Hitler's Panzer Armies on the Eastern Front [Hardcover]

This volume is a high level overview of the tactical history of each of the four principal Panzer Armies on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945. A few of the noted Commanders of these Armies are Guderian, Hoth, Kleist and Hoepner. All these armies and commanders will definitely make an imprint on the war but before the author begins the battle overview, a short introduction is presented.

Though the word "Blitzkrieg" is popular today, the word Hitler and his generals liked to use is "Bewegungskrieg" or maneuver warfare to describe the technique used by the panzer commanders to penetrate the enemy line, drive deep to the rear and then encircle and destroy. Though Germany was the leading proponent of it they were still working on improving the technique. The author covers the invasion of France in May 1940 describing not only the good points but also the areas that needed improving. Another aspect that was shown to be a problem in France will continue to be a problem in Russia and that is the German generals really didn't get along with each other. They would sometimes shun team play for their personal agendas.

Though the invasion of France taught the Germans some important lessons on Blitzkrieg, it will be shown that Germany didn't have the scale of production, enough panzers and men or the discipline to successfully use the doctrine against a country the size of Russia. To exacerbate this scale problem is the shortage of fuel that will delay and hamper the panzers from almost the very beginning of the war. The author will point out key events when the German strayed from this tank doctrine that will cost them. The author provides interesting appraisal and commentary along with the battle summary but like the summary, this commentary is not extensive or in depth.
After the introduction the book is divided into four main sections; each section covering the history of one Panzer Army before moving on to the next. The sections average 39 pages with the longest being 51 pages for the 4th PzA and the shortest being 33 pages for 2nd PzA. The key battles are covered and some of the lesser know battles are also mentioned but the coverage is not complete. There are also sidebars of key commanders or units or events that will be appeal to most as well. While the German coverage dominates the discussion and usually includes the korp or division involvement, the Russian commanders and units are also mentioned but in less detail.

While this summary is good, the problem is that its way too brief. Both the breadth and especially the depth of the events are too terse for the experienced student of the war to appreciate or garner anything new. There is so much more that could be added to this coverage that would improve it but for the new or casual reader it will give them a good foundation from which to build on if they so desire. The Notes section and Bibliography will help if further study is desired but there are many tactical books available that would be of immense help but are not on the list. Another consideration for the experienced reader is that this work is a synthesis of existing commercial works so you may not find very much that's new to you.

There are 17 simple maps that show axis of advance for the Panzer Armies during different timeframes. There are no troop deployments for either side and few landmarks. These maps will have limited use. There is a useful Appendix that includes all the different commanders that led these armies during the war. Also, there is a series of Orders of Battle at different time intervals that could be helpful. A few photos are included as is an Index.

If you're fairly new in studying the war, this summary will be quite helpful and is recommended. If you have more experience I could recommend this book if you're a collector or looking for a low cost single source reference that will help you refresh your memory of an event or a sequence of events that may have slipped your recollection.

I found this book to be an easy and fast read, full of detail not normally seen in a volume of this size. I particularly appreciated the layout... it followed each PZ Army individually from start to finish before moving on to the next one.

Smashing panzer victory from Jun-Dec 1941, then 3 1/2 years of slow, grinding defeat.
Robert Kirchubel's Hitler's Panzer Armies of the Eastern Front is an excellent general history of the 4 German panzer armies that fought on the Eastern Front during WW2. It all began so well for Hitler as Barbarossa was a smashing victory from Jun-Dec 1941. The great German military machine rode to victory after victory on the backs of the German panzer armies. Then in the suburbs of Moscow the entire operation literally and figurally ran out of gas as the Wehrmacht's Operation Typhoon was stopped cold. German intelligence wrongly estimated the Russians were in no shape to initiate a counteroffensive. They were wrong. Stalin struck on December 5th stopping the Germans and driving them slowly back until the Russians too ran out of momentum on January 7th. What ensued was 4 ½ years of bitter fighting that terminated in the defeat of Germany in May 1945.
Mr. Kirchubel chronicles the amazing histories of the 4 massive German panzer armies that fought on the Eastern Front. He begins with a brief pre-Barbarossa history of the formation of these panzer armies and how they were transformed into the awesome fighting force they became. He then devotes an entire well documented chapter to each individual panzer army. In the chapter he followers the panzer army commander(s) and the chronicles the significant battles and operations each army was involved in. He then concludes how and where each panzer army ended the war. All in all an excellent history of the 4 panzer armies that fought on the Eastern Front during WW2. Suffice it to say the Germans fought with distinction and valor only to be overwhelmed by sheer Russian numbers. This is not to impugn the Russian fighting ability for they too fought bravely, but rather to state the truth as shown in the catastrophic casualty figures: Total Soviet troops engaged approximately 25 million-11 million killed; total Axis troops engaged approximately 10 million-5 million killed. The German panzer soldiers truly believed that odds of 4 and 5 to 1 were equal and fought accordingly. Unfortunately, odds of more than 10-1 were more the norm and simply wore the magnificent German Panzer Armies down through 4 ½ years of slow, grinding, daily combat.
Excellent history of WW2. Mr. Kirchubel included 18 good maps to help the reader follow the individual panzer armies movements from beginning to end. He also included 16 pages of B&W photos along with some good charts listings all the Panzer Armies Commanders and the Panzer Army Orders of Battle.
All in all a very informative general history of the 4 Panzer Armies that fought on the Eastern Front during WW2. It is not an in-depth study but more of a general primer. As such it is excellent and I highly recommend it.