Blood, Dust and Snow

Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on the Eastern Front

By: Friedrich Sander, Robin Schafer - editor translator, Roger Moorhouse - foreword

Narrated by: Stephan Goldbach

Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

The war on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 was the bloodiest combat theater in the bloodiest war in history. Oberleutnant Friedrich Wilhelm Sander experienced this bloodshed firsthand when serving with the 11th Panzer-Regiment. This regiment made up the core of the 6th Panzer-Division, one of Hitler's top armored formations, which was involved in most of the major campaigns on the Eastern Front; campaigns such as Operation Barbarossa and Operation Winter Storm.

Sander recorded his experience of these campaigns in astounding detail in some recently-discovered diaries covering the period from April 1938 to December 1943, translated here for the first time by historian Robin Schäfer. Written during the fighting, these diaries not only offer an honest assessment of the war on the Eastern Front, but also provide an insight into the mind of a young and highly politicized officer, and offer an intimate glimpse into the close-knit community of a German Panzer crew.

A brutally honest, immediate, and unfiltered personal account, Sander's translated diaries make for a uniquely fascinating account about some of the most important campaigns of the Second World War. Blood, Dust and Snow will be of great interest not only to listeners studying the war on the Eastern Front, but also to any historian researching the Second World War.

©2022 Robin Schäfer; Foreword copyright 2022 by Roger Moorhouse (P)2023 Tantor

Great account of a light tank commander during WWII, BUT

… BUT because this book takes Sander’s diary as almost the entirety of the book, the latter half of 1943 is missing, with a brief note about his time in Serbia working with the Bulgarians in December 1943. Then that concludes his story. I know it because there were missing diaries, and there is a note at the beginning about that, but it still felt kind of rushed / missing at the end.

However, the rushed ending / non-ending aside, I thought Sander’s account was excellent. He experienced fighting on almost all fronts / sectors of the Russian Front from the opening day operation Barbarossa to his wounding during part of the relief breakthrough effort to reach the besieged ill fated Sixth Army in Stalingrad, and subsequent slow recovery.

This book does a great job of showing the mindset of a battlefield German officer during the war. Since this book was taken from his personal diaries, Sander does not hold any punches. He at times is critical of some of his fellow comrades (specifically ones in the rear), critical of commanders and party leadership at times, and critical of the Russians and civilians (except for any he seemed to seem Germanic). He does say some things that were aligned with the Nazi worldview, that are offensive. However, I am glad the author chose to leave those bits in there, as they help to understand and not gloss over history.

I also enjoyed how the narrator seems to be a German, so the accent and correct pronunciation of German words and phrases that were left untranslated, adds an authentic air to this book.

Besides the ending, this book is a must read / listen for any WWII history buff!

Great, until the end.

Great book keeps you wanting more than without a warning it ends...... Terrible ending.sorry

Candid and unfiltered

I really enjoyed this book, it is seemingly open and unfiltered. The author doesn’t hide his opinion, and why shouldn’t he, it’s his personal diary. I am eager to listen to our enemies thoughts and observations. It amazes me how different we are and at the same time…so similar. I do not sympathize with Nazi dogma, but the soldier is entirely relatable.

Good read.

Excellent day by day accounts

A great diary with day by day accounts of combat in the Russian Front. His descriptions on the interactions with the civilian population have changed some of my perspectives. I always thought all of the civilians were partisans which was not the case.

The ride along experience of being on a tank with the soldiers in battle.

Overall, a very interesting and informative listen. The suffering on all sides is unimaginable.

Real life experiences

The book was based on diaries of a German tank officer. He puts you right there in the action. He mentions so many names that it is difficult to track all the characters.

Great World War II frontline diary

This shows the generation that was young when the nazis ruled from 1933. They were motivated by all the propaganda to be the most lethal soldiers on the eastern front.
Great descriptions of the warfare with the extremes of summer and winter.
Tamarlane, a Mongol conqueror was the only one who could successfully negotiate the vast distances to conquer Russia.

Very different

Very interesting first hand account of the eastern front as it was happening. I never realized the potato was such an important food staple!!

Very enjoyable and love the reading by a German.

As other reviewers have noted, it’s too bad the diary does not coincide with the conclusion of the war, but even with that this is a must read book for those interested in the WWII German panzer soldier.

Great Insights

A wonderful book and one of the few times you can read the unfiltered words of a soldier. The German accented reader was a great touch as well.
To the people who are complaining about the abrupt ending… the chapter is literally called “fragments.”