Tigers In The Mud
The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius
Ratings4
Average rating3.3
15
The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius
Ratings4
Average rating3.3
WWII began with a metallic roar as the German Blitzkrieg raced across Europe, spearheaded by the most dreaded weapon of the 20th century: the Panzer. No German tank better represents that thundering power than the infamous Tiger, and Otto Carius was one of the most successful commanders to ever take a Tiger into battle, destroying well over 150 enemy tanks during his incredible career.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book was interesting to me as a former armor officer myself. I have read Colonel Hans von Luck's [b:Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck 958743 Panzer Commander The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck Hans von Luck https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320414939s/958743.jpg 1971640] which tells the story of WW2 combat in the European theater from the command point of view and also Paul Carell's [b:Scorched Earth: The Russian-German War, 1943-1944 311806 Scorched Earth The Russian-German War, 1943-1944 Paul Carell https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387751965s/311806.jpg 16019035] which gives a detailed overall history of the Russian-German war. This book filled a gap by giving an account of small unit actions (from squad up to company level). Carius was in the heat of battle all the way, and he was a very competent small unit commander.Unfortunately, I cannot honestly give this book a 4 or 5 star rating. There are several reasons. It just seems too dispassionate to me. Just another day at the office, was it? Also, at the time of writing, he was still super pissed-off about the treatment of German soldiers after the war. He overdid that aspect while conveniently overlooking the many horrible things done by the Germans during the war. Finally, his disparagement of the American soldier for lack of aggressiveness in the closing pages seemed small-minded and unnecessary. (That was in the closing weeks of the war when the Americans knew they had won. It was just a matter of time. Why would you press your luck?)In final analysis, this is a good book to read if you are interested in armored action during WW2, especially on the Eastern front. Otherwise, you can give it a skip.(Recommended first person accounts of combat: [b:Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II 182134 Company Commander The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II Charles B. MacDonald https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1367149319s/182134.jpg 176005] by Charles B. MacDonald, [b:Brazen Chariots 874392 Brazen Chariots Robert Crisp https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348637776s/874392.jpg 859747] by Robert Crisp, and [b:The Heights of Courage: A Tank Leader's War on the Golan 34657 The Heights of Courage A Tank Leader's War on the Golan Avigdor Kahalani https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347770997s/34657.jpg 34628] by Avigdor Kahalani. All great.)
