Panzer Battles : A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World War

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Summary: Well known account of World War II armored warfare
Review: Von Mellinthin was a staff officer for the duration of the war and his book concentrates on the tactics employed by the German Panzer forces, from North Africa to Russia.
As an historical document, it deserves its wide renown in military circles, providing a superlative insight into Germany's vaunted Panzer armies and some of their protagonists, such as Rommel and the lesser known Balck. Von Mellinthin is not afraid to state outright that, when employed correctly, Germany's Panzer forces were essentially invincible against any army in a tactical engagement.
The book should be taken on its merits, it is the operational memoirs of a career German staff officer during the Nazi era. Hence you will find pride in the military achievements of the German army on the battlefield and shocking excuses for some of its atrocities off it. The views are purely that of the soldier, conscious only of his duty. In keeping with the mindset of the German army of the time, political insight is conspicuously absent, as is any evidence of regret or guilt on the part of the cause Von Mellinthin represented. Arguably though, these issues are outside the scope of the book as Von Mellinthin presented it.
Predictably, Hitler is initially lauded for restoring pride to Germany and the military and then castigated as the war dragged on, but only for contributing to her military defeat with his infamous "no retreat" directives and so on. Most amusing is his criticism of the British for not accepting Germany's offer of a truce in 1940, in order to allow her to concentrate on the East. A similar cold war anachronism can be found at the end, when he calls on the west to prepare for the forthcoming struggle with the Soviets.

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Summary: Panzer Battles IS about the battles...
Review: Written from a member of the German General Staff's point of view, this is about the early decisive victories and the later defeats, and what it can teach us about warfare today. The book really deals with the action on an operational level, but does deal with tactics, planning and the importance of using tanks, artillery, infantry and air units together. Lots of maps, the book is a blow-by-blow history of the German campaigns in Europe, North Africa, Russia and the final days of the Third Reich. Compares German and Allied forces, how tough they were, how flexible their reactions in battle were, their equipment and so on.

Rating:
Summary: Panzer Battles IS about the battles...
Review: Written from a member of the German General Staff's point of view, this is about the early decisive victories and the later defeats, and what it can teach us about warfare today. The book really deals with the action on an operational level, but does deal with tactics, planning and the importance of using tanks, artillery, infantry and air units together. Lots of maps, the book is a blow-by-blow history of the German campaigns in Europe, North Africa, Russia and the final days of the Third Reich. Compares German and Allied forces, how tough they were, how flexible their reactions in battle were, their equipment and so on.