Aged 19, Schneider volunteered for the Panzer Arm in March 1941. He was one of the first five men sent to the Eastern Front. He took part in the Caucasus campaigns in and joined the Heavy Panzer Battalion 507 in 1943. He next moved on to the panzer grenadiers where he was given a Wanderer bicycle, a Panzerfaust and an assault rifle and was sent to fight the US Army on the Western Front. His decorations included the Panzer Assault Badge and the Iron Cross Second Class.

Robert Forczyk has a PhD in International Relations and National Security from the University of Maryland and a strong background in Asian and European military history. He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the US Army Reserves after serving as an armour officer, then as an intelligence officer. Dr. Forczyk has worked for three decades in the defense field and currently serves as a cybersecurity consultant in the Washington DC area. As a military historian, his primary interest is in combat operations in Eastern Europe from 1914 to 1945.