks, the Nazi Blitzkrieg decimated the defenses of Poland, Norway, France?and, very neatly, Russia?at the war?s outset. But in 1941, when Guderian advised that ground forces should take a step back, Hitler dismissed him. In these pages, the outspoken general shares his candid point of view on what would have led Germany to victory, and what ensured that it didn?t. In addition to providing a rare inside look at key members of the Nazi party, Guderian reveals in detail how he developed the Panzer tank forces and orchestrated their various campaigns, from the break through at Sedan to his drive to the Channel coast that virtually decided the Battle of France. Panzer Leaderbecame a bestseller within one year of its original publication in 1952 and has since been recognized as a classic account of the greatest conflict of our time.

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