Panzer Destroyer: Memoirs of a Red Army Tank Commander

by Vasiliy Krysov, Stuart Britton (Editor), Vladimir Kroupnik (Translator)

The day after Vasiliy Krysov finished school, on June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union and provoked a war of unparalleled extent and cruelty. For the next three years, as a tank commander, Krysov fought against the German panzers in some of the most intense and destructive armored engagements in history, including those at Stalingrad, Kursk, and Knigsberg. This is the remarkable story of his war.As the commander of a heavy tank, a self-propelled gun—a tank destroyer—and a T-34, he fought his way westward across Russia, the Ukraine, and Poland against a skillful and determined enemy that had previously never known defeat. Krysov repeatedly faced tough SS panzer divisions, like the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Panzer Division in the Bruilov-Fastov area in 1943, and the SS Das Wiking Panzer Division in Poland in 1944. Krysov was at Kursk and participated in a counterattack at Ponyri. The ruthlessness of this long and bitter campaign is vividly depicted in his narrative, as is the enormous scale and complexity of the fighting.Honestly, and with an extraordinary clarity of recall, he describes confrontations with German Tiger and Panther tanks and deadly anti-tank guns. He was wounded four times, his crewmen and his commanding officers were killed, but he was fated to survive and record his experience of combat. His memoirs give a compelling insight into the reality of tank warfare on the Eastern Front.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, Biography, War, Autobiography, Military Fiction

Hardcover

First published August 1, 2010

Reviews

[Nathan Trachta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the years I’ve read a number of personal histories of American and German soldiers from WWII; recently with the growth in the number of Russian personal histories available I’ve become intrigued with reading their view of WWII, first reading Tank Rider and now Panzer Destroyer. Panzer Destroyer is the personal history of Vasiliy Krysov, a Red Army tank commander who joined shortly after the German invasion of Russia. Vasiliy opens with the German invasion and his selection and training for the armored corp. After his training period he fought in Operation Uranus as a KV-I tank commander. Surviving Operation Uranus, Vasiliy is transferred to tank destroyers, commanding SU-122’s and later SU-85’s, picking up the war with his contributions at Kursk and the central Ukraine, concluding as T-34 commander in Germany. As expected, Vasiliy’s view is that of common tank commander, presenting situations from a tactical perspective of a small unit commander rather than a larger view (sometimes it’s hard to see the broader scope of the battle since Vasiliy never gives it to us), always describing the ‘skirmish’ his unit is participating in. Each battle is unique with Vasiliy telling us of his and his tank crews reactions to the events around them; interestingly often mentioning the civilian around the battlefield. Maps are provided for some of the tactical situations, several are great for wargamers to consider for scenarios though they generally lack the detail a wargamer needs for the participating units. Interestingly Vasiliy each unit Vasiliy is assigned to gets it own ‘unique’ comment and coverage, with Vasiliy easily showing that he preferred his time with the 1454th Self-propelled Artillery Regiment (Vasiliy provides some excellent insight into his crew, something that was lacking when he talked about his time with the 1435th Self-propelled Artillery Regiment) .

Rating wise this was a 3.5 to 4 star book. While Vasilly brings us the unique perspective of a Russian tank/tank destroyer commander, there’s too much that’s unpolished or like reading from a Red Army report on how great our troops did. Though Vasiliy addresses how the Red Army inflated German casualty reports, we rarely read about combat losses in his unit and the Germans always seem to be driving Tigers (yes, I know American tankers always saw Tigers also, but when Vasiliy states he knocked out 8 Tigers in one battle and didn’t get a decoration I’m a little skeptical about them all being Tigers). Despite being unpolished or a Red Army propaganda report, there’s some excellent view s of the battlefield that only a veteran could provide; particularly when he talks about the feelings for his crew and the men in his unit. This is a good read of something we don’t always get, the perspective of a Russian tank commander. I would have loved to have seen how a professional writer might have helped Vasiliy tell his story, but since these are Vasiliy’s memoirs, I respect them and the service he gave. My bottom line, 4 stars and recommended for those wanting to read about the Russians experience in WWII.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting and enjoyable read, but has some stretches that strain credulity. Vasiliy Krysov was a young tank officer in the Red Army of 1941, in fact his Graduation parade from Tank School was Saturday, June 21, 1941. the Very Next Day- The Germans opened Operation Barbarossa , the Assault that began the Great Patriotic War- the epic struggle with Germany that largely determined WWII. Basically, he fought in a KV-1 a couple of the great encirclement battles of Barbarossa-got wounded-got reorganised into a SU122unit in the Stalingrad Campaign-to the Kursk battles got wounded- came back in a Su85 unit - then gets wounded in Poland to come back in a T-34 for the the Konigsberg Campaign in 1945. From a Tank commander with command flags - to a Battery commander with an American Radio and a Studebaker riding Support team, the action is fast- hot and heavy- and the interludes of cameraderie sound a little forced.

