Customer Reviews

Panzer Aces II: Battles Stories of German Tank Commanders of WWII (Stackpole Military History Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another excellent book of 1st hand accounts of those who served and fought. The book could be improved with some maps of the major battles of where each of those aces had fought. The book series provides excellent detail on the challenges of an individual soldier, a leader, and the mundane tasks that become hazardous under fire.

One example is how in one battle on the eastern front, the tank throws a track after hitting a mine. While under fire, the crew dismounts, repairs the track, gets back into battle and later gets stuck again, unable to participate in operation. Another experience is how nearing the surrender of Germany, a command group goes from the factory to pick up new armored fighting vehicles and has to go searching for fuel and ammunition while avoiding the advancing American units.

These real first hand accounts are not found in history books which give the overall view of the battles and campaigns. These accounts are a good way to learn and study individual leadership and heroism in the face of danger.

If one compares these first person accounts with other history books, a good analysis of each battle can be developed and examined.

This book is not as good as Panzer Aces I or Infantry Aces however.

Panzer Aces II: Battle Stories of German Tank Commanders in World War II (Stackpole Military History Series)



If you are interested in German Panzerwaffe forces of World War II you will enjoy this book as I have. The book is about the life and times of Tank Commanders who lived through some of the toughest tank battles of the war. What I really liked was that the book contained the stories of a few tank commanders that I knew very little about such as Kurt Knispel and Johannes Kummel. The way the stories are written brings to life the events and times they lived through from the soldier's personal point of view, rather than just historical facts. The book made me realise how tough the years between 1939 and 1945 where on the men who served in the German Tank Arm and their foes. The stories and battles as presented by the book create vivid images in the readers mind. It made me realise the hardship both physically and emotionally that the soldiers lived through during the conflict. I would highly recommend this book to those interested in the subject of World War II.

Great arm chair read. All the men, units, and events in the stories are true. First person narration is often used and the accompanying photographs are interesting. Many of which are from personal collections of the veterans themselves and have never been published before. The book provides an interesting window that allows one to see how the "other side" lived, thought, and fought. Sometimes makes you wonder how anyone survived the indescribable horror of the Russian winter, let alone fight in it. It is the second in an exciting series of three books to date and well worth the purchase.

As a history nerd with a focus on the Second World War (focusing on the European Theater and Eastern Front), this book was right up my alley. As with all Stackpole books, it provides an insight that none other can match. There is one niggling little problem though--at least for me. There are so many misspellings (as well as a couple of incorrect terms, such as assault rifles being used at the Eastern Front in 1941) that I was actually thrown off from time to time. This may be from translation--the author is not a native speaker--but the mistakes were blatant, something any good editor should have been able to catch. Like the title says, the editor should be sacked for this. Other than that, however, this book is excellent.

Panzer Aces II is presented in a short story format with details on six german officers. A few of the biographies seemed to short. However the accounts of the action on the eastern front by Major Sepp Brandner should be considered the focal point of the book. With against all odds fighting and an engaging storyline, you should enjoy this book.

This book is not at all like Panzer Aces I. I had no problem putting the book down. I couldn't believe the editorial mistakes and the spelling of "Diesel" Althru the book it mispelled diesel, it drove me crazy. The book at times got long winded, as if the editor was short of pages. I thought Infrantry Aces, Panzer Aces and Luftwaffe Aces were exceptional work of Franz Kurowski. But this book was a little disapointing. For for the price, it's well worth it. I paid a fortune thru Fedorowicz. I just wish Amazon would put more books for sale by Franz Kurowski

Following the concept in Volume I, this is really the stories of six men. They were soldiers. And they were on the side of the Germans during World War II. They fought on both the Eastern and Western fronts. They appear to have been good men, and for the most part they were incredibly lucky. They began the war at its start. Three of the six survived the war - perhaps it helps to survive to get to tell your story to the book writers.

These stories are interesting because they present a side of the war not often seen in the United States. These men were fighting against us, and they were on the losing side. Still they were men, and they tried to do the best they could for their country. I think anyone will agree that these men were provided with just about the best equipment of any army. But during the war the Germans built about 40,000 tanks. The United States alone built some 88,000, the Soviet Union built more than that.

I was drawn to this book due to the story of the Afrika Korp's Kummel. I was drawn into the first hand accounts of battles as well as the descriptions of life in desert. This one story made me desire to read the rest. Well done and highly recommend this.