Panzer Ace: The Memoirs of an Iron Cross Panzer Commander from Barbarossa to Normandy
Richard von Rosen began the Second World War as a gunlayer on a Panzer Mark II, rising to become a highly decorated senior lieutenant on a King Tiger.
Von Rosen's memoirs are based on his wartime diary and field post letters and are illustrated with more than 400 contemporary photographs. He has a fine memory and eye for detail and his account adds substantially to the knowledge of how the German Panzer Arm operated in the Second World War.
Von Rosen fought in many key confrontations of the war, including on the Eastern Front, involved in action at Kursk, Barbarossa and in Hungary against the Russians, as well as leading King Tiger panzers in Normandy. Only 489 King Tiger tanks were ever built, they were the most powerful heavy tanks to see service, and only one kind of shell couple penetrate their armour at a reasonable distance.
This is not a simple account of German tank action in World War II: this is a personal account that brings to life the successes, discomfort, frustrations and enjoyment of simple pleasures in the daily routine of a Panzer company.