I'm almost done reading Panzer Commander, by Colonel Hans Von Luck.
http://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Hans/dp/0440208025/ref=pd_sim_b_img_11

Its one of the best books I have ever read, the good Colonel managed through fate to get himself in every theatre of war at the most important time. He was a vetren of:
The Polish campaign, the French, Operation Barbarossa, the North African theatre, and Normandy. He was present during many important battles including the drive to the coast in 1940, the battle of Moscow in 1941, El Alamein, and D day. Not only that he was a close friend of Rommel; Jodl, Kesselrin, and Guderian are some notables that show up throughout the book.

You can tell he is cut from the same cloth as Guderian, he is an old world Prussian solider and an aristocrat, his matter of fact style is very similer to Guderian. However Guderian because of his rank deals largely with the very macro, and writes in a very dry tone. Colonel Luck was on the front lines as a middle grade officer, he writes from a different perspective. He was also a very well traveled metropolitan person before the war. He makes it quite clear throughout the book how pointless he feels the whole war is. He makes comments again and again as he faces off against British and French units about how he new the officers and was drinking and hanging out with them only months before. His hatred of the Nazi party and Goebbels is never far from the surface, he really hates Goebbels and takes stabs at him whenever possible.

Its really interesting because away from the front he spends a lot of time in Paris hanging out with his friends from before the war who he suspects are in the resistence. The Gestapo arrests one but he gets him out. He spends his off duty time listening to illegal American Jazz, drinking, and driving his beloved Mercedes Cab. He drives that Mercedes from Moscow to Paris, its the only way he travels! He also hates the Nazi government officials who he views as leaches ruining France. He actualy called the German MP's on a party of them once and had them thrown out of a French bar.

But on the front he is dead serious, if someone screws up they are gone. He threatens a few with death. When the allies were trying to break out of Normandy they made a huge hole in his lines that he was trying to plug. He found a Luftwaffe AA crew with four 88's that was it. The Captain in charge said the tanks are your problem, we only shoot at planes. With that he drew his P38 pointed it at the Captain and said "you can either die here or get yourself a medal", the Captain decided he wanted a medal and destroyed 40+ tanks with those guns, buying enough time to save there position. I can see why Rommel wanted him, he was very cool and professional when under fire. He would do whatever was needed to preform his duty.

Its also very interesting hearing his perspective on the allies. He knew the war was lost when he first engaged the Americans in North Africa. He said that when he saw how they were equiped and with the massive ammo dumps he new it was lost. He said the American equipment was first rate, and against the Panzer 4 the Sherman was actualy the better! What was also interesting was his respect for the American artillery, which he says again and again, in North African and France. They were able to direct very affective fire and stop his attacts. Combined with our fighter support they just couldn't operate. He also compares the Americans to the British, he said the British were really gentleman about the whole thing and there are some really good stories about this in the book. But the Americans were very flexable and as a result much more dangerious. If the Brit's were ordered to advance to point X they would do so, and wouldn't move 1ft farther even if they had broken through. This gave him a lot of chances to fix problem areas. However the Americans would jump at the slightest chance and exploit it fully, he found them to be very flexable. General Pattons advance across France was a good example of this, his wild drives pretty much destroyed them.

Anyone who is into WW2 and wants to see how things were on the other side should read this book. Its one of the best accounts I have read so far. I am as always amazed by the quality of the Wermarch, and of the German officer core.

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2006 CL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2026 Genesis GV70
2007 Tiara 3200

i like the cat in the hat.

seriously.

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'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend

I thought Green Eggs and Ham was better.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

I want to read that book, PM me please Chris. Tell me where you bought it, or sell me yours, bitte.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Is the Amazon link not working?

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2006 CL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2026 Genesis GV70
2007 Tiara 3200

Read "Iron Coffins".........

"Iron Coffins" is a good read indeed. Another book along the lines of the original is "Panzer Battles" by von Mellinthin. Rommels ADC in North Africa. He also spent a lot of his time in Russia and has some interesting takes on the fighting there.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Sorry, missed that. I bought it. Guderian bio is next. Thanks

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I actually met Adolf Galland in the City back in '80-'81.Very modest about his accomplishments and sort of surprised at all the interest surrounding him and his time.

I've read that.Nothing like a descriptive,critical take on matters by one who was there at the time.

Which city? That's one individual it must have been interesting meet. Do tell!

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

New York,at the Penta. Signing books.

Really nice,laid back guy who became a demon in the air....No regrets,just doing his job and doing it well,a real man.

Interesting. His activities didn't end with WWII though. He went on to train the Argentinian air force after the war. Those were the guys who gave the british navy such hell in the Falklands. An irony of history there if ever there was one. A sting in a very long tail.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

A LOT of Nazis worked for the Argentine military in the late 1940s and 1950s after the war. Many fled there, after the war, and were well received.

Among them was Adolf Eichman, of Auschwitz/"final Solution" fame, and also, the Stuka Ace Pilot, Hans Ulrich Rudel. Rudel was unrepentant to the end, (1981 or 1982) and actually ran a Neo/Pro Nazi newspaper for many years there.

It was called "Der Weg".

Rudel's heroism was based on his simple credo: "Only he is lost, who gives himself up for lost."

He was a great war hero. I read his autobiography "Stuka Pilot"
He was flying right up to to the very end of the war, in April 1945, with one leg amputated and the other in a cast.

Hitler had personally presented him with the Knight's Cross with swords, oak leaves and diamonds, (the first person who ever got one).

I knew a fellow who worked for IBM in Argentina before 1960. He told me you should have seen the Argentine military uniforms back then in the 1950's.

They looked exactly like German WW II black SS uniforms.

They certainly should have; because that was exactly the people who designed them.

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Same with the Paraguayan army. Their dictator when I was down there, Strosser (IIRC), was a complete Nazi down to his salute. I'll see if I can find a photo of him. What a guy.

B