Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck

New York: Dell Publishing, 1991. Second Printing. Mass market paperback. good. pocket paperbk, 355, wraps, illus., bibliography, index, text slightly darkened, some wear to cover edges, spine creased Preface, Introduction by Stephen E. Ambrose, and Prologue. Also includes chapters on Growing Up, 1911-1929; The Reichswehr and My Teacher, Rommel; The Buildup of the Wehrmacht, 1934-1939; Europe on the Eve of War; Travels and Experiences; Blitzkrieg: Poland, 1939; Interim, 1939-1940; France, 1940; Interim, 1940o-1941; The Russian Campaign, June 1941 to January 1942; Interim, 1942; North Africa, 1942; Rommel, the Desert Fox; The Retreat from El Alamein; The end in North Africa, 1943; Berlin and Paris, 1943-1944; The Start of the Invasion, 6 June 1944; "Operation Goodwood," 18/19 July 1944; Retreat to Germany, August--November 1944; Fighting the Americans, December 1944; The Eastern Front: The Last Battle; The 21st Panzer Division as "Fire Brigade"; The Beginning of the End; The End; Capture and Deportation; In the Coal Mines of the Caucasus Mountains; Kultura and Corruption: The Russian Mentality; Punishment Camp: Hunger Strike and the KGB; Release; A New Start, Epilogue, Selected Bibliography, and Index. Van Luck delivers a highly personal account of the war, writing vividly about the soldiers he fought against and the terrain he fought on. Field Marshal Rommel, portrayed in decisive action as well as in contemplative thought, is a particularly dominant personality. But it is the ordinary German soldier who emerges as the real hero of the book. As an established protégé of Field Marshal Rommel, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded a German Panzer tank division during World war II. For his courageous behavior, he was awarded his country's highest military decorations. Hans-Ulrich Freiherr von Luck und Witten (15 July 1911 - 1 August 1997), usually shortened to Hans von Luck, was a German officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Luck served with the 7th Panzer Division and 21st Panzer Division. Luck is author of the book Panzer Commander. Through the winter of 1931 1932, Luck attended a nine-month course for officer cadets, led by then Captain Erwin Rommel, at the infantry school in Dresden. After the war Luck was interned at GUPVI forced labor camp 518/I in Tkibuli Georgia, a camp for POWs and internees, similar to a GULAG camp. He was released in December 1949 and returned to West Germany. He became involved in veterans' associations, and was frequently asked to lecture at military schools. He spoke annually for the British Staff college during their summer tours of the Normandy battlefields, and subsequently was asked to speak at a number of other military seminars. He was a participant in the UK's Ministry of Defence Army Department film presentation on Operation Goodwood Lectures. Through his involvement as a speaker at military lectures he came to be good friends with several of his former adversaries, including Brigadier David Stileman, Major Alastair Morrison of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, and Major John Howard of the British 6th Airborne Division. He also formed a friendship with popular historian Stephen Ambrose, who encouraged him to write his memoirs, which was titled Panzer Commander. 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. 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.