Rating: 
Summary: Bravo. Well done, Well done.
Review: This author is the key of an exceptional crop. This book was a joy. Rare and very detailed. Relatively cheap when compared to other books with this amount of knowledge and quality material. Definalty a must for ww2 or military people and historians. Even regular people who havent a real interest for armoured warfare will love this delighful book.
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Summary: My German WWII Tank Battles
Review: This book has become (and will remain) one of the "classic" books of World War II. This book is one of the highy recommended readings in the U.S. Army's "Command and General Staff" course. Its author is: Generalmajor Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin (von not "Vaughn"). This note is just to inform the researcher that "F.W." wrote another much-overlooked book: "German Generals of World War II: As I Saw Them" (where he discusses the personalites, strengths and weaknesses of the numerous German generals that he served with during WWII) and he co-authored "NATO Under Attack" (Duke Univ. Press, 1984) --which argued that NATO using blitzkrieg-like tank units and manouvers could twart the Warsaw Pack communist armies without the need of using defensive nuclear weaponry.
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Summary: Panzer Battles: A study of the Employment of Armor in WWII
Review: This book is a hard read. It is very informative almost to the point of redundency but its purpose is well served. I enjoyed the information presented but found it harder to get through than most books on this subject.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely terrific
Review: This book is an invaluable work in understanding the complexities of warfare. Others have commented on a few possible inaccuracies. While I have not looked into these complaints, there can be no doubt that this book is doubly effective, first as one of the few comprehensive accounts of armored warfare in WWII told from the German Staff Officer's perspective, and second as an excellent guide in understanding the complexities and necessities of waging mechanized war on a large scale.V. Mellenthin provides dozens of keen insights into the art and science of warfare. Though his comments concerning Rommel and the African Campaign are supposedly the centerpiece of Panzer Battles, I would argue that the most interesting and instructive parts of the book deal with the years 1942-1944 in the Soviet Union while he served with and under Gen. Balck, a less known but superb officer of the War. Regardless of what theatre of the war in Europe you are interested in, you can't go wrong with this terrific book. So thick are the lessons and so fascinating is the narrative that I have come back to read this book again and again. Don't miss out on it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but not an easy read
Review: This book is another of the classic written by German Generals after the war. If you are looking for a good accont of tactics, and how the German army fought, this is another great book. There are a few small errors in the authors memory, but that can be excused, as there are mistakes in all after the fact accounts of the war. They do not take away from the book. The only thing I did not like about the book was that it was not easy to read. It took me over a month to read the first half of the book covering the war up through North Africa. Once I got to the second half of the book dealing with Russia I finnished the book in three days. I admit a bias to an interest in the eastern front, but for some reason the first half of the book was painfully dull even if it was informative. Ad this book to your list with Von Luck, Guderian, and Manstein.
Rating: 
Summary: Little knowledge of events outside 38 Panzer Corps
Review: This book presents a very limited view of a HQ officer of a German Panzer Corps. It is clear that he has a somewhat shored view of things happening outside of his Corps. He has very little knowledge of Russian behaviors and is clearly a one-sided biased presenter. In his work he is trying to discredit Red Army's victory and attribute it to other factors and intangibles. It is rather clear that he is not familiar with the evils perpetrated by NAZI occupiers while he would readily attribute things of that nature to Russians. Which could be expected from a front line commander unfamiliar with zonderkommandas
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Summary: IT TAUGHT ME WARFARE
Review: This book rules! it displays mellenthins acts of service in france, n.africa russia and western europe in 1944. His personal accounts of fellow officers such as Balck,Manstein,Rommel,and model is enchanting. His fluid descriptions of mobile warfare are as mobile as blitzcreig itself. The operantions of gazala(N. Africa) tobruk, the river chir, melini pocket, Zithomir,and baranov bridgehead(russia) and strasburg(europe 1944) are wery well depicted. Perhaps most interisting are his speculations , predictions ,and the chapter upon the war in retrospect. What surprises me most are his encounters and conversations with hitler, reminding myself of the seniority of mellenthin as a commander. He has described german weapons with an unbiased eye and has also spoken of the admiration of equiptment between the two sides (the brits respected and feared the 75mm l/24 cannon on the PZ MARK IV in africa in 1941, and the germans regarded the t-34 as an awesome weapon) from his writings one can say that he had a soft spot in his heart for the 88mm Pak L/41 CANNON WHICH HE REGARDS AS ONE THE WEAPONS FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE PANZERARMEE. He has described his family and his 5 childern on many occasions, and drews the prtrait of the stubborn ever ready german soldier as well as admiring the qualities if the russian soldier. He has always judged hitler upon his actions and has given credit where it is due and vice versa. I saw this book in a lonely shelf in a relatives house four years ago , i borrowed it and learned the basics of panzer warfare. I RECCOMEND THIS BOOK GREATLY SO THAT THIS RESERVOIR OF KNOWLEDGE FOR WHICH 50 MILLION PEOPLE DIED DOES NOT FADE INTO OBSCURITY.
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Summary: So much with so little.
Review: This is a priceless account from the point of view of a German career staff officer. The insights into the Africa Corps give you a real appreciation for what Rommel accomplished. I also found the descriptions of the Eastern Front insightful. I thought it was a pretty easy read and well written. I give it four stars because I try to reserve five for only the absolute best.
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Summary: From a Military Enthusiast
Review: Though not as great a work as Mansteins memoirs "Lost Victories" Mellenthin's account of his experiences in WWII may be one of the greatests combinations of military theory and history ever produced. At the age of 20 I have already read this book three times and hope to read it again soon. I would recomend it to anyone who is intrested, especialy those new to the field of military theory and tactics. This is truly a great work.
Rating:
Summary: From a Military Enthusiast
Review: Though not as great a work as Mansteins memoirs "Lost Victories" Mellenthin's account of his experiences in WWII may be one of the greatests combinations of military theory and history ever produced. At the age of 20 I have already read this book three times and hope to read it again soon. I would recomend it to anyone who is intrested, especialy those new to the field of military theory and tactics. This is truly a great work.
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