Panzers on the Vistula: Retreat and Route in East Prussia 1945 - Hans Schaufler

This review has been submitted to War History Online.

Title: Panzers on the Vistula: Retreat and Route in East Prussia 1945
Author: Hans Schaufler
ISBN: 978-1-526-73431-0
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Year: 2018
Hardcover
Pages: 139
Photos/Maps: 42/6

The author served as a member of the 4^th Panzer Division from 1939-1945. Commencing his career as soldier, he finished the war as a 2^nd Lieutenant and signals officer for Panzer Regiment 35 of the 4^th Panzer. This autobiography of his experiences commences in the dying days of the war as 4^th Panzer grapples with the Soviets during the three battles of the Kurland Pocket (encompassing the Baltic region of Latvia). These battles, running from October 1944 until early January, 1945 culminated in 4^th Panzer being evacuated by sea to the port of Danzig where the main narrative of the book begins. The author establishes himself as a thoughtful and insightful observer, well placed to present the reader with a strong sense of the environment within which he carried out his duties. 

The discussion of the fighting in the Danzig region is of particular note for a number of reasons. As the situation for the Germans continued to deteriorate, Shaufler notes the difference between units that maintain their discipline (such as his) and those that fracture. He discusses at some length the impact that leadership and unit pride has on continued cohesion and effectiveness, even in the face of catastrophe. Additionally, one is struck by the ability of the Germans to continue to logistically support their forces. While it was getting more difficult to maintain effective supply lines, Schaufler remarks repeatedly on how they were able to overcome. Given the pressure from the Soviet forces, the reinforcement of the Regiment with 27 new panther tanks in late February, 1945 serves as a good example. 

The book is not limited to discussion of the military elements of the author’s experiences. He highlights at length about the impact upon the non-combatant population of the fighting. As the Danzig region was cut off from a land route back to Germany by the Soviet forces, the civilian population became more desperate for a way out. Refugees clogging the roads impacted the ability of German forces to move throughout the region. Also, the limited naval support available to carry people and equipment out, had to be balanced between military forces critical to the ongoing defence of Germany, and the civilian population trapped within the pocket. Typical of the tragedy of this time was the sinking of the Goya, a liner, that was evacuating 7000 civilians and soldiers out of the Danzig area. The author narrowly missed being a passenger but lost hundreds of his comrades when a submarine sunk the ship on 16 April, 1945. Only 137 people were rescued. 

The story that the author relates regarding his and a few of his comrades, eventual escape back to Germany via a small watercraft following the cessation of hostilities on May 8, 1945, is an adventure in itself. His description of the chaos, luck and determination to return to Germany proper is an excellent synopsis of the desperation and anarchy evident in Central Europe as the war came to a close. He has also included first person accounts of those soldiers who escaped to Sweden only to be turned over to the Soviets months after the war was over as well as those who did not escape and were interred for years in Soviet prisons. 

Overall a very interesting and engaging read. This is a tactical, street level perspective on the closing days of the war and its immediate aftermath. While there are no references provided, the author presents a passionate and insightful account of his and his comrades’ experiences.

The Lieutenant Don’t Know - Jeff Clement

Title: The Lieutenant Don’t Know
Author: Jeff Clement
ISBN: 978-1-61200-248-4
Publisher: Casemate
Hardcover
Pages: 264
Photographs/Maps: 46/2
 
The author has drafted a very readable account of his training and deployment as a Lieutenant in charge of 2^nd Platoon, Combat Logistics Battalion 6 in Afghanistan during 2010. He focusses a great deal upon the warrior ethos of the Marines and the flexibility with which they are employed. His observations on tactical leadership and planning are insightful and backed up through personal experience and examples. I enjoyed his obvious enthusiasm, candor and honesty; his tale is one of personal growth as a leader and the successes and failures that he met while enroute. This is a very informative and worthwhile book for a junior officer.

