Panzer leader: the memoirs of an armoured car commander, 1944-1945

Synopsis

The Armored Reconnaissance Units Were The Spearheads Of The Panzer Divisions, Moving Stealthily Ahead Of The Tanks To Locate The Enemy. Otto Hennings Armored Car Unit Of The Elite Panzer-lehr-division Fought Throughout The Campaigns In The West In 1944 And 1945, Arriving In Normandy A Few Weeks Before D-day And Finally Surrendering In The Ruhr Pocket In Mid-april 1945. Henning Describes The Difficulties Reconnaissance Forces Faced In The Close Terrain Of The Normandy Bocage And The Threat Posed By The Allies Complete Control Of The Air. He Saw The Devastation Wrought By Michael Wittmanns Lone Tiger Tank Against The British 7th Armored Division At Villers Bocage, And Experienced The Chaos And Demoralization Of The Germans Retreat Across France. After The Battle Of The Bulge And The Final Fighting In Western Germany, Henning Surrendered And Endured Terrible Conditions In A Prisoner-of-war Camp Until He Escaped In 1947. This Is A Fascinating And Often Harrowing Account Of The Final Campaigns In Western Europe, And Exposes The Little-known Scandal Of The Treatment Of German Prisoners-of-war Even After The War Had Ended. Back To Stahnsdorf -- May 1944: Normandy -- Mid-july 1944: A New Patrol Commander -- Later August 1944: Lieutenant Ziemke Becomes My Patrol Leader -- October 1944: My Last Home Leave Of The War -- Keichel Picks Me Again -- The Ardennes Offensive -- I Become Patrol Leader -- April 1945: A Prisoner Of The Americans -- 1945-1946: I Become A Prisoners Of The French -- Thoughts Of Escape. Otto Henning ; Translated By Geoffrey Brooks ; Foreord By Charles Messenger.