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Panzers on the Vistula: Retreat and Rout in East Prussia 1945 Kindle Edition

by Hans Schäufler (Author), Tony Le Tissier (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 693 ratings
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This WWII memoir of a Nazi officer is one of the most revealing firsthand accounts of the German retreat on the Eastern Front.

A second lieutenant of the 4th Panzer division, Hans Schäufler commanded a Jagdpanther tank destroyer in rearguard actions against the Red Army in East Prussia in 1945. Then, as an infantryman, he took part in the doomed defense of Danzig before escaping across the Baltic in a small boat. His personal story offers a rare glimpse into the chaos and suffering endured by tens thousands of soldiers and civilians during the collapse of the Third Reich in the east.

Along with vivid descriptions of the appalling conditions in Danzig and the fear and panic that gripped the city, Schäufler’s account provides valuable insight into the German army’s tactics as they fell back before the Soviet advance. While acute shortages of men, equipment, ammunition and fuel crippled the defense, the soldiers went on fighting for a lost cause in the face of certain defeat.
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  1. Print length
    217 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Pen & Sword Military
  5. Publication date
    October 30, 2018
  6. File size
    12542 KB
  7. Page Flip
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Editorial Reviews

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"Overall, this text offers a thought-provoking look at the final months of the war..."
WWII and other Book Reviews

About the Author

Hans Schäufler was a second lieutenant and signals officer in Panzer Regiment 35, part of the 4th Panzer Division, on the Eastern Front in 1945\. He took part in the German retreat from Latvia to East Prussia and was trapped in Danzig when the city fell to the Red Army. After the war he wrote this dramatic account of his experiences which has been translated into English for the first time. Among his other books is the best-selling Panzer Warfare on the Eastern Front.

During many years working in several senior official positions in Berlin – including spells as provost marshal and British governor of Spandau prison – Tony Le Tissier accumulated a vast knowledge of the Second World War on the Eastern Front. He has published a series of outstanding books on the subject including The Battle of Berlin 1945, Zhukov at the Oder, Race for the Reichstag, Berlin Battlefield Guide and The Siege of Küstrin 1945. He has also translated Prussian Apocalypse: The Fall of Danzig 1945, Soviet Conquest: Berlin 1945, With Paulus at Stalingrad and Panzers on the Vistula.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07K3QHTSZ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Military (October 30, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 12542 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 ‏ : ‎ 217 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 693 ratings

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Hans Schäufler

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
693 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Comfort First
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2019
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At least one large extended family is appreciative of Hans Schäufler's memoir; appreciative of the translation as well. Our great grandparents stayed in their home at the mouth of the Vistula and were among many local residents who gave assistance to the great flood of refugees and soldiers. Unfortunately, both were not among those who escaped across the Baltic. Great Grandfather was killed in the first wave of Russian advancement. Other family and neighbors were among expelled local Germans, including elderly Great Grandmother. They walked westward around the Baltic Sea coastline, were among those assigned to refugee camps in the British zone. Hans Schäufler's account of those chaotic last days align with accounts heard from relatives who survived and eventually made their way to family living in the United States. Hans Schäufler's telling is gripping and tragic, He writes with reasonable objectivity, yet conveys the incredible chaos, anxiety, bravery, mistakes and the horror of all war. Especially appreciated: his comments about continued ferry operation amid continued air attack. During the last days of fighting, family friends were among heroic operators who enabled vital ferry operations across the mouth of the Vistula River.
6 people found this helpful
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isabelle sayer
4.0 out of 5 stars a very good book, but minor errors
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2019
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This book is unique. It combines the right amount of first person accounts and events of the siege of Danzig in March 1945. That being said, there were some minor errors that you should be aware of:

1. Hans Schaufler never commanded a Jagdpanther tank destroyer. Before I picked the book up I found it odd that it said he commanded a Jagdpanther, as he was the communications officer for Panzer Regiment 35, this implies that he wasn't ever supposed to lead armored vehicles into battle. I am unsure of where this originated.
2. The caption where it says the book details the tactics employed by the Wehrmacht as it retreated isn't entirely false, perhaps I have a different definition of "tactics" but the book never truly explains what the movements of multiple units was or what they were called, rather just focusing on the movement of the 4th Panzer Division, never going in-depth about the specifics of the German retreat.

