The psychology of the Russian soldier and the strengths and weaknesses of the Red Army in the unpublished memoirs of a Wehrmacht officer. Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin’s book “Panzer Battles” has just been released in bookstores. The battles of armored vehicles in Poland, France, the Balkans, North Africa, Russia and on the Western Front in the memoirs of a Panzer unit officer”, edited by Andrea Lombardi (Italia Storica Edizioni, 428 pp., €38.00).
“Von Mellenthin – comments the essayist and director of ‘Storia in Rete’ Fabio Andriola – recounts his direct experiences during the Second World War as a General Staff officer. He participated in some of the most important campaigns in Africa, Russia and on the Western Front, coming into direct contact with figures such as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and General Hermann Black.
The officer also dedicates a chapter to the psychology of the Russian soldier and to the strengths and weaknesses of the Red Army compared to Western Armies: “There is no way to imagine what the Russians’ next move will be: they go from one extreme to the other – he says – With experience it is quite easy to imagine what a soldier from any other country will do, but with the Russians it is never possible. The qualities of the Russians are as unusual and multifaceted as their vast and wild country”, writes Von Mellenthin. highlighting the total unpredictability of the Russian soldier: “today he doesn’t care whether his sides are exposed or not, and the next day he trembles at the idea of having his sides exposed. He neglects consolidated tactical principles but respects the supplied manuals to the letter “. A characteristic aspect of him “is his contempt for life as well as death: something incomprehensible for a Westerner”.