I'm not sure what to make of his claim not to have known anything about the camps before learning of the fate of his prospective father-in-law in Sachsenhausen.

Luck only brings up the Nazi position on the Jews at a couple of points during this recounting of his wartime experiences.Rommel also told Luck that the war was lost, and all that was left was to make a peace treaty with the allies, which would entail the removal of Hitler. stars for an excellent read, albeit one whose author had good reasons to spin parts of the story heavily in his own favor. Military enthusiasts may be disappointed that Luck doesn't get into the tactical details of tank warfare, but I found his more anecdotal account of his experiences and fateful encounters with former rivals far more compelling.

From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. I do get the impression von Luck's memoir bears more than a tint of rose-coloured hindsight, charming as he is in the telling of his story.

Von Luck represents the ideal German officer from a generation that grew up during the Weimar years before Nazi propaganda took control of hearts and minds. On 3 December Luck had to cover the retreat of the division from a bridgehead to an area east of Klin. With this force Luck was again tasked with assaulting the Orne bridges, and recapturing them from the British paratroopers. The British paratroopers, reinforced by the British 51st (Highland) Division and the 4th Armoured Brigade, then attempted to advance around the eastern edge of Caen as the left side of an envelopment attack, but their efforts were thwarted by Luck's unit. So in August he was assigned to the Panzer Reconnaissance School in Paris, where he taught new officers the tricks of the trade.

It has been masterfully crafted to make for an engaging read and Col Von Luck's journeys will seem like they are your own. The 7th Panzer Division spearheaded the 3rd Panzer Group as it drove east and the capture of Vilnius in Lithuania, before driving on Minsk to form the northern inner encirclement arm of the Bialystok-Minsk pocket. It isn't until you get to Normandy that he gives much attention to the actual battles, but even then he talks quite a bit about what is going on with others than with himself and he is still talking about others, ranging from other Army Officers, Friends both French and German. Reporting back for duty on 1 April 1942, he reached Africa on 8 April and assumed command over the 3rd Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion of the 21st Panzer Division.

According to Napier the 75mm Pak 40 anti-tank guns were incapable of the clean armour penetrations found on the Tigers at that range and the only other alternative unit that could have engaged the British tanks was Becker's 4th Battery located in Le Mensnil Frementel.