Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but . . .
Review: A very interesting book from a vantage point not often seen. Carius seems to have been an example of that unfortunately rare breed: the outstanding officer who is totally committed to his men. Alas, he's not so outstanding as a writer, although the translation may bear some of the blame. The book is choppy and full of single-sentence paragraphs that read like minichapters, having little to do with the text before or after. Also, his complete avoidance of any acceptance of the reality of the Holocaust, which he refers to only as "atrocity stories" wears a little thin. It seems he hasn't bothered to learn much about the war since it ended.He spends a fair amount of time ridiculing the abilities of the American soldier, then complains that he wasn't treated well in captivity. One wonders if he would have been happier in Siberia under the Soviets whose ability he so admired. The most fascinating chapter, I think, is about his meeting with Himmler to receive the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. A very rare look at Himmler, relaxed and behind the scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but . . .
Review: A very interesting book from a vantage point not often seen. Carius seems to have been an example of that unfortunately rare breed: the outstanding officer who is totally committed to his men. Alas, he's not so outstanding as a writer, although the translation may bear some of the blame. The book is choppy and full of single-sentence paragraphs that read like minichapters, having little to do with the text before or after. Also, his complete avoidance of any acceptance of the reality of the Holocaust, which he refers to only as "atrocity stories" wears a little thin. It seems he hasn't bothered to learn much about the war since it ended. He spends a fair amount of time ridiculing the abilities of the American soldier, then complains that he wasn't treated well in captivity. One wonders if he would have been happier in Siberia under the Soviets whose ability he so admired. The most fascinating chapter, I think, is about his meeting with Himmler to receive the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. A very rare look at Himmler, relaxed and behind the scenes.
Rating: 
Summary: Bogged Down in the Mud
Review: Author Otto Carius is the kind of soldier whose wartime service in the Wehrmacht reflects credit upon every combat soldier of the German army. It is a pleasure to read such a straight-forward, honest personal narrative such as this that confines itself exclusively to the author's own frontline experiences. I agree with Carius that it is a disgrace the heroism and sacrifices of men like him have not, until only recently, received the recognition they deserve. Those of us who were in Vietnam know what it's like to be reviled by our own countrymen. Robert Edwards' English-language translation deserves special credit. The appendices in this book will be of special interest to the military historian and the facsimile reproductions of Carius's awards and citations, expertly translated, will be of particular interest to the militara collector. But I have given this book only 4 stars because it slows down considerably about halfway through. How many assaults and attacks can you absorb without becoming bored and bogged down in details? These combat accounts eventually become only a little more interesting than the official after action reports themselves, which Carius had when he wrote this book, and some of which are in the appendices. But overall this book is the story of a brave and honorable soldier, of value to anyone interested in armored warfare, but more importantly, a succesful attempt to balance the horror stories about the inhumane conduct of the German army in Russia during WWII.
Rating:
Summary: Bogged Down in the Mud
Review: Author Otto Carius is the kind of soldier whose wartime service in the Wehrmacht reflects credit upon every combat soldier of the German army. It is a pleasure to read such a straight-forward, honest personal narrative such as this that confines itself exclusively to the author's own frontline experiences. I agree with Carius that it is a disgrace the heroism and sacrifices of men like him have not, until only recently, received the recognition they deserve. Those of us who were in Vietnam know what it's like to be reviled by our own countrymen. Robert Edwards' English-language translation deserves special credit. The appendices in this book will be of special interest to the military historian and the facsimile reproductions of Carius's awards and citations, expertly translated, will be of particular interest to the militara collector. But I have given this book only 4 stars because it slows down considerably about halfway through. How many assaults and attacks can you absorb without becoming bored and bogged down in details? These combat accounts eventually become only a little more interesting than the official after action reports themselves, which Carius had when he wrote this book, and some of which are in the appendices. But overall this book is the story of a brave and honorable soldier, of value to anyone interested in armored warfare, but more importantly, a succesful attempt to balance the horror stories about the inhumane conduct of the German army in Russia during WWII.
Rating:
Summary: The blindside of Whermacht writers
Review: Carius does a good job of conveying the tactical realities of tank warfare from the German side. He is very typical of those surviving Panzer writers, whose writing often resembles that of Civil War generals, particularly Confederate ones: "If only...", when the essential problem was that the initiation of the war in Europe by Germany, coupled by the declaration of war against the United States, meant that Germany was inevitably doomed. Tactical brilliance would eventually be overwhelmed by the massive production capability of the Allies. And even the tactical brilliance arguments wear thin when one realizes that much of the German success lay in the incredible inferiority of the equipment of the Western Allies (see "Death Traps" by Belton Cooper and the tragic example of the Sherman tank). Though Germany faced France with inferior equipment and invaded Russia with nothing on tracks that matched the T34, excellent tactical handling, especially the recognition of the antitank capability of the FLAK 88mm antiaircraft gun, and air supremacy, gave the Germans a temporary edge and time to accelerate the development of new armor, most notably the Panther and the Tiger. However much either tank was "over engineered" and needlessly difficult to maintain, the reality was nothing on the Western Front could stand up to them until the arrival of the M26 Pershing. Even so, they could not have won, something Carius finds difficult to truly comprehend. He disparages enemy soldiers, especially Americans, while failing to recognize that these amateurs at war, armed with often inferior equipment, nonetheless kept coming at him and Germany until by sheer weight of blood, steel, and ferocity, they destroyed the nation that twice in the 20th Century plunged Europe into war and visited a level of depravity upon the helpless not matched until Cambodia and Bosnia.