No Parachute - Arthur Gould Lee

Title: No Parachute

Author: Arthur Gould Lee

ISBN: 978-1-909-16604-2

Hardcover

Photo’s/Map: 24/1

Pages: 240

Publisher: Grub Street Publishing

Arthur Gould  Lee  retired as an Air Vice-Marshall after seeing service in both World Wars (1915-1946). He experienced the First World War as a fighter pilot operating on the Western Front. In this capacity, he identifies himself as one of the ‘fighters of no fame’; one of the many who fought, survived and lived to an old age, a privilege denied to so many of his compatriots, but who have not been counted amongst the ‘elite’ of Richthofen, Bishop, Ball or McCudden. Humility is a hallmark of this work; after all, from the vantage of the modern day reader, five confirmed kills and eleven shared would not be considered to be an achievement of minimal renown. In this regard he has set his tone to reflect the period within which he lived and served; a period within which thousands of nameless young men fought thousands of feet above the ground against equally determined adversaries.

Unlike today with our preponderance of technical gadgets that allow for instant communication across unprecedented distances, the period covered by AVM Lee’s book is the time of the hand-written note. One of the defining and unique aspects of the book is the fact that the narrative is derived directly from letters that he wrote to his wife daily during his operational time on the front. Lee was a prodigious writer and so his letters are not superficial but are insightful and expansive discussions of his experiences, comrades and thoughts as his war experience progressed.

I found this book to be very beneficial in gaining an appreciation of the variety of challenges and mission types undertaken by the pilots of this period. There is an absence of higher strategy providing context but this is not the point of the book, it is focused exclusively on the tactical experiences of the individual pilots. One of the main strengths of the book is the ability of the author to provide the reader an outstanding sense of the atmosphere of air operations. 

Given the fact that modern pilots are on oxygen above ten thousand feet, it becomes all the more impressive that, not only did Lee and his compatriots fly at altitudes in excess of twenty thousand feet in open cockpits but did so while regularly engaging in aerial combat. His discussions of low level trench strafing and the early days of low level bombing are hair-raising and shocking as he describes passing within feet of enemy infantry (and having to repeat the feat despite having lost the element of surprise). 

His descriptions of dog-fighting are also both exciting and harrowing. He comments that he could not understand how those pilots who had achieved high numbers of victories had done it as his experience with air-to-air combat was one of snap shots, frantic twisting and turning and desperate scanning as he sought not only to avoid being shot down but also mid-air collisions with friend or foe. His admiration for their accomplishments is obvious. 

A subject that Lee is particularly critical of and that is a regular topic of bitter discussion is the fact that the Royal Flying Corps (and subsequently the Royal Air Force) refused to allow for the use of parachutes by their pilots. Lee relates story after story of watching friend and foe make decisions to jump or remain with their aircraft and burn to death. It is obvious that he and his colleagues were particularly terrified of this scenario. In fact, he goes on to relate the understanding amongst pilots that the pistol that they carried was not for self-defence in the event of a crash but for ensuring that they were able to avoid the horror of burning or falling to their deaths.

The author makes a point of returning to this topic in greater detail in an annex at the end of his book. Following the end of the war and his advancement through the ranks, he undertook an investigation in order to determine why and who was responsible for such a murderous policy. His conclusion was that no one person in particular was responsible for the policy but that it was a culmination of a number of different factors including a lack of appreciation by higher headquarters of the environment in which pilots were operating, a concern surrounding excess weight (and by extension performance issues with the aircraft) and a misguided belief by HQ personnel that the pilots themselves had no interest in parachutes. His ultimate conclusion conveys frustration and a deep sadness for the tragic loss of young friends as a result of this avoidable travesty.

Additionally, Lee is equally critical of the failure of the British Government’s policy regarding aircraft development and manufacture. For a good proportion of the war, the RFC was forced to fly aircraft clearly obsolete when compared with those of the Germans. He provides a very enlightening and disturbing analysis of how and why this policy developed and ultimately failed the flyers at the front.

Finally, he takes aim at Trenchard’s forward operating policy and the British strategy of trying to maintain a physical air presence at every point along the front line. His umbrage with this policy centre’s upon the fact that the Germans practiced a policy of transferring Wings where needed, thereby ensuring local air superiority. The Allied strategy served to dilute Allied air resources, already in many cases substandard to their German adversaries, resulting, in Lee’s opinion, in unnecessary losses. 

Arthur Gould Lee's book is a window into an age long past and one that relates the beginning of man's conquest of the air. Like all pioneers, his was an age replete with danger, romance and unknown in a way that few of us can comprehend today. That he shares the intimacy of his thoughts, fears, triumphs and losses with the reader in a way that only a conversation between a married couple can convey is incredibly enlightening and humbling. The war in the air during WW1 was both exhilarating and terrifying and, thanks to Lee's work, the reader is given a fleeting glimpse of life as a fighter pilot on the Western Front. This book is not to be missed.

