This book presents the Eastern Front experiences of Helmut Schiebel from 1941
to the end of WW II. The author took art in the invasion of the Soviet Union in
June 1941 as a member of the 43 Motorcycle Infantry Battalion of the 13 Panzer
Division. In September he left for an Officer Candidate course in Germany,
returning as a Leutnant and platoon leader to the division’s reconnaissance
battalion at the end of April 1942. He was wounded at the end of June and
retuned to Russia in September 1943. On the way to the 18 Panzer Division, he
found out that the division was being dissolved and opted to transfer to the
antitank branch. He arrived at Panzerjager Abteilung 88 in October 1943 where he
was given a manual for antitank troops and soon after became a platoon commander
on a Marder tank destroyer. The descriptions of the combat are detailed and
there is much to be learned about armour tactics. This is not just another
memoir; the author was an excellent commander and imparts many valuable lessons
for those that are interested in small-unit actions.
