Panzer Ace: The Memoirs of an Iron Cross Panzer Commander from Barbarossa to Normandy

Richard Freiherr von Rosen

Mar 2018 · Pen and Sword

About this ebook

A richly illustrated memoir by highly decorated Wehrmacht soldier—“recommended to anyone with an interest in the Panzerwaffe in the Second World War” (Recollections of WWII).
 
After serving as a gunlayer on a Pz.Mk.III during Barbarossa, Richard Freiherr von Rosen led a Company of Tigers at Kursk. Later he led a company of King Tiger panzers at Normandy and in late 1944 commanded a battle group (12 King Tigers and a flak Company) against the Russians in Hungary in the rank of junior, later senior lieutenant (from November 1944, his final rank.)
 
Only 489 of these King Tiger tanks were ever built. They were the most powerful heavy tanks to see service, and only one kind of shell could penetrate their armor at a reasonable distance. Every effort had to be made to retrieve any of them bogged down or otherwise immobilized, which led to many towing adventures. The author has a fine memory and eye for detail. Easy to read and not technical, his account adds substantially to the knowledge of how the German Panzer Arm operated in the Second World War.
 
“The author has a fine memory and eye for detail . . . It adds substantially to the knowledge of how the German Panzer Arm operated during the Second World War.”—Military Vehicles Magazine
 
“The images accompany the story well. Richard Von Rosen, wounded several times and fighting a good part of the war on the eastern front, was certainly a lucky soldier, and we are also lucky to read these pages . . . highly recommend to all fans of memories of the Second World War.”—Old Barbed Wire Blog

Ratings and reviews

I read this specifically to hear an account of German soldiers fighting the British in Normandy. Unfortunately that portion of the book was minimal.

rất là hay mô đã cho tui biết thêm lịch sữ

About the author

Richard Freiherr von Rosen served as a gunlayer on a Panzer tank during Operation Barbarossa; led a company of Tigers at Kursk; a company of King Tiger panzers at Normandy and in late 1944 commanded a battle group against the Russians in Hungary. He was awarded the Iron Cross Class I and II; the German Cross in Gold being the highest Wehrmacht award for bravery, awarded on 28 February 1945; the Panzer Combat Badge II Grade and the Wound Badge in Gold.