With the Old Breed - E.B. Sledge

Title: With the Old Breed
Author: E.B. Sledge
ISBN: 978-0-89141-906-8
Softcover
Pages: 326
Illustrations: 42 B/W, 10 maps
Publisher: Ballantine Books

                EB Sledge was a soldier. Like soldiers everywhere who have experienced and lived through war, he was profoundly affected by it. His memoire of his experiences, originally drafted for his family, has become a classic of the wartime genre. Joining the Marine corps in 1942, he took part in the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa. Originally slated to become an officer, Sledge transferred to the ranks in order to get to the front faster. This was not because he was enamored with the idea of fighting but because of a simple desire to do his part on behalf of his country. He became a rifleman in the 1^st Division, 3^rd Bn, 5^th Company and remained with that unit as a mortar man for the rest of the war.

                Sledge’s writing style is very straightforward and direct. He does not glorify his participation (if anything he downplays his role) in the fighting but focuses his attention at trying to relate what he saw and did to those who can hardly imagine the horrors that he and his buddies experienced. Given that he was writing as a rifleman, his view and perspective was very local and has little if any vision beyond the tactical. This is enlightening because so many memoirs are written by those who were removed from the front line due to rank or task.

                He related the good and bad in his peers, the enemy and himself. Such things as a Gunnery Sergeant that makes him dig his foxhole through a buried Japanese corpse (literally) or a Lieutenant that actually briefs the men on  where they are and what they are to do and why (with maps) is indicative of the spectrum of experience that he sees. The description of the environment in which he and his fellow marines fight and the brutality that he witnesses beggars belief. That so many of the marines not only functioned effectively but were able to recover to civilian life once the war ended  is testament, as Sledge puts, to the outstanding esprit des corps within his unit, the Marine Corps and the mental toughness developed through realistic training.

                Sledge is a quiet, humble man who returned to civilian life following the war as a professor in a small university. He is adamant that what he experienced and accomplished was unremarkable within the context of the Pacific war. While this may be true (as far as it goes), what he has written for himself, his family and really, as a testimony to the Marine Corps in the Pacific war, is anything but unremarkable. He has created a lasting legacy for future generations of the scope of sacrifice and dedication that he and his peers gave for future generations.

                This is, quite simply, mandatory reading for anyone, regardless of whether they are military or civilian, who strives to understand the true meaning of the word selflessness.

LZ Hot: Flying in South Africa's Border War - Nick Lithgow

Title: LZ Hot Flying South Africa’s Border War 

Author: Nick Lithgow

Publisher: Helion Publishing, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-908916-59-4

Pages: 168

Photographs: 16

             

Nick Lithgow has written a book outlining his operational experience during the South African Border conflict during the 1970’s and 80’s. His intent has been to provide the reader with an informal rendition of those events that have most influenced/impacted his military and personal development. This is not a book exclusively about flying and flying operations; rather, it is more an oral history put to paper.

Commencing his career as a National Serviceman he outlines his recollections of basic training and the challenges that he faced and overcame. Following that, his effort towards becoming a pilot and his successes on the different airframes (Harvard, Impala, Allouette III and Puma) are rendered in a easily followed and casual manner. He enjoys passing on stories (both humerous and not) of personalities that he has come across and they read like a discussion over a pub beer.

As he moves forward into his operational flying recollections one is struck by the stress and variety of wartime flying. Regardless of the intensity of the conflict, the impact is similar upon ground and aircrew alike. One is also struck by the degree to which the SAAF (South African Air Force) flying experience is similar in many ways to any other western nation in terms of interagency rivalry and competitiveness. Much of Lithgow’s book is dedicated to the retelling of pranks and mess experiences.

By the title one would anticipate a significant amount of the book to be dedicated to flying ops in the border region. It is clear from reading it that this is not the case. Lithgow spends perhaps fifty percent of his time discussing his exposure to flying operations and the rest discussing basic training, personal relationships, flying training and pranks. I will give credit where credit is due and say that his recollection of National Service Operations does provide the reader with an appreciation of what the South African troopies/pongo’s (ground forces) go through and an additional respect for the authors breadth of experience. He discusses his field time as an infantryman as one would relate any distinctive period of one’s life; better for the experience but glad that it is over.

