12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sets the standard for the genre...., November 12, 2003
"Panzer Battles" is maybe THE indispensible tactical and strategic memior of the Second World War. The author, Maj. General F.W. von Mellenthin, does not have the fame of a Guderian or von Manstein, the colorful personal experiences of a von Luck, or the resources of a Patton (whose memoiors were written during, rather than after, the war); what he does have is a keen understanding of how modern warfare evolved during WWII and how its lessons can and should be applied -- not only in war itself, but (and I am reading a bit into this, but bear with me) in business and in life.
Some cautions. Firstly -- "Panzer Battles" is very technical and is not a "hot lead and cold steel" memior, nor does it have the colorful stories that von Luck's "Panzer Commander." Personal experiences are kept to an absolute minimum and von Mellenthin seldom pulls back to give us a 'God eye' view of the war (he explains that on direct order of Hitler, field commanders and even the General Staff officers assigned to them were kept totally in the dark about the war as a whole, and only permitted to know that information which related to their own theater of operations). His book is a study of tank warfare as he experienced it as a staff officer in North Africa, Soviet Russia, and the Western Front, and does not pretend to be a historical overview, but only a sober analysis of his own expereinces. Secondly, it is almost entirely devoid of sentiment, emotion, prejudice, or favoritism -- Mellenthin writes in a cool-blooded, analytic vein, as if describing chess matches in a newspaper. People looking for vivid discriptions of combat, or even the small personal experiences that make war memiors so interesting, will be disappointed and should look elsewhere.
Now -- the author, the book, its message, and its impact. "Panzer Battles" was written by a general staff officer who started the war as a captain and finished it as a major general. Along the way he served in Poland in 1939, France in 1940 and again in 1944, North Africa in 1941 - 1942, Russia in 1943 - 1944, commanded the 9th Panzer division in the battle of the Bulge and finished the war as chief of staff to the German army group trapped in the Ruhr, whose surrender more or less ended active fighting on the Western Front in 1945. He had intimate knowledge of generals like Model, Rommel, von Manstein, and Balck (who he considers the most underrated general of the war), access to many of their personal papers, and even met Hitler. The book follows his career from theater to theater, and recounts the many battles, but is most interesting when it discusses how the Germans achieved such amazing successes with am army that was usually outnumbered and outgunned, sometimes by odds of as much as 5 - 1. Mellenthin makes a convincing case that as late as 1944, the Germans could have avoided defeat on the Russian front had they been allowed to use the mobile tactics that they had invented and perfected, and whose worth they proved over and over
again during the war, rather than sticking by Hitler's inevitable 'hold or die' orders, which caused one disaster after another. He backs up this claim with numerous examples of small, mobile German forces destroying Soviet armies many times their size; and on the other hand points to such follies as the disasterous Battle of White Russia in July, 1944 (where Hitker issued yet another 'stand or die' order) as proof that "war is a science and one cannot disregard its principles with impunity."
In addition to his ridicule of Hitler, Mellenthin also offers some rather pointed insight on the mentality of the Russian soldier and his leaders. His language is such that some modern readers will be offended, but his viewpoint was shaped not merely by Nazism (for which he clearly had little enthusiasm) but by culture shock. Mellenthin descended from an ancient, petty-noble Prussian military family that viewed war as a gentleman's pursuit, to be fought by dashing professionals on a field of honor: the cold-blooded tactics of the Soviet Command, which employed penal battalions, human-wave assaults, and forcible conscription of children and old people (who were sometimes thrown into battle without weapons), shocked and appalled him (he makes passing mention of German crimes against the Soviet population, but doesn't delve deeply into the matter). Like most Germans of this period, Nazis or no, Mellenthin viewed the Slav as an Asian, rather than a European, and seemed to regard them as slightly less than human. His comments in this regard are an interesting reflection of the times, and must be taken in that context.
In closing, "Panzer Battles" can be taken as a simple military thesis, or broadened to show the value of felixibility, quick-thinking, and personal initiative in other aspects of the human condition. Either way, it is worth buying.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read for people interested in history and soldiers, February 10, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Panzer Battles : A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World War (Mass Market Paperback)
A very good book covering World War 2 from the perspective of a German General Staff Officer. Especially interesting is Part 2 about the war in the Western Desert. Von Mellenthin describes Rommel's leadership methods, the reasons for victories and defeats. In Part 3 he writes about the Russian theatre, the skills of Generals like Manstein or Balck, who takes the author with him as his Chief of Staff from Corps to Army level in Russia and to Army Group G in the Western Front. I can highly recommend Panzerbattles not only for readers of military history but also for soldiers who want to know more about lessons learned in World War 2.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb insights into German strategy and operations in WWII., June 28, 1999
This review is from: Panzer Battles : A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World War (Mass Market Paperback)
The author does an excellent job in recounting the panzer battles against the British in North Africa, against the Soviets in Southern Russia, and against the Americans in France and Germany. Von Mellenthin's personal account of the strategic and operational level planning are excellent. His clear precise writing and the many maps make this a valuable resource for military historians. The author's analysis of panzer tactics and the evolution of the same is excellent. He presents overwhelming evidence that reinforces the perception that on the tactical and operational level the Germans were geniuses; however, Hitler was a strategic imbecile.
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