PANZER OPERATIONS: Germany's Panzer Group 3 During the Invasion of Russia, 1941

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This book, originally published in German in 1956, has now been translated into English, unveiling a wealth of both experiences and analysis about Operation Barbarossa, perhaps the most important military campaign of the 20th century.

Hermann Hoth led Germany's 3rd Panzer Group in Army Group Center -- in tandem with Guderian's 2nd Group -- during the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, and together those two daring panzer commanders achieved a series of astounding victories, encircling entire Russian armies at Minsk, Smolensk, and Vyazma, all the way up to the very gates of Moscow.

This work begins with Hoth discussing the use of nuclear weapons in future conflicts. This cool-headed post-war reflection, from one of Nazi Germany's top panzer commanders, is rare enough. But then Hoth dives into his exact command decisions during Barbarossa -- still the largest continental offensive ever undertaken -- to reveal new insights into how Germany could, and in his view should, have succeeded in the campaign.

Hoth critically analyses the origin, development, and objective of the plan against Russia, and presents the situations confronted, the decisions taken, and the mistakes made by the army's leadership. Germany's mobile warfare startled not only the Soviets on the receiving end but the German leadership itself, which failed to provide support infrastructure for their panzer army's breakthroughs. Includes 16 pages of photos.