LZ Hot is casual and easy as far as it goes. It reads well, is engaging and, as long as one accepts and understands that this is simply the reminisces of Lithgow’s military career and the personal experiences he has had along the way, it is enjoyable. It is not really for the serious student of history. That is not to say that Mr Lithgow has not produced a book worth reading, far from it. Mr Lithgow served his country well and has passed on some interesting stories of his adventures. He obviously cares very deeply and is very proud of his service and the opportunities that it provided.

His tales will make you laugh and pause for those left behind, so crack a beer and raise a toast to anyone that has ever been yelled at by a Cpl in basic training, slept on the floor to make sure a bed is fit for inspection, had a close call during an operation and lived or have lost a friend in the service of your country. This book is for you.

The Eyes of the Division - Helmut Gunther

The information presented was written by Chris Buckham; however, it was published in The Canadian Army Journal. Therefore, the material is reproduced here by the author with the permission of the journal. If you would like to republish this information or refer to excerpts please contact the Editor Canadian Army Journal (ANDREW.GODEFROY@forces.gc.ca). Website for the Journal is: http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/default-eng.asp?view=more

Title: The Eyes of the Division

 

Author: Helmut Gunther
Publisher: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing Inc (www.jjfpub.mb.ca)
ISBN: 1-927332-00-9
Pages: 252
Photographs: 68 b/w and 11 maps
 
          Helmut Gunther became a Untersturmfuhrer  (Second Lieutenant) in the Recce Bn of the 17^th SS Panzer Grenadier Division in 1944 following his recovery from wounds received during operations on the Eastern Front. His book commences with his unit being stationed in Vire, France on the 6^th June and the commencement of the invasion of Normandy. The memoire traces the units operations as it engages British and American forces across the breadth of France to the region of Metz where he is once again wounded and hospitalized until the end of the war. What follows is an account of the treatment that German POWs received from the victorious Allies as each side struggles to come to grips with the challenges of postwar Germany.

This narrative focuses exclusively at the tactical level. Gunther relates his and his comrades experiences from the perspective of the small unit. One clearly begins to see the confusion relating to an army engaged in continuous defensive operations. He relates the frustrations and challenges through a lens of cynical humour and resignation universal to soldiers everywhere. One of the real strengths of this book is that the reader begins to appreciate the German soldier as a human being suffering the same fatigue, fear and uncertainties as soldiers anywhere. Additionally, I was also struck by the resilience in adversity and the maintenance of professionalism even as the front collapsed.

Gunther relates a number of anecdotes throughout the book that provide insight into the morale, resilience and dedication of the German soldier. Stories such as some of the ‘snatch and grab’ missions, leaving a unit calling card on the doorway of US Regimental HQ during a deep recce operation and utilizing ‘unorthodox’ means to acquire logistics support from the German system all provide depth to the narrative. His comments and observations relating to the incarceration of the German soldiers following the cessation of hostilities are very enlightening and concerning. Additionally, the demobilization documents provided by the author are interesting in that he is precluded from any professional employment due to his being a member of a Waffen-SS unit. He relates that this, in fact, was never an issue when it came to post war work.

The writing style of the author is somewhat choppy and broken. He is not a professional author. He provides personally produced local maps that provide some assistance in tracking the unit location. It is, at times, difficult to follow the narrative as he is relating his stories from snippets of diary correspondence that he kept throughout the war. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book. It was refreshingly candid and free from heavy moralizing one way or the other. It is the recollections of a soldier of his experiences and those of his immediate peers and the methods by which they coped under conditions that would challenge the strongest of characters.

JJFPub has a tradition of quality books and this product is no exception. Once again they have provided an outstanding source for the military historian looking for the ‘human’ experience.