Of course this is a Soviet Memoir- and the party plays a role. Krysov claims to have a regular persons relationship with the party- but the narrative plays a little false to the ear . there are times when one has heard of people being shot for less in Stalin's Russia (the entire narrative obviously takes place at the height of Stalin's hold on the Party)- and ternder mercy is shown. There are times when people are brusque- in the Russian way- but I have read in other Russian books that people were actually cooperative. The Polish Peasants and many Germans welcome the Invading Russian soldiers? Well at the end in the Konigsberg chapter- there is an extended discussion of the Rape of German Women that was all too common -but of course Krysov himself has not taken part and tries to prosecute two soldiers in his Battery- but they get off with 2 days confinement. I'd really love a Sovietologist of the old school to translate all the passages so we can better read between the lines. Bit it's still an engrossing read.

Lots of adult themes- rape, as I've said, and lots of gore- this is for the Junior reader over 13. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast- pretty good- maybe not gold but silver. There are maps and plenty of force package descriptions- usually by numbers of tanks and not official designations although those are mixed in too. Plenty of good Scenario and Diorama development content- with lots of good info for the enthusiast. Just don't try to match up the battles too exactly with German battle reports or histories- I think a few liberties were taken about the edges. Or perhaps the ever present Vodka drunk to toast AFTER the battles in the narrative- was also drunk before? A fun addition to any WWII, Barbarossa Stalingrad, Kursk, Red Army, or Tank Warfare libraries....

[Fred C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like propaganda

Having read 21pc of the book I feel this is more a propaganda leaflet than an actual story.. they are heroes withstand incredible odds and get out.. couldn't get a refund so will try to read the rest but a far cry from panzer ace...

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant surprise! When starting this book I had concerns with the poor translation and editing - poor word choice, English syntax was wrong more than a few times. More so I had reservations regarding the accuracy of what was documented. It was two decades after the war ended before Vasiliy Krysov started documenting his memories. The amount of detail provided in his recollections placed a significant amount of doubt in my mind as to how much of the information had been made up. As the story progresses the reader discovered the information for this book was gathered over a number of years from recollections of a number of Vasiliy's comrades. In addition, it appears the editor or publisher of this book has also done some research to corroborate much of Vasiliy's story as is evidenced by many of the footnotes. As a result, take notice. There is some very good information in these pages covering armored warfare from a Soviet crewman's perspective. The technical detail of how they fought and how their machines responded is especially interesting and a view of the war that is seldom discussed. I highly recommend Panzer Destroyer for anyone interested with the WWII Eastern Front, especially if you enjoy firsthand accounts of the war.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly interesting memoir from a Soviet officer who commanded tanks and self propelled guns for much of the war.

He entered the lines during the battle for Stalingrad, fought at Kursk, and a host of smaller actions in the Ukraine, Poland, and East Prussia right up to the end of the war. The vehicles he commanded included the KV-1, SU-122, SU-85, and T-34/85. This allows him to give a fairly broad insight into the experiences of Soviet armor crews.

He admits that he didn't start recording his experiences until the 1970s, with help from other veterans, but a good deal of what he recalls can be confirmed in at least broad details as to the opponents he fought.

There is what may be a translation error early in the book that has his first combat vehicle assignment listed as a KV-1S. The problem being that the prototype for the KV-1S wasn't even finished yet at the time he allegedly receives the vehicle. It's likely he's referring to a KV-1. Further evidence of this is provided when he later lists the weight of the vehicle at 47 tons, which was the approximate combat weight of a KV-1, but was considerable heavier than a KV-1S.

Overall, a great read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eyewitness account remarkable for an individual

It’s hard to believe one man endured all that is encompassed in this memoir but even more unbelievable is the fact that he was one of millions. While repetitive for the nature of this war in some parts, the exploits of this soldier are understated. Quite a thrilling read when taken in stride and pondered.

[Antonio Bernarda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all the war memories, one has to take into account personal bias, confused memories and other similar things. However it is a good read and tells much about the comradie of tank crews, which is what these war memories excel at telling so. If one wants to read history, then it has other specialized book, but for one to learn about the human side of the war, this is a great read.

[Edward L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book chronicling the experience of a Red Army Self propelled artillery gun commander. it includes the tactics used ti to destroy German Panzers on the Eastern Front. i found it very interesting comparing my experience as an Engineer Officer in the US Army.

[Gerhard Venter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. If you want to know what the chase from Kursk to Berlin was like — this is the book to read.

[David Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of detail on maneuvers, but not much else

Not a lot of character development. I would like to hear about the people he met, or even his life after the war

[Sarp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended read. One of the best ww2 memoirs I have seen in my life.

[Jiří Szabó · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mé zhodnocení: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8q4X...

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give any man or woman that served in World War 2, 5 stars.

This book while short, right around 200 pages of story itself, I found sort of hard to read. Not boring, it read more like a diary and the writer states he was going from memory to write the book. As mentioned there is not of published work from the Soviet solder prospective, far more is written from the allied and German service person. That said, I'd recommend this book. I just found it a little slow, most could read it in a day or two.

[Paul Kroon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This man has had a huge amount of luck. Interesting read from Stalingrad to Königsberg. Surely gives insight in the way the attacks were prepared and executed from the frontline commanders point of view. Clear descriptions of the limited interactions with the locals. You would surely wish that Vasiliy meets Maria again.

[Grant Kisling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memorial is an interesting read as its from a very different perspective than the standard German or American. There seems to be a strange overall level of enthusiasm and exclamation marks.

It does a great job of both providing minute-by-minute action scenarios and overall movement of their tank battery.

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a different perspective.

[Johnny Saldana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Provides an interesting perspective on the war