Track of the Panzer

By: Brad L. Smith

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Berlin, 1944: Sixteen-year-old Gunther Schmidt is a product of his times—one with a short shelf life. Afraid he might miss the adventure of war, he lies about his age to join the Waffen-SS. His misplaced enthusiasm buys him a one-way ticket to the Russian Front. Too tall and part Hungarian via his grandfather, Gunther is denied his dream of commanding a tank. He must settle for Panzer-infantry machine gunner. In his first action, he meets veteran Tiger I tank Commander Wolfgang Ridder and his odd-ball crew. Commander Wolf is obsessed with beating famed Michael Wittmann, who destroyed 138 Russian tanks. In fall 1944, Gunther sees the new King Tiger II—the largest, most powerful tank of the war—manned by Wolf's crew. Gunther is enlisted to take over for their asphyxiated loader. During a desperate battle, he experiences the horrors of war from inside a tank. When their Tiger is hopelessly outnumbered, legendary Stuka pilot Hans Rudel, who lost his leg just the month before, comes to the rescue. At the end of the battle, Wolf tells Gunther of the death of Wittmann and his crew. Continued . . . . This Young Adult/Adult historical fiction novella is based on the life of George Schultz from a magazine story Smith wrote after interviewing his widow, daughter, and son-in-law. ABOUT THE AUTHOR From 1966-67, Brad L. Smith served in Vietnam as an unarmed combat medic with a recon troop of the 1st Air Cav. He was shot through the forearm in an ambush while carrying out a severely wounded sergeant and awarded the Purple Heart, Air Medal, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm, and Combat Medic Badge. According to three other soldiers, he also received the Bronze Star Medal for valor under fire . . . however, it never appeared in any official records. At the time he left his unit, he was the longest lived medic in the kilingest outfit of the killingest division of the entire Vietnam War. The medics in his unit were suffering 94 percent casualties; half of those KIA. His unit was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation and the Presidential Unit Citation for actions during the time Doc Smith was deployed. In one such action, Smith witnessed two U.S. M-48 tanks destroyed by Russian, shoulder-mounted, RPG-7 rockets with the loss of eight soldiers. Another U.S. tank fired its 90mm cannon just feet over his head while he was in a shell hole avoiding a sniper. He have used such experiences to add realism to his book, Track of the Panzer. Author BLSmith has an MA degree with honor in Journalism and 40 years of experience as a professional writer. He has been a journalist/photographer in Sudan, Uganda, Venezuela, Ecuador, Southern Mexico, and Vietnam (1995). He is an award-winning playwright of the The Man from Aldersgate, which has been performed 1,500 times in all 50 states and 32 countries.