Hitler's Panzer Generals: Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt and Schmidt Unguarded

David Stahel

Jan 2024 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Julian Elfer

About this audiobook

Germany's success in the Second World War was built upon its tank forces; however, many of its leading generals, with the notable exception of Heinz Guderian, are largely unknown. This biographical study of four German panzer army commanders serving on the Eastern Front is based upon their unpublished wartime letters to their wives. David Stahel offers a complete picture of the men conducting Hitler's war in the East, with an emphasis on the private fears and public pressures they operated under. He also illuminates their response to the criminal dimension of the war as well as their role as leading military commanders conducting large-scale operations. While the focus is on four of Germany's most important panzer generals-Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt, and Schmidt-the evidence from their private correspondence sheds new light on the broader institutional norms and cultural ethos of the Wehrmacht's Panzertruppe.

About the author

David Stahel is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia. His books include Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East, Operation Typhoon, and The Battle for Moscow.

British-born Julian Elfer is an award-winning New York City-based actor and audiobook narrator. With over 100 titles to his credit, Julian brings a unique facility for characterization in fiction and an empathy for the personalities and events of the past.