Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck

Very good book. Well told story and easy to follow. Helps if you have a map handy to follow the progress.

I greatly enjoyed reading this book. Von Luck is clearly a capable storyteller who had a wide ranging and interesting experiences during and after World War II: invasions of Poland and France, invasion of Soviet Union up to the battles around Moscow, the final phase of the North Africa campaign, battles in Normandy and later, the relatively underpublicized campaign in Alsace-Lorraine, and the final battles around Berlin. Most of these experiences, he was at the tip of the spear of the German arms, especially early on in the campaign, when he was in the reconnaissance unit of a panzer division. His close association with a far more publicized figure, Erwin Rommel--he served under Rommel in France, in North Africa, and again, in France until Rommel exited the scene after the early phase of the Normandy campaign--doubtlessly helped publicize the book, in addition. His captivity in Russian camps for about 5 years after the war added several interesting chapters to the book.While the stories in the book are interesting enough, however, the book is curiously misleading in several aspects. While von Luck did serve in tank units, he was not, ever in his career, in a capacity to be described as a "Panzer Commander," at least not officially. He was a junior officer in a reconnaissance unit from the beginning of the war through early part of the Russian campaign, a commander of reconnaissance units in North Africa, and in charge of a mechanized infantry (i.e. panzergrenadier) regiment in Normandy and around Berlin. While he did often lead combined arms outfits that included tanks, given the usual German practice of creating ad hoc battle groups for specific tasks, the title of the book is still rather misleading. The blurb on the back cover goes even further with the mischaracterization, suggesting that he somehow led the panzer divisions he served in--which is totally untrue.The perspectives presented in the book may be a bit unsatisfactory for military strategy buffs. While his combat stories, when they appear, are interesting enough, the space devoted to combat operations is surprisingly limited. When they appear, they are very limited in scope. Such limited scope is understandable given that, first, von Luck was, in the end, a low man on the totem pole who was largely uninvolved in higher level command decisions; and second, he did not spend sufficiently extended period on any one front that would have given him a deeper perspective about the operations there.The more interesting stories concern his experiences in dealing with people (mostly civilians) of various kinds, including the German civilians (this is one of few firsthand accounts where the strange racial laws of Nazi Germany are mentioned and described in some detail--as von Luck's then-fiance, described only as Dagmar S., was, in Nazi parlance, a mischling, or a part-Jew, and as such, subject to various legal restrictions), the French living under German occupation, the Arabs of Libya and Egypt (this is one of the few accounts of the North African campaign where the actual local inhabitants are shown to be doing anything)k and the Soviet civilians around the camp in Georgia where the German (and other) prisoners were held. Even in these accounts, though, I kept wondering that the perspective is rather warped because of von Luck's background as a cosmopolitan, seemingly well-connected, aristocrat. He keeps describing, for example, his interactions with some pretty powerful and important people (such as von Papen, a former chancellor of Germany, and the father of one of his friends) in most casual terms--which I don't think would have been most Germans, even if they were army officers. Another thing worth remembering when reading this book, also, is the casual portrayal of the immensely powerful position he enjoyed as a well-connected officer in the occupying German army in France. He, and more importantly, his French friends led a quite privileged life, with access to good things that were in desperately short supply not only in France but also in Germany. He could even get the local Gestapo to release one of them who was arrested for (very real) involvement with the Resistance (although he could not get his Gestapo in Germany to release his would-be-father in law who was arrested as a political prisoner, nor could he obtain government's permission to officially marry his part-Jewish fiance--which are, perhaps telling revelations about Nazi Germany). The fact that von Luck was a "good German" is emphasized, especially by himself, and there is no reason to believe it is untrue. One does have to wonder how the other German army officers behaved in occupied countries.All in all, an interesting, entertaining read, but not really for military buffs. There is something too saccharine about the book and its author. Von Luck is too much of the stereotypical "good German": He speaks English, French, and Russian; He is friendly, cosmopolitan, and courteous to friends and enemies alike when not in combat; He is a courageous, tough, but professional fighter in combat. I don't doubt all of his narrative is completely true. I also think people like him were about as common as a dodo bird in Nazi Germany. On the other hand, his perspective is limited because of his relatively low rank (a captain at the beginning of the war, a colonel by the end) in the military totem pole. Plus, he is way too eager to please his English-speaking readers. These don't make for anything approaching an objective account about either World War II or about life in Nazi Germany.

