Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin
Ed. Historical Italy
pp. 428
Halfway between testimony and technical and strategic military essay, written by a staff officer who participated in some of the most important campaigns in Africa, Russia and on the Western Front.
Friedrich Wilhelm Von Mellenthin transports us with his story into the most decisive battles of the Second World War.
Born in Breslau on August 30, 1904, his father had been an artillery colonel on the Western Front during the First World War.
He trained in the Imperial Cavalry and in the summer of 1938 he joined the General Staff of the Third Army in Berlin where he met a young Erwin Rommel for the first time.
At the outbreak of the Second World War he enlisted as a general and distinguished himself in the divisions panzer, coming into direct contact with many of the most valiant German soldiers, such as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and General Hermann Balck.
The factor that makes this book interesting is the testimony of what happened behind the scenes in the headquarters in every war situation, both in the case of victory and in the case of defeat: such as for example the Battle of Kursk known by its code name of Zitadelle Company ("Operation Citadel" - this battle was just one of Hitler's many "strokes of genius").
Friedrich Wilhelm Von Mellenthin tells of when, before leaving for the African front, he visited Rome and met some "Italian comrades": he did some exercises and was able to observe the gap between German and Italian military equipment! On that occasion he says he visited the Shrine of Redipuglia, with the Italian general Ambrosio, who said referring to the First World War “let's hope we don't have to fight the Germans again”.
Von Mellenthin also talks about his days spent swimming on the Dalmatian coast before being summoned to Monaco and put in command of the Afrikakorps.
The part of the book that struck me the most is the one in which the author reports his experience on the staff of Rommel's headquarters, known as the "Desert Fox".
He says that Rommel had the habit of following the troops during their advances (risking being captured) with a stork: a light aircraft capable of landing on a tennis court. It seems that once the general, having spotted from his plane a company stopped for no apparent reason, sent them a message with the following written on it “If you don't leave immediately I will land myself!”.
Von Mellenthin also writes that Rommel consumed the normal troop rations to test how long the soldiers could survive during the African campaign on that food ration.
I found the book interesting because it makes us experience all the German battles during WW2, analyzing the historical details. The book is very engaging, also because it invites us to reflect on the mismanagement of human resources in war. I recommend it to all military history enthusiasts, even if it could be difficult for those who are not used to a detailed reading on the subject.
Giacomo Falanga
