Kurowski, Franz (Hrsg.) Hasso von Manteuffel. Panzerkampf im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Kriegs- und Lebenserinnerungen

General Colonel Hasso von Manteuffel was a gifted tank commander who, as a professional soldier and passionate horseman, came into contact with the tank force very early on and put the first regulations for fast armoured troops into practice under the creator of the tank force, the later General Colonel Guderian. First as commander of a rifle battalion, then as regimental and brigade commander, he fought in the unit of the 7th Panzer Division - Erwin Rommel's famous "ghost division" - in the West and East. With a combat group, he crossed the Moskva-Volga Canal at Jachroma and stood close to Moscow's gates. When he took over the 7th Panzer Division, the time of the great tank raids in the vastness of the USSR began. When he left the 7th Panzer Division to be personally entrusted by Hitler with the command of the Panzer Grenadier Division "Großdeutschland", Hasso von Manteuffel, by now highly decorated, also proved his qualities as a leader of large armoured units in the southern section of the Eastern Front. The defensive battles in Romania with a focus on Jassy bore his signature. Division and commander were mentioned several times in the Wehrmacht report. He was the 50th German soldier to be awarded the Swords of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. In the Battle of the Bulge, Hasso von Manteuffel was the youngest army commander to lead the 5th Panzer Army, which was deployed at the focal points of the battle. With the 3rd Panzer Army he fought in the east until the end of the war. Here, too, he put his outstanding skills and knowledge at the service of the community. In this work, however, not only the personality of this outstanding soldier is honoured with the Golden Wounded Badge, but both the 7th Panzer Division and the Panzer Grenadier Division "Großdeutschland" are presented. From the pen of the general, the deeds and operations of both divisions are described. Thus, the work about one of the great tank commanders gets its special touch from the fact that both divisions are brought close to the reader in all their missions. The work is accompanied by 24 photo pages with 35 mostly large-format photos showing both von Manteuffel and his fellow combatants.