Open Cockpit - Arthur Gould Lee

The information presented was written by Chris Buckham; however, it was published in Airforce magazine. Therefore, the material is proprietary to the Air Force Association of Canada and is reproduced here by the author with the permission of the association. If you would like to republish this information or refer to excerpts please contact the Editor Airforce magazine (editor@airforce.ca ). I support the Air Force Association’s important mission to inform new generations of Canadians about the value and importance of their country’s air force. A link to the AirForce Magazine website is: http://airforce.ca/magazine/

 

Title: Open Cockpit

Author: Arthur Gould Lee
ISBN: 9781908117250
Hardcover
Pages: 212
Illustrations: 29 b/w
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing

     The author, Gould, was a fighter pilot in the RAF from early 1916 until the end of the war having transferred from an initial stint with the infantry. His autobiography encompassing his period of training and operational flying is an engaging and enlightening window into the early years of military flying. His intent is not to glorify or romanticize the role of the fighter pilot, but rather to provide insight into the lives and challenges of a line pilot in the cauldron of the First World War. He is a gifted writer and his work conveys his story to the reader in a casual yet compelling way. Indeed, one could easily imagine the author, with a brandy and cigar, sitting across from the reader in his library relating the story of a particularly notable period of his life.

      Gould’s discussion of the training that he received is of particular interest. The casual, almost haphazard method that young pilots were introduced to the mysteries of flight is both shocking and comical. In today’s technological world of aviation, it is hard to imagine sending up novice pilots with a couple   hours training to solo without even understanding the basics of how to recover from a spin (and, in fact, the powers that be did not know the answer to this question until well into the war). The fact that pilot training was, in many respects, as dangerous as combat, further deepens ones respect for those early pilots who took up the challenge of flight.

     I was particularly taken with his descriptions of patrols. Typically these lasted for two to three hours and as his aircraft, the Sopwith Pup, handled better at higher altitudes, 18 – 20,000 ft was not uncommon. As a rule of thumb, any sustained operation above 10,000 ft today requires the use of oxygen in an unpressurized environment. Imagine if you will, operating at 20,000 ft without oxygen or heating in open cockpits for two to three hours!!! Now add the stress and challenge of potential combat onto that (and without parachutes). Modern aviation medicine tells us that it is incredibly hard both psychologically and physically to sustain this kind of undertaking. It boggles the mind that these men were expected to do it two to three times per day, every day. Gould’s reminisces of these events leave the reader shaking their head in wonder.  

     The author does discuss his thoughts on the courage of the fighter pilot compared with other elements of the airforce (such as observation and reconnaissance aircraft) and the army. His views are poignant and balanced. In effect, he acknowledges that each of the branches had stressors uniquely theirs and so one may not, with any degree of legitimacy, suggest that one group was braver than another. In his view, the main challenge for the fighter pilot was centred upon the fact that he was alone. In the air, he did not have the support of being able to overcome/dilute his fear through the close proximity of his peers and friends. He comments that a significant part of his maturity and development as a pilot occurred during a scrap with a Albatros D-III. The German and Gould were alone facing each other and the German’s aircraft was overall a far superior one to the Pup that Gould was flying. Nevertheless, the German broke contact and retreated to his own lines. It was at that moment, Gould recounts, that he realized that his adversaries were as scared, and therefore as human, as he. The quality of the aircraft, while important, was not the only factor in survival in the air. Psychologically, the balance was made more even for Gould because of this realization.

     Grub Street publishing has produced yet another high quality book. The production value is first rate and well worth the money.

     Overall, I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable books that I have read about the experiences of a First World War combatant. Gould is a top notch author who is able to tell his tale without being overly dramatic or gruesome. A thoroughly engaging read, I had trouble putting the book down. I highly recommend this book to those looking for a story that entertains and educates concurrently.

The Forgotten Soldier - Guy Sager

“The Nation that will insist upon drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking done by cowards”

Sir William Francis Butler

                                                    

Title: The Forgotten Soldier

Author: Guy Sajer

Publisher: Brassey’s

Pages: 465

Content: This book is an autobiography of a young Frenchman of mixed nationality (German father/French mother) from the region of Alsace who joins the German Army in 1942. It is a rendition of war on the Eastern Front as seen through the eyes of a junior soldier. Soldat Sajer was engaged in operations full time from July 1942, when he joined the infantry, to his ultimate surrender in May 1945. All of his fighting was done on the Eastern Front. Few memoirs can compare with this work in range of feeling, depths of self-analysis, or vivid recounting of combat. His work serves as a testament to the universal motivations of the soldier: comradeship, endurance, self-sacrifice and fear. Selected by both the Association of the US Army and the Air Force Association for their distinguished book series, this work transcends language and nationality to address the human race.