German Generals Of World War II

by F.W. von Mellenthin

Book

319 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1977

About the author

Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin was a Generalmajor in the German Army during World War II. A participant in most of the major campaigns of the war, he became well-known afterwards for his memoirs Panzer Battles, first published in 1956 and regularly reprinted since then.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fourteen short biographies of high-level generals under who General von Mellenthin served. There is little detail of how these generals won their campaigns, whether there was anything new or original in what they did (other than the blitzkrieg itself); they went here and they went there and smote their foes, but eventually had to bow to overwhelming Allied and Soviet forces. There is good information on their early years, and a story or two to bring out their personalities. Being less familiar with them than with the others, this writer was especially interested in Pannwitz, Balck, and Wenck; Model and Dietrich don't come off as bad as history sometimes renders them. Von Mellenthin doesn't apologize or whitewash them; he simply leaves that history uncovered. Mainly, this is a book for the beginner on WWII.