Hitler's generals and their battles

by Shelford Bidwell

Over 50 full-color photographs and over 200 duotones and black-and-white photos accompany the text and vividly bring to life the battles and campaigns of Hitler's generals. Examining their capabilities and strengths, their mistakes and triumphs, their ability to cope with both their enemies and the dangerous political cross-currents within the Third Reich, as well as the conspiracy against Hitler and the military resistance to Nazism, this is a probing and provocative analysis of the men who led Germany's armies first to victory and then to ultimate defeat.

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 1978

Reviews

[Brett C]

This was a great overview of the German leadership during WW2. The book broken up into parts to include the German Army and the rise of National Socialism from 1932-9, the regalia and uniforms of Hitler's generals, the Mediterranean Front, the Western Front, and the Eastern Front, and the political High Command. Each section included a military objective analysis in each theater and concluded with German generalship.

Each general or Field-Marshal was given a short biography, his area of operation, successes & failures, and information specifically about engagements during his leadership. The author shows how certain decisions had a ripple effect. The author was not pro-German Army but presented the information from a non-biased analytical view point.

Western Front, France and the Low Countries:
Field-Marshal Ewald von Kleist (breakthrough into the Low Countries)
Colonel-General Heinz Guderian (Panzer corridor through France)
Field-Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (coastal defense of France)
Colonel-General Sepp Dietrich (Battle of the Bulge)

Eastern Front, June 1941 - February 1943 (Minsk to Stalingrad):
Field-Marshal Guenther Hans von Kluge (Minsk Pocket)
Field-Marshal Feodor von Bock (Battle for Moscow)
Field-Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (surge to Leningrad)
Colonel-General Erich Hoepner (retreat from Moscow)

Mediterranean Fronts, North Africa and Italy;
Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel (Battle of Gazala)
Colonel-General Juergen von Arnim (Defeat in Tunisia)
Field-Marshal Albert Kesselring (Battle of Cassino)
Colonel-General Heinrich von Vietinghoff (Gothic Line defense)

Eastern Front, February 1943 - May 1945 (Kursk to Berlin):
Field-Marshal Erich von Mannstein (Battle of Kursk)
Field-Marshal Walther Model (retreat into Poland)
Colonel-General Georg-Hans Reinhardt (loss of Prussia)
General Otto Woehler (Battle of Lake Balaton)
Field-Marshal Ferdinand Schoerner (Last Stand in Czechoslovakia)

German High Command:
Field-Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (Hitler's Lackey)
Colonel-General Franz Halder ('the Peevish Professional')
Colonel-General Alfred Jodl (' the colorless Administrator')
Colonel-General Kurt Zeitzler (the 'Last of the Old Breed')

Overall this large book was full of colorized, two-toned, and black and white photos to accompany the text. I would recommend this for anyone interested in a brief overview of German military leadership in WW2.