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Hans VonLuck
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Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Hans von Luck Kindle Edition

by Hans Von Luck (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,319 ratings
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“This unique memoir tells the story of one of the field-grade officers whose martial skills sustained the Third Reich against a world in arms.”—Library Journal
 
Panzer Commander is one of the classic memoirs of the Second World War. A professional soldier, Hans von Luck joined the Panzerwaffe in its earliest days, where he served under Erwin Rommel, and went on to fight in the Blitzkrieg in Poland, France and the Soviet Union. He then served with the Afrika Korps in the Western Desert and tells of the sometimes chivalrous relationship with the British 8th Army.
 
After the collapse in Africa, he returned to Europe and fought throughout the Normandy campaign and was responsible for the failure of the British breakout attempt, Operation Goodwood. He then took part in the final desperate battles on the Eastern Front. Captured by the Soviets at the end of the war, he was held for five years in a prison camp in the Caucasus. After the war, he formed friendships with those who had been his opponents during it, including Major John Howard, who had led the capture of Pegasus Bridge in Normandy.
 
With a new preface by the author’s widow, this unique and valuable account of one man’s war and its aftermath is required reading for all those interested in the Second World War.
 
“One of the few books that MUST be part of any library . . . It is vivid and engaging. It paints the finest of verbal pictures and it does so without demonstrations of ego . . . it is one of the building blocks of knowledge that creates the palace of history.”—Firetrench
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  1. Print length
    546 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Frontline Books
  5. Publication date
    May 30, 2013
  6. File size
    2135 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in 1911 in Flensburg, Germany, HANS VON LUCK joined the Reichswehr as a cadet in 1929. He served in the Panzerwaffe from its earliest days until the very end of the Second World War. After five years in a Soviet prison camp, he returned to Germany in 1950, working first as a hotel receptionist and then in the coffee business. He died in 1997.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00HESTIUE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Frontline Books (May 30, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 30, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2135 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 546 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,319 ratings

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Hans VonLuck

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,319 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Roter Bär
5.0 out of 5 stars Ein ehrenhafter Soldat.
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
I greatly enjoyed this memoir as Oberst von Luck was one of those rare Wehrmacht officers who fought in all the major theaters of war in Europe, North Africa, and the Eastern Front… and who, following the end of the war, survived a five year long captivity in various Soviet ‘plenni’ penal camps in the vicinity of Tkibuli and elsewhere within Soviet Georgia. Von Luck provides the reader with a good understanding and view of the general on-the-ground situations that the German forces faced within these hugely different combat theaters. Although von Luck’s memoirs were written long after the war and at the insistence of his friend, US historian Stephen Ambrose… Von Luck was still able to present captivating details and remembrances of his many experiences, with the help of several of his former unit Kameraden. Overall, a good read with good insight from a senior Wehrmacht officer with an extremely wide and varying experience of WW2 combat.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and thought provoking
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2020
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I found a very easy read and hard to put down. The insights of this author draws from his life as a combat particaptipiant in the many different battles during World War II and during his captivity of 5 years in Russian POW work camps gives a very human view of the differences in different nationality but even more amazing is their simularities as fellow humans both during a war as enimes and peace time as fellow humans. Very good and I highly recommend this book to anyone.
2 people found this helpful
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QT
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book and a good read
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2022
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It is a good book and a recommended read. however, the author claims to have no knowledge of things at the time yet he wrote contemporaneously about them. Then he writes about stuff there's no way he knew it at the time but he writes about as if he did. anyway, I still recommend it. It's a good read.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars item arrived on time and in good condition.
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2024
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item arrived on time and in good condition.
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techguy
5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably good!
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2022
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You will not be disappointed. The author’s experiences, on and off the battlefield, will give you insights into the war that most would never learn. Reading this book brought together so many pieces of this global conflict and provided a unique perspective that could only come from a gentleman commander who amazingly survived to tell his tale. His message to us all, delivered at the very end, is one to be embraced and amplified to prevent such a destructive conflict from ever happening again.
One person found this helpful
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JJ
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the beast ww2 first person accounts I have read.
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021
Verified Purchase
Von luck was amazing. He really gave me an idea of the operational level of commanding in ww2. The writing itself is excellent as was his description of officers, particularly Rommel. I have read ww2 books for 50 years and this is one of the best.
2 people found this helpful
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Book expert
3.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed it more when he wasn't talking about combat
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2016
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I read this book out loud to my wife. Both she and I tended to lose interest in the military maneuvers. It was frustrating because we could not follow the unit positions and movements. One needed a map at all times. I enjoyed it more when he wasn't talking about combat. Getting the war from the German side was interesting.
2 people found this helpful
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Lieven Debels
5.0 out of 5 stars Definite must-read for all enthusiasts of german armored warfare in WWII
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2016
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A good book on the life of Hans von Luck. The book takes you with von Luck into the many battles and struggles he participated in. I find there are 4 major parts in the book. The first part decribes his training as a young officer in the pre-war years, the second his military career during the war (he was active on practically all European theatres and in North Africa), third comes his years in Russian captivity and lastly he talks about his life after his release from Russia and his effort to reintegrate in normal life.
The book shows von Luck as an ardent and gifted commander, but also as a human. Respecting the civil population in the areas his units pass through, respecting his men and respecting his enemies. Also shows that not all German officers agreed with the madness of Hitler and the top nazi officials.
A good read, a fascinating story that takes you all around the European (Western and Eastern front) and North African battlefields.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

John Maddocks
5.0 out of 5 stars Hans von luck
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2023
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Good book, interesting to see the other sides experiences in WW2. Well worth a read.
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John C
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in Canada on September 25, 2017
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Could not put the book down. Interesting to read about WWII battles from the opponents point of view.
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adam mazzon
5.0 out of 5 stars Not graffic. No descriptive violence. But all the ...
Reviewed in Australia on February 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
Not graffic.
No descriptive violence.
But all the same a solid honest account of one mans war.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for Wargamers and Historians.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
Fantastic definition of 21stPanzer. The only disquieting aspect is a rather polished distancing from the atrocity of Nazism in Germany. However the personal experiences of von Luck are heartfelt.
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randy c
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on September 17, 2017
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Good book
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