This book is essentially a photo reference overview of the main tanks used by Germany during the Second World War, as well as some of the major variants of those tanks. With so many different models and variants of tanks to cover in just 72 pages I think it is fair to say that this is in no way an in-depth analysis of any of them, but more a good introductory outline for the novice who is a little fuzzy on what tank is what and where it fitted into the overall scheme of things.
After a brief introductory outline which only takes up three pages this starts logically enough with the Pz.Kpfw I, though there isn’t all that much space devoted to the Pz.Kpfw. I and Pz.Kpfw. II series of tanks, with a lot more, probably the largest section, being devoted to the Pz.Kpfw. III and Pz.Kpfw. IV series of tanks. I don’t see a huge problem in that, primarily as the book is devoted to German armour from 1939 to 1945 and though the Pz.Kpfw. I and Pz.Kpfw. II had a great deal of influence in the opening stages of the war simply due to the numbers of them I think it is fair to say that the Pz.Kpfw. III, and more so the Pz.Kpfw. IV were the most widely utilised tanks of the war ( speaking solely of German tanks that is ).
At page 33 the book enters into eight pages of colour plates with two colour profiles per page, covering the major tanks and Sturmartillerie. After this section we begin into the Pz.Kpfw. V Panther, then the Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger. It then finishes off with a look at Sturmartillerie such as the Sturmgeschutz and Sturmpanzers, before finishing off with a small sample of armoured car photos. Oddly the Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger II is only mentioned in one photo.
The photos are all very good, averaging three to a page with, it seems, only the best, clearest photos used and I did find the captions to be very informative. It is then from these that the reader has the chance to glean some very useful little morsels of information, as this book doesn’t have any other text sections, relying on the photo captions for the bulk of the information contained within.
Overall it’s a very lightweight look at the Panzer family and some of its cousins that gives a very good, broad understanding of how the Panzer family began and evolved, but the real value is in the small details bought out about particular vehicles in the photo captions, not to mention that the photos themselves do provide a wealth of good references.
So not a heavy read, but an interesting one, and well worth the browse, as personally I find any book that puts together a good collection of photos is usually little more than that, a collection of photos, but one that when you finish reading through it leaves you feeling that you’ve learnt a few more little tidbits, even if they are just small ones, is well worth the read. And this one is well worth the read.
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Author : Frank V. De Sisto Publisher : Concord Publications Company Pages : 72 containing B&W photos and colour drawings Binding : Softcover Size : 217mm x 281mm ISBN : 9623611234 .Click on thumbnails to enlarge image.
