Introduction

The Australian Army of the '80-'90s was largely comprised of vehicles like the M113 and Leopard that were built elsewhere but modified to accommodate the harsh conditions found in Australia. Battlegroup Leopard is a fantastic pictorial insight into the Australian Army in such conditions.

Review

The book is softcover 64 pages in A4 portrait layout. All color photos. The author is Michael Cecil who is the former Head of Military Heraldry and Technology at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia, author of "Leopard AS1 – Leopard in Australian Service" and co-author of the Haynes "Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank Owners' Workshop Manual".

Leading off is the background behind the move of forces to Northern Australia and the units comprising Battlegroup Leopard in 1994 which includes the 1st Armoured Regiment, Australia's only tank regiment. What follows is a plethora of pictures of armor and soft skin vehicles romping through the bush of Northern Australia including the Leopard AS1 tank, Leopard ARVM recovery, M113 LRV and MRV, M0808, M577, M-548, LAV-25 trial vehicles, Kiowa helicopter and a large variety of wheeled support and transport vehicles.

Each picture is well captioned. Great insight into not just the combat exercise but also the required supporting operations.

Conclusion

Fantastic coverage of vehicles and soldiers of the Australian Army on exercise not seen anywhere else. Essential for anybody interested in modern Australian armor.

First published in 1998, you can pick up a used copy for $50 or it is now available from Trackpad Publishing (https://www.trackpadpublishing.com/) at a more reasonable standard retail price.