Panzers on the Eastern Front: General Erhard Raus And His Panzer Divisions in Russia 1941 1945

by Erhard Raus

General Erhard Raus was one of the German Army's finest panzer generals and a leading exponent of blitzkrieg in the east. German panzers were witnesses to the incredible onslaught that was the first few months of Barbarossa, then the gradual strengthening of Russian resistance, counterattack and, ultimately, the long and drawn-out German retreat. Raus and his panzers were tested in every conceivable tactical situation and, inevitably, Raus became highly versed in all aspects of mobilized warfare. This account by Erhard Raus, edited by leading Eastern Front expert Peter G. Tsouras, concentrates on German efforts to relieve Stalingrad. Raus, as commander of 6th Panzer Division, was in the thick of this bitter action, urging his panzers forward in a massive effort to break the Soviet strangle-hold. These journals were originally written to brief the US Army at the height of the Cold War.

Genres: World War II, History, Military History

253 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Larcenet · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intersting collection of battle accounts, and strategic decisions, from General Raus.
The end section with conversations between him, Himmler, Hitler are very interesting as is the American account of the talks they had with the German generals after the war was over ( the Manstein summary especially is very good).
The narration is somewhat monotone but at least the pronunciation of the German names, places, etc... is better than most English speaking narrators.
Total lenght is almost 11h.
Recommended for anyone interested in German battle tactics in WWII

[Ian Willey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book based on historical studies carried out by the American Army from 1946 through to 1961 via many top generals of the German Army. Several of these are used in this book and Raus has a very readable style.

Raus is neither apologetic or belittling of the Russian troops. The section near the end of the book that covers several conversations with Himler and Hitler in the twilight of the war was really interesting

[Todd A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stopped at some point because I was distracted by another book. Some of the close in accounts of tactical maneuvers was great for this wargamer. Some of the recollections seemed too specific which made me wonder about their veracity. I want to do a little follow up on the book and author.

It had some interesting points I hadn’t heard. Will try again. I listened to audio. It would’ve been nice to have maps to look at to understand where we were.

[Mick Maye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extraordinary Story

Story of Raus on the Eastern Front in both victory and defeat. The detail of the actions and the extensive story and actions of both sides gives the detail of a division scale. Very informative read.

[Michael Lavin]

A different look what I didn't think of before.