Panzer Aces

[Leo Etgen]

Hi guys

I am mostly interested in the Luftwaffe and its aces, aircraft and units but naturally enough like to read about all sorts of other military history. A topic that is rather different although somewhat linked is the armored fighting vehicle units of the German military in World War II of which I only know the rudimentary details. I am nevertheless interested in this subject but yet have read only very superficially about it so it was with interest that I watched the following video that the YouTube algorithm suggested which was gratifying as nowadays there is a mass of artificial intelligence produced garbage appearing on that site (the Axis laughed at x Allied weapon - until discovering how deadly it was) and for some reason is promoted. I watched the first half dealing with German tank claims and the difficulty of arriving at a figure for these which was interesting but not new to me as I have read about this previously. However, the second half of the video was quite surprising - according to this content creator, the commonly repeated totals of destroyed vehicles of various tank aces such as Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittman, Oberleutnant Otto Carius and Feldwebel Kurt Knispel and some of their "stories" are nothing more than complete fabrications invented postwar by Franz Kurowski. I have seen this author's work cited here and there but have never read any of his books and feel that if the information in this video is true, and I believe it is, then it is a pity that this person invented such nonsense and that it is still taken seriously by so many who should know better.

Horrido!

Leo