PANZER KOMMANDEUR - At the heart of the Panzertruppen, memoirs of Hans von Luck

Hans von Luck (1911–1997) can justly claim to have had a remarkable military career!

This son of an old Prussian family joined the Reichswehr before transferring to the 2. Leichte-Division, which would later become the famous 7. Panzer-Division. It was with this division that he took part in the Polish campaign in 1939 and then the campaign in France in May 1940, where he was placed in command of the reconnaissance battalion by Rommel. He thus led the mechanised thrust of the "Ghost Division", passing through the Bay of the Somme, Normandy and then pushing south: it was von Luck who received the surrender of Bordeaux.

After a time, the officer took part in Operation "Barbarossa", fighting at Minsk and Smolensk, still at the spearhead of the 7. Panzer-Division. Yet the German failure before Moscow and the harshness of the winter marked the end of his career on the Ostfront. In early December 1941, he fought a desperate rearguard action under hellish conditions to cover the withdrawal of the remnants of his division, until he received an unexpected order: return to Germany to serve… in North Africa!

Having been decorated on 2 January 1942, von Luck learned that Erwin Rommel, who had taken firm command of the Axis forces in Libya, wanted him at his side. On arriving, von Luck was placed in command of the Aufklärungs-Abteilung 3 of the 21. Panzer-Division, thus becoming Rommel's eyes on the ground; he would fight alongside the "Desert Fox" throughout the Afrika-Korps campaign, until the check at El Alamein; he was only narrowly evacuated at the beginning of 1943.

After a few months as an instructor, von Luck rejoined the 21. Panzer-Division — reconstituted after its destruction in North Africa — in Normandy, where he commanded Grenadier-Regiment 125. He fought around Caen, narrowly escaping capture in the Falaise Pocket. Promoted to Oberst, he took command of the survivors of the 21. Panzer-Division in France and fought in Alsace, notably during Operation "Nordwind", then in the East against the Soviets, before being taken prisoner during the fighting for the Halbe Pocket.

An immersive and essential account for understanding the operations of the Panzer-Divisionen on all fronts!