The Last Panther - Slaughter of the Reich - The Halbe Kessel 1945 Paperback – March 17, 2016

Outstanding! The story was incredible. I hated to put down the book. The details of the events puts the reader there with the author. I am grateful his story was printed.

It seems this is thought to be more of a Novel by some forums. Take that for what it is worth. Lots of action, too much detail, everything explodes into a ball of flame and in the end few survive.That does not mean the events described did not happen. I find it hard to believe that all of this happened to or was observed by the author exactly as described.It starts out well with names of places, but no names of his crew. Not even first names or a nick name, which is fine, but overall makes it less believable and less personal.That being said, it's a wild ride. Full of action, explosions, a fanatical enemy that has no self preservation instincts at all, traitors, evil SS officers and much much more. I recommend it as a easy read and enjoyable, but not a historical document.An audio version might be good for a long commute.

This book is action and horror from the very first few pages. Im about halfway through and it so far paints a very vivid picture of the chaos and panic of thousands of people and soldiers fleeing the reds. Tank battles, mercy, inhuman treatment by both sides. There's so much to this book so far that it's almost hard to believe.My only complaint is it's paperback. I feel a book like this should only be printed in hard cover as it's too serious and well told subject.Written and translated well. It's an easy read and you don't need to be a WW2 expert to understand it.

I am aware of the controversy surrounding whether this book is a real memoir or historical fiction. I think the issue is a bit immaterial. As stated by other reviewers, there is plenty of details here that are spot-on with what we know of German and Russian equipment, the overall situation, and the the conduct of the war at this stage in late April 1945. But if you want a history book, this is not what you are looking for. This is 1st person account of how it was for the remnants of the 9th army in the Spree to get to the Elbe told by a Panther commander - the story might be real, or it might be imaginary, or a mix of the two. Probably the latter. Maybe "Wolfgang Faust" is a pen name of someone that simply collected separate stories of what transpired, who knows. But the battle of the Halbe Pocket did really occur and from what we know from other bona-fide history books, it aligns with the story on this book pretty well. If any Panthers from the 9th army did make it to the Elbe, they must have gone through something of what is described here - this account has to be very close to the what transpired during those last 10 days or so. It was close enough for me, perhaps as close as any real memoir can be. It is an easy read, engaging and the price is nice too.

Its a very good story, well written, and captivating, but I have serious doubts as to its complete authenticity. The story seems to include either embelishments about various details or its a complete fabrication of actual events that took place. There are many details in this book, that simply could not have been heard or seen unless this tank commander was either poking his head out of his Panther hatch all the time, or he was walking behind it. A Maybach engine is far from quiet, so many of the audio details described would unlikely have been heard. Second, the visuals portrayed are as well, because the commander would simply not have been able to see so many visual details during combat unless he was out of the Panther. German optics were damn good, but not this good. All said, it is a pretty good book though and does give a fairly good description of the panic, horror, and plight of the German collapse during the closing weeks of the war.

"We must escape to the east and surrender to Americans. Americans mean hot dogs, cabbage, and the Geneva Convention. Russians mean the Arctic Circle, death, and never seeing Germany again."That is the conclusion drawn early by the author and his comrades early in the book as they and their small tank column move eastward through forest and field, days and nights with little to eat or drink, and fueled by morphine and amphetamines to reach the American lines and a chance to be part of rebuilding Germany after the war.As the story unfolds, the Panther crew skillfully defend their tank against everything - tanks, planes, artillery, and even Russian soldiers drying to climb onboard. What unfolds is a compelling tale unlike any WW2 account I've ever read. The chain of command has broken down, the Fuhrer's orders don't mean s--t, and they don't know who they can trust. Everyone has to figure out how to maximize their chances of survival until the war officially ends. Soldiers shed their uniforms, dress as field laborers, and hide in the forests. Women with children in tow pick up the discarded helmets and weapons and opt to support the column in its fight. The 5 tanks head West with thousands of soldiers and civilians in tow, determined to reach the banks of the Elbe.As a fan of WW2 armored vehicles, I particularly enjoyed accounts of how the author's Panther dealt with the variety of threats that it encounters. Heavier Soviet tanks, medium tanks, PAK guns, etc are all dispatched with in various ways and the tactics described. The author also describes supporting German armored vehicles in the ragtag battle group - Hetzers, Stugs, Jagdpanzers, Jagdtigers - the role they played and their effectiveness during the war.The criticisms of this book that I've read raise questions about how authentic it is as a soldier's memoir. There's such a complete mix of WW2 lore in here that I find it highly unlikely that it was all experienced in 3-4 days by one man and penned in his field diary at the end of a day's battle. Not sure where fact ends and embellishment begins. Maybe 70/30? No matter. This is simply a rip roaring account of a vicious, but little known battle in the final days of the European Theater of WW2. At 130 pages in length, it's a short read and you might read it in one sitting as I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it.