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

A comparative biography of four of Germany's leading panzer commanders on the eastern front based on their private wartime letters.

David Stahel (Author)

9781009282819, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 May 2023

336 pages, 25 b/w illus. 10 maps
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.3 cm, 0.61 kg

'Superb. David Stahel has become the foremost historian chronicling the war on the Eastern Front and this new study of four of the panzer generals is a major contribution to our understanding of how and why the German Army fought as it did and the consequences of their approach. Completely original in its study, this marks the first time any historian has so meticulously peeled back the layers of German high command in the war. The result is revelatory, immensely thought-provoking, compelling, and, frankly, eye-opening. It is a quite brilliant piece of work and deserves to be widely read for generations to come.' James Holland, author of Brothers in Arms

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 This biographical study of four German panzer army commanders serving on the Eastern Front is based upon their unpublished wartime letters to their wives.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.

Introduction
1. The letters of the Panzer generals: validity, veracity and verification
2. The private generals: embracing family and war
body, mind and soul
Burdens of the heart
Burdens of command
3. The public generals: military celebrity
Charm offensives
Status symbols
The power of privilege
4. The criminal generals: enemy in the East
Criminal orders
The war behind the front
War of annihilation
5. The military generals: Delusion and disclosure
Discord and dysfunction
Operational silences
Narcissistic command
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Second World War [HBWQ], Military history [HBW], European history [HBJD]