Panzer Leader

Panzer Leader by Guderian, Heinz. mass_market edition. ISBN: 9780345350138.

Germanys opening run of victory in World War II was only made possible by the panzer forces that Heinz Guderian (1888—1954), the father of modern tank warfare, had created and trained, and by his audacious leading of those forces from 1939 to 1941. Guderians breakthrough at Sedan and lightning drive to the Channel coast virtually decided the Battle of France. The drive he led into the East came close to producing the complete collapse of Russias armies, but at the end of 1941 Guderian was dismissed for taking a timely step back instead of pandering to Hitlers illusions. He was recalled to service only when Germanys situation had become desperate, and he was eventually made chief of the General Staff when all had become hopeless. Panzer Leader is a candid and dramatic account of the development and campaigns of the panzer forces that, along with the Luftwaffe, stood at the heart of blitzkrieg; it is also a searing group portrait of the Third Reichs leading personalities as they turned early victory into a protracted, agonizing defeat.