Rating:
Summary: A primer for tank commanders
Review: Carius' book is an outstanding look at the reality of armored warfare. Far from the romantic view of modern knights, Carius explains what is actually involved in commanding a platoon of tanks. The constant need to allocate resources to vehicle recovery, the reality of grand-tactical movement, just how much time a platoon commander is out of the track and on foot. It's all in this book. Carius does act as an apologist for the German army, but if one ignores the occasional rhetoric (as one should from both sides of the issue) there is a lot to be learned from this book.
Rating:
Summary: A primer for tank commanders
Review: Carius' book is an outstanding look at the reality of armored warfare. Far from the romantic view of modern knights, Carius explains what is actually involved in commanding a platoon of tanks. The constant need to allocate resources to vehicle recovery, the reality of grand-tactical movement, just how much time a platoon commander is out of the track and on foot. It's all in this book. Carius does act as an apologist for the German army, but if one ignores the occasional rhetoric (as one should from both sides of the issue) there is a lot to be learned from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A very rare breed of tank, a very rare breed of man...
Review: Generations come and go, this is the age of the History Channel generation, one that still believes in fairy tales; that germans were representative of all the evils in the world and the western powers and Russia stood for a wholesome mixture of goodness and fairness. Although a very large portion are seeking alternative answers. Tigers in the Mud opens a window in time and allows the reader a glimpse into a totally different generation and a way of making war that is as sound today as it was back then. This is an age where technology breeds an instantaneous breed of everything including soldiers, take away that technology and what you have left is an individual lacking in fundamental soldierly skills. Otto Carius warns us about this in the afterword of his fine tome. If you are in or are about to join the military, do yourself a favor and read this book. 90% of all battlefield situations are not found in the battlefield manuals and are subject to change in an instant and this book offers a rare glimpse into battlefield command at company level unavailable elsewhere. Otto Carius was a soldier reared in classic german military tradition and it shows through out his book. Contrary to History Channel standards three very important qualities about the German fighting man jump out from the pages of this book:
1) The ability of the german soldier to improvise and adapt according to the ever changing battlefield situation with limited resources
2) The capacity of the next in rank to perform the tasks of his immediate superior
3) The employment of the Kampfgruppe concept (the employment of adhoc units and weapons in concerted form) nowdays called task force (and made to seem like it was just invented by today's military). These three qualities were angular in our ability to endure for as long as we did againt overwhelming odds, the breaking of our enigma code and those who stabbed the German soldier in the field in the back to further their egotistical goals on behalf of alien creeds (Speidel, Krebbs, Fromm, Canaris, Beck amongst the many). Apart from that Carius raises one of the few voices in defense of axis soldiers in era of apologetical and repentful submission and made all the more courageous when we remember that the original book in German was published relatively shortly after WWII. His criticism of the German people as the only nation to turn their back on their native sons and those of us who did our utmost to defend that nation reminds me of those soldierly brothers that served in Viet Nam. I strongly recommend this book to those of you interested in the eastern front for a number of reasons, it is one the few accounts from a Tiger company commander who also had a grasp for the overall strategic situation as it applied to his command. It gives you an unbiased view of the Tiger tank as a combat weapon along with its limitations and advantages, he also offers a very rare glimpse about the JagdTiger tankhunter. Believe me it wasn't as unreliable as most western authors have led you to believe, (you had to know how to use it though). It did excel in the defensive role as Carius book amply demonstrates. The book is an honest and unapologetic legacy by a proud soldier with no regrets, who performed his duties for love of nation and it's people; the way it's meant to be. Raimünd Fonseca
.....
Rating:
Summary: Great first hand account of East front combat
Review: I would highly recommend this title to those interested in a honest account of East front combat. Even though it recounts the tale from the perspective of the tiger, which has become very overdone recently, the author is very witty and describes the war from the beginning in his 38t. For the paper back novel, you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great first hand account of East front combat
Review: I would highly recommend this title to those interested in a honest account of East front combat. Even though it recounts the tale from the perspective of the tiger, which has become very overdone recently, the author is very witty and describes the war from the beginning in his 38t. For the paper back novel, you will not be disappointed.
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