Hitler's Panzers: The Lightning Attacks that Revolutionized WarfareFrom Dennis Showalter, recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize and the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement, a fascinating account of Nazi Germany's armored forces during World War II Determined to secure a quick, decisive victory in his quest of conquer Europe, Adolf Hitler adopted an attack plan that combined tools with technique—the formidable Panzer divisions. Self-contained armored units able to operate independently, the Panzers became the German army's fighting core as well as its moral focus, establishing an entirely new military doctrine. In Hitler's Panzers, Showalter presents a comprehensive study of Germany's armored forces. By delving deeply into a detailed history of the theory, strategy, myths, and realities of Germany's technologically innovative approach to warfare, Showalter provides a look at the military lessons of the past, and a speculation on how the Panzer ethos may be implemented in the future of international conflict. |
Contents
CHAPTER TWO MATRICES | |
CHAPTER THREE TRIUMPH | |
CHAPTER FOUR CLIMAX | |
CHAPTER FIVE DEATH RIDE | |
CHAPTER SIX ENDGAME | |
CHAPTER SEVEN FINALE | |
EPILOGUE | |
Common terms and phrases
23rd Panzer Division 4th Panzer 7th Panzer Division Allied antitank guns armored divisions armored force Army Group Center Army Group South army’s artillery assault guns attack Barbarossa battle group breakthrough brigade British campaign cavalry combat context counterattack crews defense developed division’s Eastern Front effective enemy equipment flank formations French Führer Germany’s Grossdeutschland ground Guderian Halder half-tracks headquarters heavy High Command Hitler Hoth III Panzer Corps increasingly infantry divisions initial Kleist Kursk Leibstandarte levels losses Luftwaffe maneuver Manstein mechanized miles military mission mobile Model motorized divisions mounted Nazi nevertheless North offensive officers operational Panthers Panzer Division panzer grenadier Panzer Group Panzer IIIs Panzer IVs rear reconnaissance Red Army Reich Reichswehr replaced rifle Rommel Rundstedt Russian sector soldiers Soviet spearheads SS Panzer Corps staff Stalingrad strategic strength tactical tank battalion tankers Tigers took troops trucks turret vehicles victory Waffen SS war’s weapons Wehrmacht