Panzer Leader

In May 1940, Heinz Guderian’s panzer corps crossed the Meuse at Sedan, drove across northern France at a speed the German high command considered impossible, and reached the English Channel in ten days. The fall of France — which had baffled and resisted Germany for four years in the previous war — was complete in six weeks. Guderian had invented a new kind of warfare. This is his account of how he did it, and what happened next.

Panzer Leader is one of the essential memoirs of the Second World War — a first-person account of blitzkrieg from its inventor, covering the fall of France, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the German retreat from Moscow, and the final desperate defence of Berlin. Guderian writes with a directness and a clarity that reflects his operational philosophy: speed, decision, the deep penetration of the enemy’s rear before he can respond.

Essential reading for students of military history and the Second World War. An indispensable primary source, written by one of the most consequential military commanders of the twentieth century. Published by Penguin.