Chronicle of the 7: Panzer-Kompanie I. Ss-Panzer Division : "Leibstandarte"

Rating:
Summary: Belated memoires.
Review: A group of veterans of the 7th Panzer company of the Leibstandarte recently commemorated the 50-year anniversary of their company's formation by writting this book. That so many veterans would still come together to work on the project at this late date speaks well of their comraderie. This book is primarily written from the small-unit perspective, with an extensive collection of 1-page quotations of individual veterans' recollections of events they experienced. Training, combat, and recreational time are all covered. Postwar captivity is also discussed, including a statement from one veteran who was convicted in the Malmedy incident. The most unusual aspect of this book is that it contains the only reference I have ever seen to German women serving in combat. It also mentions the surprising fate of the Horsch company that made so many vehicles for the German military. An appendix lists the soldiers of the 7th company who died in battle, and where they are buried. Many Germans still visit the graves of their loved ones and leave flowers 50+ years after their death in the war.

Rating:
Summary: A plodding and pedantic presentation of the subject of War.
Review: This book was a great disapointment. After reading Don Burgett's harrowing personal account of American paratroops at Bastogne in "Seven Roads to Hell", I had hoped to get a German soldier's view of the fighting, and particularly the German view of the fighting qualities of the American troops they faced, for comparison. However, this book, unlike that of Burgett and other American soldiers, does not contain vivid or even interesting personal accounts of what these panzer troops went through--only occasional references to the overwelming numbers of Russians and the ferocious artillery bombardments they were subjected to on the Russian front. Very few personal details about the Bulge and the fighting at Bastogne, but there is one account of how the panzers stumbled upon the bodies of about 50-80 Germans who'd been ambushed by Americans concealed in surrounding woods, as if this sort of thing wasn't done by the Germans. The book mostly excerpts from dry and uninspired German Army logs and/or his or his comrades diaries. Maps, in german, while authentic, are in very small print and are very difficult to figure out. However, the listing at the end of the German dead does remind you that they too suffered losses. While he laments the loss of his comrades, Tiemann expresses not a single word of reflection on, or remorse for, the death, destruction and devastation he and his comrades visited on millions of people around the world, particularly in Europe and Russia.

Rating:
Summary: A plodding and pedantic presentation of the subject of War.
Review: This book was a great disapointment. After reading Don Burgett's harrowing personal account of American paratroops at Bastogne in "Seven Roads to Hell", I had hoped to get a German soldier's view of the fighting, and particularly the German view of the fighting qualities of the American troops they faced, for comparison. However, this book, unlike that of Burgett and other American soldiers, does not contain vivid or even interesting personal accounts of what these panzer troops went through--only occasional references to the overwelming numbers of Russians and the ferocious artillery bombardments they were subjected to on the Russian front. Very few personal details about the Bulge and the fighting at Bastogne, but there is one account of how the panzers stumbled upon the bodies of about 50-80 Germans who'd been ambushed by Americans concealed in surrounding woods, as if this sort of thing wasn't done by the Germans. The book mostly excerpts from dry and uninspired German Army logs and/or his or his comrades diaries. Maps, in german, while authentic, are in very small print and are very difficult to figure out. However, the listing at the end of the German dead does remind you that they too suffered losses. While he laments the loss of his comrades, Tiemann expresses not a single word of reflection on, or remorse for, the death, destruction and devastation he and his comrades visited on millions of people around the world, particularly in Europe and Russia.