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Panzer Ace

By: Richard Freiherr von Rosen, Robert Forczyk
Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
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Summary

Richard Freiherr von Rosen was a highly decorated Wehrmacht soldier and outstanding panzer commander. After serving as a gunlayer on a Pz.Mk.III during Barbarossa, he 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. His account is easy to listen to and not technical, and adds substantially to the knowledge of how the German Panzer Arm operated in the Second World War.

©2017 Verlagshaus Würzburg GmbH & Co. KG; English language translation copyright 2018 by Greenhill Books; Robert Forczyk foreword copyright 2018 by Greenhill Books (P)2018 Tantor
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What listeners say about Panzer Ace

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Superb

So rare that the narration adds to the content but this is a marvellous account of a very brave and good man.

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enjoyable

Really enjoyed listening to this its amazing how he and his friends around him survived the war. I enjoyed the narration he sounded youthful like the author worked have been at the time.

I've also got the physical book which as lots of photos showing the author and his Tiger, maps etc.

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Insightful

Not only exciting, with a great deal of action, but also gives an insight into the daily life of a Panzer crew and the overall feel of the month by month and year by year career of a tank commander. Brilliant.

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Interesting and worth a listen.

My last two audio books were this one and ‘Panzer Gunner’ by Bruno Friesen. This one (Panzer Ace) is far better.
Amongst other things it discusses the hardships of the ‘job’ and the breakdowns, not to mention the battles in the Eastern Front.

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Superb insight to an open and honest Soldier.

This book was very informative and concise. Richard Freiherr Von Rosen writes in very specific details without any over glorification of combat. It’s a very honest account of events both about the state of war and the people that put them there.
The final chapters were an eye opener to me as I’ve not really heard much of what happened to German soldiers after the war from a German point of view.
I highly recommend this book (both audio and paper, for the pictures) if you are interested in historic tank tactics and also insight to the German psyche.

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Not bad

It’s very interesting hearing war from the German side, with all the chaos in the last months of the war, overall it’s a good book, but for me it wasn’t as gripping as I was hoping

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Incomplete

Much left unsaid. Much edited. BUT..... yet it retains a sense of honesty of its depiction of a tank man's war and its daily pressures.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it if it is to be read as just that. The author is what he is and to his credit doesn't try to hide his background, prejudices and his arrogance borne of a privileged family.
A remarkable man who lived through remarkable times.

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Panzer Ace written by the Ace himself.

A personal account from a veteran who served on the front line, wounded, decorated and survived the war to be able to tell his story.

God bless a brave man who did his duty.

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Truly rivetting

A very interesting read from the point of view of a German soldier. Interesting to hear an equal dislike for the SS however I simply do not beleive, in the slightest, that the majority of Germans "were not aware" and find it a convenient avenue of excuse from culpability. Regardless, fantastic narration and story.

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Story of someone we once called the enemy

My Grandad served in WW2 in British Intelligence so i have always been rather keen on the subject, I'd also definitely call myself a keen reader of WW2 stories and memoirs, but as would be expected these stories have all been from a British or American perspective. I found it quite interesting reading about a persons experiences of the war from the German side of things. For the most part i found myself sympathising with his struggles and had to keep reminding myself that he would have been the enemy from my point of view. However, at the end of the day he was just a small cog in the massive machine that was WW2 and like many others he was just doing his part and fighting for his country, he deserves to be able to tell his story and I'm glad that he did.

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