Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck

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

Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck
List Price: $7.99
Our Price: $4.16
You Save: $3.83 (48%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Hans Von Luck
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1991-01-05
ISBN: 0440208025
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Dell
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780440208020
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck

Book Review: A fascinating read!
Summary: 5 Stars

I had seen Hans von Lucks name in other books. When I saw he had a book I decided to pick it up.

I found it fascinating enough to want to write the man a letter. Sadly he passed in 1997.

Overall this book is reasonably balanced. He tries to tell his stories with an objective point of view. You will not see the glorification of Hitler, he does not write prejudicial views of Russians even though it could be argued he had good reason.

This is not a book analyzing battle tactics. It is a about the memories and experiences of a man who happened to be involved in the Battles of Poland, France, Eastern Front, Africa, D-Day, and the final attempt to stop the Russians at the Halbe. He spent time in the Gulags and was released. His release starts the book.

Some observations:
* He goes about describing himself as a guy doing his duty. However, he was part of the early officer corps and was at Hitler's early speeches. I wondered if he was avoiding the label of Nazi but considering how people went out their way to help him while at the Gulags and after the war. Never mind the fact that many of his former enemies befriended him; he had to be a decent guy.
* He mentions a meeting between Guderian and Rommel. He didn't know what they discussed but it would be fascinating to find out what they did talk about.
* He was very close with Rommel and it gives you insight to the man. It's interesting that he doesn't talk about events involving his death.
* The top reviewer said he didn't mention the attempt on Hitler's life. He in fact did and talked about Rommel telling him it would create a "Stab in the back" legend.
* He comes across as rather honorable as he changes names or does not give full names to people he thought would get in trouble or should be left alone.
* I found it interesting that during D-Day his group was to hold position and that Rommel had sent word to attack with everything. The message never made it to him other the other commanders. It makes you wonder what might have happened to the Para units if they were hit before they could organize their defenses.
* He talked about Operation Goodwood and how Monty claimed it served its purpose because it tied up 4 divisions and allowed the Americans to break through. Yet, captured Canadian soldiers said Monty told them they were going to go for Paris.
* He talked about a battle I didn't know about "The Battle for Hatten-Rittershoffen" A nasty affair that decimated his unit, the American 72nd Infantry division and the 14th Armored division. Two villages were leveled and nothing was accomplished.
* He has a few funny stories like the adjunct he ran a plate of food to him through a bombardment as he felt it was bad for the commander to have an empty stomach. He also talked about how he obtained and lost a wine collection and a Mercedes.
* He doesn't mention the fall of Hitler.
* He tries to give insight to the ways of the Russians and the Russian mindset.

As I mentioned he would have been a fascinating man to hear talk about his experiences. Luckily this book and a few videos will keep them around.

Summary of Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck

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.

World War II Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in World War II Books
The Limits of Empire ImageThe Limits of Empire
by Robert J. McMahon
Columbia University Press; Published: 1999-02-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.32
Price in other shops: $30.00
Mussolini's Shadow: The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano ImageMussolini's Shadow: The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano
by Mr. Ray Moseley
Yale University Press; Published: 2000-02-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.00
Price in other shops: $52.00
Bat Bomb: World War II's Other Secret Weapon ImageBat Bomb: World War II's Other Secret Weapon
by Jack Couffer
University of Texas Press; Published: 2008-02-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.13
Price in other shops: $24.95
Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland ImageNeighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland
by Jan T. Gross
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-10-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops: $16.00
They Were Expendable ImageThey Were Expendable
by William Lindsay, White
Harcourt; Published: 1942-01; Hardcover; Book
D-Day: The Battle for Normandy ImageD-Day: The Battle for Normandy
by Antony Beevor
Penguin Audio; Published: 2009-10-13; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $18.65
Price in other shops: $39.95
Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII ImageHitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII
by John Cornwell
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.64
Price in other shops: $17.00
Maus: A Survivor's Tale ImageMaus: A Survivor's Tale
by Art Spiegelman
Penguin Books, Limited (UK); Published: 2003-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.43
Price in other shops: $22.00
First Light ImageFirst Light
by Geoffrey Wellum
Penguin Books; Published: 2003-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $39.88
Masters and Commanders: How Four Titans Won the War in the West, 1941-1945 ImageMasters and Commanders: How Four Titans Won the War in the West, 1941-1945
by Andrew Roberts
Harper Perennial; Published: 2010-05-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.37
Price in other shops: $18.99
Similar Books and other products
The Road to Arnhem: A Screaming Eagle in Holland (World War II Library) ImageThe Road to Arnhem: A Screaming Eagle in Holland (World War II Library)
by Donald R. Burgett
Dell; Published: 2001-04-10; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.15
Price in other shops: $7.99
The Forgotten Soldier ImageThe Forgotten Soldier
by Guy Sajer
Potomac Books Inc.; Published: 2001-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.88
Price in other shops: $19.95
Beyond the Rhine: A Screaming Eagle in Germany ImageBeyond the Rhine: A Screaming Eagle in Germany
by Donald R. Burgett
Dell; Published: 2002-07; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.09
Price in other shops: $7.99
Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front ImageBlood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front
by Gunter K. Koschorrek
Zenith Press; Published: 2005-10-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.13
Price in other shops: $18.99
The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War ImageThe Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War
by Andrew Roberts
Harper; Published: 2011-05-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.84
Price in other shops: $29.99
The Second World War ImageThe Second World War
by John Keegan
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2005-05-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.37
Price in other shops: $25.00
Panzer Leader ImagePanzer Leader
by Heinz Guderian
Da Capo Press; Published: 2001-12-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.76
Price in other shops: $19.99
Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius (Stackpole Military History Series) ImageTigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius (Stackpole Military History Series)
by Otto Carius
Stackpole Books; Published: 2003-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.28
Price in other shops: $21.95
Soldat: Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949 ImageSoldat: Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949
by Siegfried Knappe
Dell; Published: 1993-08-09; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.34
Price in other shops: $7.99
Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS ImageBlack Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS
by Johann Voss
The Aberjona Press; Published: 2002-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.45
Price in other shops: $19.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories