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checkers09's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.75
Panzer leader is Heinz Guderian's first-hand account of WW2 and especially the functioning of the German leadership.
Heinz Guderian served in a number of roles during WW2, such as general, inspector of armoured vehicles and chief of the general staff. Serving in these roles brought him close to the Wehrmacht and Nazi leadership. Guderian was involved in the creation of Blitzkrieg, which he used with devastating effects in France and Operation Barbarossa. He gives in-depth accounts of his conversations with Adolf Hitler and how his tumultuous relationship with him evolved throughout the war. I found his accounts of the invasions of France and the USSR, although more personal due to him actively serving on the ground to be on the whole quite dry, with Guderian mostly writing about troop movements and attacks in little depth and personal feeling. His maps, which accompany these sections, are almost incomprehensible, at least to the average reader. I found the most interesting chapters towards the end of the book as Germany was collapsing and the Nazi leadership was desperately clinging on to any hope of a stalemate and eventual peace treaty. His second to last chapter about the leading figures of the Third Reich was also intriguing, detailing his opinions on Hitler and how he was able to secure power. He also discusses prominent members of the government such as Goering (who he does not portray favourably), Himmler, Speer, and Goebbels. His account of these men is given more credibility due to having worked closely with them before and during WW2.
Guderian's writing style is understandably quite rigid and unimaginative, but this is acceptable given his lack of experience in writing and the book being translated from German.
One major issue I have with the book is Guderian's lack of transparency. He never accepts any blame for any wrongdoing either he or his troops may have committed and instead glosses over them with an almost unfathomable degree of purported ignorance. I got the impression that Guderian is an unreliable narrator who picks and chooses what he chooses to include in his book depending on how it would make him appear. In particular he details extensive conversations with Hitler and other German leaders with suspicious amounts of detail. giving long paragraphs of entire conversations which almost certainly could not have been remembered verbatim and which always make it seem like he is a wise, sensible and morally upright individual and his opponent to be a coward or raving lunatic. It seems Guderian far too often uses this book to settle the score with any of his enemies in the government or army, something I find especially troubling given the fact many of the people he slanders by the time of the book's release are either dead or imprisoned and thus unable to defend themselves.
I also took issue with his claim of being almost singlehandedly the creator of Blitzkrieg when, without a doubt, many other military theorists were fundamental in its development. Regardless, Guderian was certainly instrumental in the use of Blitzkrieg during the invasion of France and overall appears to be quite a capable military leader, as evidenced by the large degree of respect he possessed among the Wehrmacht and allied leaders.
Despite the lack of accountability and issues with accuracy, I found Panzer leaders to be a rare look into the personalities of Nazi Germany and the experiences of the army during the French campaign and war against the USSR. I think he achieved the goal he stated he wanted for the book in his conclusion, which was to honour his dead soldiers; I definitely have a renewed respect for the difficulties the average German soldier had to endure during the long war on the Eastern Front.
Heinz Guderian served in a number of roles during WW2, such as general, inspector of armoured vehicles and chief of the general staff. Serving in these roles brought him close to the Wehrmacht and Nazi leadership. Guderian was involved in the creation of Blitzkrieg, which he used with devastating effects in France and Operation Barbarossa. He gives in-depth accounts of his conversations with Adolf Hitler and how his tumultuous relationship with him evolved throughout the war. I found his accounts of the invasions of France and the USSR, although more personal due to him actively serving on the ground to be on the whole quite dry, with Guderian mostly writing about troop movements and attacks in little depth and personal feeling. His maps, which accompany these sections, are almost incomprehensible, at least to the average reader. I found the most interesting chapters towards the end of the book as Germany was collapsing and the Nazi leadership was desperately clinging on to any hope of a stalemate and eventual peace treaty. His second to last chapter about the leading figures of the Third Reich was also intriguing, detailing his opinions on Hitler and how he was able to secure power. He also discusses prominent members of the government such as Goering (who he does not portray favourably), Himmler, Speer, and Goebbels. His account of these men is given more credibility due to having worked closely with them before and during WW2.
Guderian's writing style is understandably quite rigid and unimaginative, but this is acceptable given his lack of experience in writing and the book being translated from German.
One major issue I have with the book is Guderian's lack of transparency. He never accepts any blame for any wrongdoing either he or his troops may have committed and instead glosses over them with an almost unfathomable degree of purported ignorance. I got the impression that Guderian is an unreliable narrator who picks and chooses what he chooses to include in his book depending on how it would make him appear. In particular he details extensive conversations with Hitler and other German leaders with suspicious amounts of detail. giving long paragraphs of entire conversations which almost certainly could not have been remembered verbatim and which always make it seem like he is a wise, sensible and morally upright individual and his opponent to be a coward or raving lunatic. It seems Guderian far too often uses this book to settle the score with any of his enemies in the government or army, something I find especially troubling given the fact many of the people he slanders by the time of the book's release are either dead or imprisoned and thus unable to defend themselves.
I also took issue with his claim of being almost singlehandedly the creator of Blitzkrieg when, without a doubt, many other military theorists were fundamental in its development. Regardless, Guderian was certainly instrumental in the use of Blitzkrieg during the invasion of France and overall appears to be quite a capable military leader, as evidenced by the large degree of respect he possessed among the Wehrmacht and allied leaders.
Despite the lack of accountability and issues with accuracy, I found Panzer leaders to be a rare look into the personalities of Nazi Germany and the experiences of the army during the French campaign and war against the USSR. I think he achieved the goal he stated he wanted for the book in his conclusion, which was to honour his dead soldiers; I definitely have a renewed respect for the difficulties the average German soldier had to endure during the long war on the Eastern Front.
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