Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck | Hans Von Luck

Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck | Hans Von Luck | One of the better ones

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Panzer Commander: ...

	Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck Hans Von Luck Dell, 1991 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 71 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A stunning look at World War II from the other side...

From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, the disastrous Russian front--von Luck fought there with some of the best soldiers in the world. German soldiers.

Awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross, von Luck writes as an officer and a gentleman. Told with the vivid detail of an impassioned eyewitness, his rare and moving memoir has become a classic in the literature of World War II, a first-person chronicle of the glory--and the inevitable tragedy--of a superb soldier fighting Hitler's war.

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Superb and insightful WW2 memoir

I've been reading this book while commuting to work, reflecting on my own wartime experiences in Iraq. As a serious student of WW2 and having read several memoirs, I can honestly say that von Luck's book is first rate, both for its historical value and anecdotal observations about his years of combat. Luck's narrative is a joy to read and one really gets a clear understanding of the German side of the war. I'm happy to put this one on my WW2 bookshelf.

One of the better ones

This man was all over the place. It is a shame that he did not expand the material at least by three times in size--present and in command at so many different locations at so many crucial situations, von Luck was clearly a man of action. An engaging read and even more, a fascinating one given his breadth of experience. You get your money's worth from this.

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life of a Wehrmacht officer

The book deals suprisingly little with actual warfare. Instead, it shows the world and life of a Wehrmacht officer, from his youth to the size of power by Hitler, to the various theaters of the war and the Soviet prisoncamps. Von Luck proves to be a true professional soldier, uninterested in politics, respectful of his enemies, caring for his men and devoid of bitterness.
Good read!

A straight, unbiased view of the war from a German soldier

This book is about the memoirs of Hans von Luck, a Panzer tank commander. This book is a good insight into the battles from a German perspective. We are treated to Luck's command into Poland, France, Russia, Africa, the D-Day invasions, the collapse of Germany, and finally, his 5 year captivity at the hands of Russia.

The book gives good accounts of the fighting from a German perspective. We realize that many German soldiers and commanders were not as barbaric as what some news events show us. He treated his British prisoners with compassion and respect. He was not a politician and hated that Germany was thrown into a World War. And, as a surprise, he says that his Russian captors were not as harsh on him as what many reports would have us believe. Von Luck states that he realizes that his Russian captors were only fighting for their Motherland, as he was.

I think the book is definitely a fair portrait of his, and many other Germans, experiences during the war. I rated the book three stars since it was interesting, but not what I consider a constant page turner...but definitely worth reading.

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Infomative, but a little boring

Compared to "Soldat," the autobiography of Major Siegried Knappe that (among other books) was used as source material for the movie "Downfall" (about Hitler's last days), "Panzer Commander" by Colonel Hanz Von Luck comes off as less well-written, and less exciting.

Although he probably didn't mean to, Luck also sounds a bit racist at times (particularly in his description of Mongolians). He often points out the cruelty or nonsensical, barbaric behavior of Soviet soldiers, but doesn't give the reader the sense of balance to remind them that German soldiers were just as cruel and probably crueler all over Europe (even if you don't consider the Holocaust, and most people do), and there would in any case have been no need for him to be in Soviet captivity anyway had Germany decided not to start a war it eventually lost.

There are interesting parts of the book, particularly when the living conditions inside Soviet gulags are described or when the battles in North Africa or Normandy are recounted, however it was far less interesting to read how Luck traveled all over the Reich's conquered territories in 1939-1944 and made friends with a lot of collaborators, who treated him like a hero rather than a servant in one of history's cruelest military regimes. Also, Luck goes into some detail of his courting of a German woman whom he eventually does not marry, and the end-notes of the book describe Luck as being married, with children, but in the body of the book he never describes the other woman. This struck me as odd, and the book seemed a bit incomplete because of it. It would have been nice to read a little more about what Luck did after getting away from Soviet captivity.

Luck seems like a decent person and his book is a memoir rather than objective history, however it's hard to like him and think of him as just some nice fellow who does his duty despite the fact that he hates the regime he serves, when you think about all the horrible things Germany did during the war. Okay, so Colonel Luck hates Hitler, and yet he does everything in his power to win Hitler's war. Arguably, he did his job for Germany and not for Hitler. But what would he have done had Germany emerged from the 1939-1945 war triumphant? Would he have denounced Hitler or taken part of a coup? Or -- much more likely -- would he have just continued to serve in the army and turned a blind eye to his moral disapproval of the government, and carry out reprehensible orders because "his boss made him do it?"

I could say the same thing about Siegfried Knappe, but then again, his was a much better, more insightful book.

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