All told this is a fine book, not really a memoir but not a blow by blow history. I feel it is also important to note that Schaufler is not the main protagonist of the story, rarely, in fact do we hear from him. Instead it is more of a compilation of accounts from multiple German soldiers, while also filling in some vital historical information during and after the book. (there is a nice timeline at the end)
14 people found this helpful
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John E. Larsen
3.0 out of 5 stars Delivers less than promised.
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2019
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This book promised much but I’m afraid it didn’t deliver. The inside sleeve states that ‘Hans Schaufler fought as the commander of a Jagdpanther… in East Prussia in 1945.’ Well he didn’t. It seems he might’ve been a passenger in one but when he writes, infrequently, specifically about himself, he’s in a communications halftrack. He does include an account by another officer who commanded a Jagdpanther in a dramatic battle, perhaps this caused the confusion….
Schaufler was a regimental intelligence officer of the 35th Panzer Regiment, of the storied 4th Panzer Division, which he served in from 1939! This suggests he had a lot of experiences to recount about the early war offensives and years on the Eastern Front – yet none are mentioned? There’s also nothing about his prewar life or attitudes to the ‘interesting times’ he lived in. So, it must be said, this is not a standard memoir of the times in the form usually encountered.

In a sense the author’s focus on his experiences in Kurland and around Danzig and the Vistula is reasonable. There was a lot happening as the German army desperately defended German territory to give refugees a chance to escape. The Russian advance was a cataclysmic experience for those in its way. The retribution being dished out for the German’s own conduct in the East, was horrific. Artillery and bombing also caused massive casualties, especially on the German ships that were sunk in the Baltic. It was far worse than I’d thought. British planes contributed to this as well.

The horror of it all is pretty clear at least. As for writing about the battles, most of what Schaufler recounts is quite general. Yes, there is material on a handful of Panthers fighting of superior Russian numbers but it is often expressed as ‘we’. A few more detailed passages are provided by comrades but it is frankly less than it could have been concerning these momentous days. Schaufler finally writes more personally concerning his astonishing sea journey to safety. Again, a few other’s accounts are added to flesh out the book. There are some extremes of fortune here.

While handsomely produced, it is only 139 pages long including index. The Jagdpanther on the front (my favourite AFV) and the blurbs imply more is going to happen than does. It is a strange mix of a book – general history, collected anecdotes and in places, a war memoir. While Schaufler is good at listing the units he fought beside, the 4th Panzer’s sub-units are frequently jumbled up? Perhaps it’s the translation? I don’t recall it being an expensive book and that’s as it should be. There is interesting material but it is over-hyped and as a memoir, too incomplete.
5 people found this helpful
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Louis S. Menyhert
5.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2018
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I thought this was going to describe the little known end campaigns in Eastern Germany. It was rather a most rewarding description of one man's experience in the chaos of the last days of the war. He shows how the Germans resisted through flexibility and out of the determination borne of the knowledge of the mercy they could expect from the Soviets. Perhaps the best part of the book details the betrayal of Germans who landed in Sweden after the war ended and were handed over to the Russians. This is valuable because one of the survivors describes that Xmas in perhaps the most moving terms I have encountered and shows hope exists in the most unexpected places.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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vincenzo mirisola
5.0 out of 5 stars testimonianza diretta di eventi poco conosciuti
Reviewed in Italy on September 23, 2022
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interessante e ben scritto
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars very sad
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2022
Verified Purchase
Draws a lot of parallels with what’s going on in Ukraine right now.
The enemy was men not armies, the men in power sending so many to awful deaths for no reason.
A good book from the other sides view definitely and proof it could of been you or me there fighting on either side
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer j winnig
4.0 out of 5 stars Panders on the Vistula
Reviewed in Canada on May 5, 2019
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I enjoyed reading this book. It sheds light on a little known and covered time at the end of world war two
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andre
5.0 out of 5 stars Boa Leitura
Reviewed in Brazil on June 4, 2019
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Um bom livro, porém já li melhores sobre o mesmo assunto
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Mr. Nigel Stanbridge
5.0 out of 5 stars easy reading
Reviewed in Australia on December 16, 2018
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the book is very interesting about the war in the north east you dont hear a lot about it so its good to get historical facts from someone who was there
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