Panzer Leader

Description

'A brilliant, mesmerizing read . . . his portrait of Hitler at war is superb . . . recommended without reservation' Stephen Ambrose, author of Band of Brothers Heinz Guderian - master of Blitzkrieg and father of modern tank warfare - commanded the German XIX Army Corps as it rampaged across Poland in 1939. Personally leading the devastating attack which traversed the Ardennes Forest and broke through French lines, he was at the forefront of the race to the Channel coast. Only Hitler's personal command to halt prevented Guderian's tanks and troops turning Dunkirk into an Allied bloodbath. Later commanding Panzergruppe 2 in Operation Barbarossa, Guderian's armoured spearhead took Smolensk after fierce fighting and was poised to launch the final assault on Moscow when he was ordered south to Kiev. In the battle that followed, he helped encircle and capture over 600,000 Soviet troops after days of combat in the most terrible conditions. Panzer Leader is a searing firsthand account of the most effective fighting force in modern history by the man who commanded it.

General Heinz Guderian commanded the German panzer forces in Operation Barbarossa, but was dismissed for taking a timely step backward instead of pandering to Hitler's illusions. Guderian was adjudged free of any connection to war crimes, and did not stand trial at Nuremberg.