Dear Reader: At the 45th Anniversary Ceremonies in "Eternal Memory of the Dead Soldiers, both American and German, and the hundreds of martyred French Alsatian Civilians that perished in the Nightmarish and Terrifying 12-Day Battle of the Twin Villages of Hatten and Rittershoffen"; the Veterans of the U.S 14th Armored Division, with fellow Veterans of the Legendary U.S 79th Infantry Division (315th Regiment)met with their former enemies of the fearsome German 21st Panzer, 25th Panzer Grenadier, 7th Fallschirmjager (Parachute) and 47th Infantry Division in "Commemeration of the Nightmarish and Terrifying 12-Day Collision of Armored and Infantry units, of both sides, in the Twin Alsatian (Northeastern France) Villages, from January 9-21, 1945 on the Approaches to Hagenau and Strasbourg near the "Wissembourg Gap", just 10 miles West of the Upper Rhine River, in the Bitter Winter of 1944-45. The Author of "Panzer Commander", the late Colonol Hans Von Luck, gave an fitting speech in rememberance that I videotaped. His eloquent speech in Memory of the 12-day murderous collision of American and German Armored and Armored Infantry Forces in the Villages of Hatten and Rittershoffen on the Western Front in World War II touched me and my Decorated World War II Infantryman Father who still had some bitterness about the German Battlefield Conduct, during his combat experiences as an MOS-745 Buck Sergeant that mostly applied to the Waffen-SS or "Armed SS" of the German Wermacht (or "War Machine"), the combat soldiers of the SS, of which Colonal Von Luck's Unit, the Legendary 21st Panzer Division was not a part of. Regardless, because of Germany's leaders, Colonel Von Luck admitted they were in sovereign countries that they weren't suppossed to be in. Period. But just because of that and the fact that Von Luck's Elite 21st Panzer Division was a member of the Regular German Heer or Army and not the Waffen-SS didn't mean that his unit wasn't trying to kick the "explative" out of its American, British and French Military Opponents. What impressed me about him in both his speech and meeting him with my Father was that he didn't used the "Generic Excuse" that he was just "Following Orders" from Adolf Hitler. He explained to us, the engrained oaths, that East Prussian and German Military Officers had long before Hitler to carry out the "Will of the German Nation" which was admittedly wrong in those dark days of World War II. We discussed how, the American Armed Forces, which he now "Greatly Admired" take the 'same oaths' although my Father correctly stated that Our Oaths are generally to fight on the side of righteousness for righteousness sake for which Von Luck and his German Comrades could not argue as we sat that day in the early 1990's discussing many issues. Including the "specific intentions of certain 'ferocious German Tank and Armored Infantry coodinated counterattacks that included German "flammpanzer" or "Flame Throwing Tanks"; 540, 240 and 220mm 'Karl Mortars'" and heavy German Corps and Divisional Artillery during the Hellish Battles in the towns and surrounding, "flat as a billiard table farm fields." That both German and American Soldiers agreed were and are "beautiful tank country" for maneuver etc. and for American and German Tank Battles under "horrifying Artillery Barrages, on a biblical scale resembling some of the Barrages of World War I." Although, Colonel Von Luck recounts his entire life, battlefield campaigns from North Africa, Russia, Normandy and the Western Front; I had the unique experience, with my Veteran Father, to meet bitter "former enemies" and somehow emerge from the Battle of Hatten And Rittershoffen Commeration Ceremonies with "some forgiveness" for a battle that annihilated elements of both American and German Armored and Armored Infantry Units long ago. And even with the limits of forgiveness, after meeting him and previously reading his Classic Memoir "Panzer Commander", We were able to view Colonol Hans Von Luck and most of his fellow Officers and Enlisted Men, of the 21st Panzer Division, as matured "Christian Gentlemen", who like their fellow soldiers of All Nations, will soon pass into Eternity with their final thoughts drifting back to those Nightmarish and Terrifying Battlefields of World War II including Hatten and Rittershoffen which the French Government and the Marshall Plan declared to be totally and completely Martyred Villages of the Second World War. Daniel P. Kneeland, Grafton, Ma.

I'm with the minority of reviewers in being a bit disappointed with this. I approached it with high hopes and ready to be pleased, but really the book never, for me, moved out of 3rd gear until the description of the author's captivity by the Russians post-1945.One fatal handicap is the omission of maps; without these the quick-moving list of battle locations in Russia, N Africa and Normandy means much less than it might do.But more than this, Luck never lets go of his cloak of reticence to reveal much about himself. We learn little of the fighting tactics which enabled the rapid advance in Russia, nor is there any real explanation of just how the German forces, ill-supplied, let down by the Luftwaffe and knowing that the war was all but lost, put up such a fight against the odds. His attitude to the 1944 plot on Hitler's life is hinted at but not explored. It is also frustrating to learn that he had friends in Paris with whom he consorted while on leave, but this intriguing situation is never fully explained, either. Did his superiors know about this? If so, did they approve? Luck was in an excellent position to understand and comment on the effects of the occupation upon his friends and upon the wider French populace, but again he remains silent.At the end I was left with the sense of how much more interesting these memoirs might have been had the author had a strong editor to work with him on recasting and supplementing his material.

I am no doubt prejudiced as 21st Panzer was the bain of our lives in the 3rd British Infantry Division, who I was proud to be with in Normandy. Hans Von Luck was no doubt in charge of a great unit which fought well, unlike the 12th Panzer which was notorious for killing prisoners. I did feel Hans was vain and never put a foot wrong in his view, but as I said I'm prejudiced. Nevertheless, the book was a good read and worth seeing events from the enemies view point.

A brilliant book, Col Von Luck comes over as a jolly decent commander, respected by his own men and the Brits. he was also mates with Rommel whom makes a number of appearances in the book along with some great stories of the friendly banter betweenthe British and Germans in North Africa.

An excellent book that follows the wartime career of a German officer from Poland 1939 through to his post war existence in a Russian Gulag. In six years of war von Luck fought in Poland France, Russia, North Africa, France again, on the German West Wall and finally ending his war on the eastern front in 1945.This book is not a tapestry of blood and guts, indeed such would be inappropriate as von Luck began commanding a company in Poland and quickly went on to command at Battalion, Regiment and Kampfgruppe level. As such what we have is a testimony to skilful command and control from a man who learnt his trade from Rommel.A very real human is portrayed, with a concept of honour that, whilst unfashionable now, was typical of most Wehrmacht officers during the war. A good, enlightening read for those who are interested in the realities of warfare and not some Sergeant Rock bloodfest.

Von Luck gives an open and honest account of his war experience from Russia to France to Africa and his eventual capture and internment in Russia. He describes the real side of war rather than the Hollywood version and his compassion and understanding are remarkable. Some of his tales make you cry with laughter but there is also considerable sadness, but it never feels self pitying or mawkish. The narrative is superb and written in such a way that you feel like you are listening to a modest, charming, grandfatherly man whose like we will never see again. A lot can be learnt from his attitude.