Panzer Destroyer: Memoirs of a Red Army Tank Commander

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 [[ASIN:1853675547 Tank Rider: Into the Reich with the Red Army]] 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.

This is an interesting read. It is the memoirs of tank commander, Lieutenant Vasiliy Krysov. It will be mostly personal, about him and his crew but at times his platoon or battery will be discussed as well. (In this review I use tank to refer to both tank and self propelled gun which during the three years of war the author was assigned to both vehicles.)

Krysov, the original author, begins his story by discussing his days at tank college in 1941; it was a proud accomplishment for him and really all Russians graduating from tank school. His first battle experience is in July 1942 when his regiment is sent to the important city of Kalach, west of Stalingrad on the great bend of the Don River to prevent 6th Army from crossing. When Paulus blew through Kalach on his way to Stalingrad the Russians had to retreat and Krysov's regiment was attached to 64th Army in the defense of southern Stalingrad against Hoth's panzers.

These memoirs are not comprehensive and will not give you every action or engagement the author was in. In this small book, the author will provide just the key moments in his battle history. It's a microcosm of each battle and of the war.
From Stalingrad the story jumps to the northern shoulder of the Kursk salient near the town of Ponyri where the Russians stop Model. The counteroffensive, Operation Kutuzov is then described.
After Kursk, Krysov takes part in the big drive to push the Germans out of Russia and the engagements will include the approach to Kiev with the liberation of Konotop, Glukhov and Svyatoshino. The capture of Kiev and the continual advance against Manstein is next and is followed by Zhitomir, Siedlce and Konigsberg.

Along the way you'll read of the accomplishments of Krysov and his fellow tankers, about his quick thinking in desperate times and how he avoided death a dozen times but it will also include the death and separation of couple of his people. You'll also read about the advantages of the high velocity gun of the SU 85 as compared to the SU 122, the armour protection of different tanks and braving the elements and foraging for food, keeping your sanity in a steel box during the heat of battle. You'll also read about bomb dogs, German "tankettes", the lack of personal hygiene and fighting lice, the promiscuity of some nurses in the field, the responsibilities and benefits of commanders in the field. Occasionally Russian slang was used and its explanation was a big kick for me.
Besides the exploits of Krysov, background info is also given to help the reader understand the overall battle situations. It kept occurring to me during the read that some of this information was not available to a tank commander and it was pretty much confirmed in the Notes section that the editor who is also an historian provided some of this information. The Notes section was only four pages but it was quite helpful and listed a number of outside sources used.
In addition to the Notes section, the editor provides six simple maps, an Index and 21 photos of Krysov and his crew.

If you have an interest in what it was like to drive a tank in the war, this is a short but informative and interesting story that most will like.

The writing is a bit dry but redeems itself by being factually accurate, honest and frank. He addresses issues such as drunken commanders, useless political officers, sexual exploitation of female soldiers etc. Also, it is a bit choppy. For instance, he will spend a lot of time describing one battle, but on another will just say, " We were repulsed at such and such". In other places, there are gaps. For instance, you're never quite sure when he stopped being a platoon commander and became a company commander. He is pretty curt and short about his feelings and reactions to events and persons but that may be just his personality. Although his survival of so many brushes with death may be unbelievable to some, I feel the author made every effort to be honest and accurate. One definitely get's the feeling the author is a man of integrity and honesty. I believe this is a book that can be trusted.
It is not until the last page that you see a real glimpse into his heart.
What impresses you most is the strong moral character and courage of this simple soldier and his very strong sense of duty and simple sense of honor.
A good addition to any scholars library.

This book tells the story of Vasily Krysov, who served most World War II in a self-propelled gun. He discusses the engagements he was in, ranging from the Donbass region to Kursk to Ukraine to East Prussia. Most of the time he was in vehicles such as SU-122, SU-85, though he also commanded tanks such as the KV-1S and T-34/85. Krysov brings to life what the war was like for him and his soldiers, what they thought, how they felt, and the challenges they faced. He mentions the good and the bad, including behavior of Soviet troops in Germany. The maps are good and so are the pictures. Overall this book shows the human side of the Red Army and its fight against Germany.

Excellent book, and there is likely to be NO better account of armored warfare from the Russian perspective.

When reading Panzer Destroyer, a few items stood out to me right away. Most notably, its author, Vasiliy Krysov, gives what I find to be an honest account of events (some of which are corroborated by a short section of endnotes). Unlike the authors of some other combat memoirs I’ve read, Krysov does not bloviate about his own heroism and battlefront ingenuity but instead relates events matter-of-factly. Though there are moments in which he is, in fact, responsible for a battle turning in the Russians’ favor, Krysov never dwells on his own accomplishments.

Krysov also clearly went to great length to research the broader history of the engagements in which he took part, as evidenced by the lengthy descriptions of units and officers involved. As such, Krysov’s style comes across as more like that of a textbook than a narrative, which will undoubtedly please some readers and bore others. Personally, I appreciate the attention to detail and historical accuracy, even if it sometimes slows the memoir down. I will admit, however, that it was impossible for me to keep straight the dozens of different comrades and units Krysov lists; I often found myself flipping back to previous pages to maintain continuity in my own head, for Krysov seemed to change tank crews as often as tread links!

I was a little disappointed that Krysov glosses over some events I was most eager to read about—namely his time on the Stalingrad front and his final campaign in East Prussia—and instead spends most of his time recounting his role in the Battle of Kursk and in the 1944 summer offensive. This is my own prejudice, though, and I have not taken it into consideration in rating Panzer Destroyer.

If anything negative can be said of Krysov’s memoir in this regard, it is that he often (but not always) leaves out the gory details of battle. “The panzers went here, got this many of ours, we got this many of theirs, and we moved on…” is all he says about many engagements. Considering Krysov wrote his memoir decades after the war, though, it is little wonder the whole book isn’t like this.

In particular, I really enjoyed some of Krysov’s humorous and jaw-dropping anecdotes, the likes of which can only be found in memoirs. His recollection of the “campaign wives” enjoyed by most Russian officers during the war was an invaluable dose of information I have never seen described like it is here, and Krysov encountered enough dedicated Party members and political officers during the war to make for some very interesting stories. Similarly, Krysov also briefly shares his thoughts on officer politics, the execution of captured Germans, the prevalence of rape late in the war, and his own Christian faith, which was of course illegal for him to practice.

All aspects of Panzer Destroyer considered, I am probably overrating it a bit at 4 stars, because to tell the truth there were portions of it that I really had to slog through, but it is nonetheless a valuable contribution to the history of the Eastern Front. Krysov’s honesty is what makes this memoir special, and it is one I am glad I took the time to read.

Exciting book with great detail and insight into daily tank combat

This book is so impressed for me that I could not sleep for a couple of nights until I finished reading. I have been looking for and purchasing recollection books from individual red army soldiers. This is one of best I had.
This story is very consistent and reliable even though he had not received many medals. I have compared his story with those big events like Kursk northern defensive with General Rokossovsky’s central Front, and found his account match the real batter around Ponyri. It is fascinating to read those first-line front soldier life and death batter stories.