Order in Chaos: The Memoirs of General of Panzer Troops Hermann Balck

616 Pages·2015·5.76 MB·English

by  Hermann Balck

Order in Chaos
FOREIGN MILITARY STUDIES
History is replete with examples of notable military campaigns and exceptional
military leaders and theorists. Military professionals and students of the art and
science of war cannot afford to ignore these sources of knowledge or limit their
studies to the history of the U.S. armed forces. This series features original
works, translations, and reprints of classics outside the American canon that
promote a deeper understanding of international military theory and practice.
SERIES EDITOR: Roger Cirillo
An AUSA Book
ORDER
IN
CHAOS
The Memoirs of
General of Panzer Troops
Hermann Balck
HERMANN BALCK
Edited and Translated by Major General David T.
Zabecki, USA (Ret.), and Lieutenant Colonel Dieter J.
Biedekarken, USA (Ret.)
Foreword by Carlo D’Este
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Copyright © 2015 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University,
The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State
University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University,
Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky
University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508–4008
www.kentuckypress.com
The German edition of this book was published as General der Panzertruppe a.D. Hermann Balck, Ordnung
im Chaos: Erinnerungen 1893–1948, 2nd ed. (Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag, 1981).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Balck, Hermann, 1893-1982.
[Ordnung im Chaos. English]
The memoirs of General of Panzer Troops Hermann Balck / Hermann Balck ; edited by Major General
David T. Zabecki, USA (Ret.), and Lieutenant Colonel Dieter J. Biederkarken, USA (Ret.) ; foreword by
Carlo D’Este.
pages cm. — (Foreign military studies) “An AUSA Book.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8131-6126-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8131-6127-3 (pdf) — ISBN 978-0-
8131-6128-0 (epub) 1. Balck, Hermann, 1893-1982. 2. Generals—Germany—Biography. 3. Germany. Heer
—Biography. 4. World War, 1914-1918—Personal narratives, German. 5. World War, 1939-1945—Tank
warfare. 6. World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, German. I. Zabecki, David T. II. Biederkarken,
Dieter J. III. Title.
U55.B228A3613 2015
355.009—dc23
[B]
2015011481
This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for
Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
Contents
List of Maps
Foreword by Carlo D’Este
Preface
Introduction
1. 1914
2. 1915
3. 1916
4. 1917
5. 1918
6. Retrospective on World War I
7. 1919
8. 1920
9. 1921
10. In the Third Reich
11. World War II
12. Greece
13. Russia
14. 1942
15. 1943
16. The Gross-Deutschland Division
17. Commander in Chief, Army Group G
18. North of the Danube
19. Looking Back
Appendixes
Notes
Index
Photographs follow page 276
Maps
Map 1. The French Campaign, May–June 1940
Map 2. The Balkan Campaign, April–June 1941
Map 3. Battle of Mount Olympus, 6–30 April 1941
Map 4. The German Attack into Southern Russia, Summer 1942
Map 5. The Stalingrad Campaign, December 1942–January 1943
Map 6. Battle for State Farm 79, 7–8 December 1942
Map 7. Battles on the Chir River, 8–19 December 1942
Map 8. 11th Panzer Division Counterattack, 19 December 1942
Map 9. The Kiev Salient, November–December 1943
Map 10. XLVIII Panzer Corps Operations around Brusilov, 15–24 November
1943
Map 11. XLVIII Panzer Corps Attack on Radomysl, 6–15 December 1943
Map 12. XLVIII Panzer Corps Battle of the Meleni Pocket, 12–23 December
1943
Map 13. Galicia, 13 July 1944
Map 14. Destruction of the 8th Panzer Division, 14 July 1944
Map 15. Army Group G Situation, 15 September 1944
Map 16. U.S. XII Corps Attack, 8–16 November 1944
Map 17. Army Group G Situation, November 1944
Map 18. Fall of Strasbourg, November 1944
Map 19. The First Operation to Relieve Budapest, 1–6 January 1944
Map 20. The Second Operation to Relieve Budapest, 18–27 January 1944