Panzer Gunner: A Canadian in the German 7th Panzer Division, 1944-45 (Stackpole Military History Series)

This is an interesting memoir by a former volksdeutsche soldier, Canadian by birth, whose parents, believing Hitler's tales of a a wondrous new society, naively ship him off to Germany from Ontario in 1939 at the age of 14, though he had never lived anywhere but the True North. It is written 50 years or so after his being sent to there, and thus like most memoirs probably suffers from some inaccuracies in recall. But by in large it seems credible and for certain readers may hold their interest.It is not a stylistic masterpiece - to the contrary - despite the fact that he has been an English teacher for many years. It also lacks a clear narrative thread. Events are recounted as they happen, but he spends far more time on the technical aspects of the vehicles he fought in or the panzer driver's fart than on the human experiences he went through.Nonetheless, for readers such as I, who read a fair amount about World War Two and German armor, it is one of the best examples of what AFV (armored fighting vehicle) warfare on the Eastern front was really like. He goes into great detail on his training as a gunner, and gives excellent examples of how, by and large, they never tried to fight head to head with their Russian opponents. He frequently refers to his Jagdpanther IV platoon as "snipers," who took up camouflaged positions and fired in ambush at opponents' weak spots whenever possible - which seems to be nearly all the time. This is entirely the opposite of the typical naive civilian view that armored vehicles faced each other "mano a mano," like Medieval knights in the lists. As the expert historian Steven Zaloga makes clear, the best armored killers were "bushwhackers." With few exceptions, no tanker with a brain on either side ever fought head to head if he could help it. Friesen takes great pride in his and his crews' skills as assassins.Interestingly, he also spares little time on the Russian soldiers he is killing. He doesn't seem to hate them, but also doesn't seem to see them as much more than targets, to be blown to bits if possible, or machine gunned as they flee their burning vehicles. It is a curiously unemotional account.Even his description of being suddenly taken out of school in the middle of the day and shipped off to a country he had never even visited seems devoid of much affect. Things happen to him, he reacts. That's about it.He does go on to talk about meeting a young German woman whom he marries after the war, and being reunited with his parents' Mennonite Canadian community in Ontario. Yet there seems little emotional looking back, at least not to human beings. What he does look back on with real excitement are the weapons themselves. After retirement he gets a job as a volunteer at the Canadian War Museum, where his knowledge of German AFVs makes him in demand as a guide and expert.All in all this is a useful book for those interested in what panzer crews and gunners did. You won't find out much about how they felt about it, and this is nothing like Guy Sajer's haunting memoir of his time in the volksdeutche, "The Forgotten Solider," let alone Kaisergruber's pathetically self serving account of being in the Belgian legion of the Waffen SS. And to be fair, even Friesen's accounts of other aspects of his life have some merit. But don't expect a clear emotional perspective or overarching theme here. I was shipped off, conscripted, trained, fought, was repatriated, married, worked, taught school, and now I volunteer. It's a matter of fact account of an interesting life. But at times it's like reading a technical manual rather than a flesh and blood autobiography.

Presented in typical Stackpole fashion, "Panzer Gunner" is the memoirs of a German-Canadian in the German 7th Panzer Division, on active service from 1944 to the end of the war. This was an interesting read for me, as I haven't previously read a soldier's memoir from a German perspective.This is a full account of the author's time in the German army, having been conscripted at the age of 17, in 1943. The first portion of the book, following the depiction of how the author and his brother came to Germany from Canada, is primarily based upon his military training. He spent time doing the training every army recruit must complete, before undertaking tank driving school. Of course, given the title of the book, we know that ultimately the author became a gunner. Of particular interest is the author's account of gunnery training on which a full chapter is devoted; the text includes reproductions of the pages of a training manual. Prior to serving on the Eastern Front, the 7th Panzer Division was on occupation duty in Italy, encountering various Allied POWs. Of course, this only delayed the inevitable shift to Russia (via Romania as the author delivered some Panzer IVs).The author spent the majority of his service fighting the Russians; several chapters are devoted to Panzer IV and Jagdpanzer IV actions. Only in the last days of the war did his unit withdraw to the west, finally surrendering to British troops in March 1945. Interestingly, the author states that he himself never formally surrendered, and never spent time as a POW. Wounded in West Prussia, and separated from the rest of his unit, he was medically evacuated to Eastern Germany and finally made his way into the British occupation zone. The final chapters deal with the author's post-war life, both in Germany and when he returned to Canada in 1950 to life as a tyre engineer, and subsequently as an English professor (shades of which come through in the language used throughout the book!). The author never comes across as an embittered Nazi, merely a teenager who fought on the wrong side and was lucky enough to survive what many of his mates didn't.There are a number of photographic illustrations throughout the book. Unfortunately, many of these are not particularly well reproduced. The author's language struck me as formal, and somewhat dry at times. Despite this, it was still easy to read as the narrative is quite fastpaced. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the many tales of life as a Panzer gunner - not just the combat stories, but the downtime and the training (which forms the majority of any soldier's life. What is that expression? 99% boredom, 1% sheer terror!) "Panzer Gunner" is recommended for those interested in the life of a conscript in the German Panzer Arm.

A very interesting book covering a view from the Eastern Front from the point of view of the German Army. What makes it more interesting and slightly different from the rest is the origins of the writer coming from North America to flight for the Wehrmacht.These origins are forgotten throughout the book as we experience the war through the eyes and memories of a Panzer Gunner. Yet towards the end of the book as the war draws to a close, we are again reminded of the authors Canadian nationality and with it, his return to Canada and continuing his life there. For me, this emphasises the principle that in any army, of any nation; soldiers are doing their duty. Even if it was an adopted duty as a result of circumstances and parental choices for Bruno Friesen.I would have scored a five, but found the writers style quite hard to read and digest. It is as though the text was dictated and put straight to paper. However, perseverance with the writing style allowed me to enjoy this book and find it interesting and absorbing.

An authentic account. Further blurs the: 'them and us,' boundaries. Ponder on who gets caught up in wars and then extrapolate blame. It's far from clear! Birds eye view of a still under reported conflict! Who now has even heard of East or, even less likely, West Prussia? I'm not sure how one survives such a cataclysm; survives and goes on to prosper?

I received this book it didnt look new and had a sticker on the back that took a hour to get off

Excellent writing, giving a personal perspective into a time of conflicting family values taken over by global events.Inside view of a tank in action from one who was there.

Really enjoyed this book though once the account of WW2 was over I lost interest and did not finish the book.