introduction

The Germans fielded 6 types of Panzers (excluding the types of armour taken over from occupied countries). These types all had numerous variants and were used as platforms for other goals. This book is all about these 6 Panzer types and some of those Beutefahrzeuge.

in depth

It happens to every armour modeller as he develops his hobby. He begins by buying kits, paints etc. Eventually his thoughts turn to reference material.

Concord books provide, as I would call it, general reference. These books always follow the same pattern. They pick a subject; there is a brief introduction (2 to 4 pages) about the subject followed by pages with pictures and captions and some pages of colour plates. These books describe general technical detail; most of these descriptions are related to the pictures the book provides. Reading them will give you an idea of the operational use of the vehicles and men. Most of their publications pick a general subject like a Panzer Division or a period in the war. Some of the books specify on one type of vehicle. This volume is about the 6 Panzer types used by the Germans in WWII. It starts with a four-page introduction on the 6 Panzer types and their variants. After this come the pictures.

picture breakdown

I had the feeling that the content of the book was somewhat unbalanced. Looking at a picture count, one can see I wasn’t wrong. The Panzer I and II types are hopelessly underrepresented. There are not so much Panzer V and VI type pictures and even less of their variants. There is a huge amount of Panzer III and StuG III pictures and also the Panzer IV family is well represented. Now one could argue that these tanks were the backbone of the German armour force but still I personally think that when you make a book about all types there should be a fair balance in the pictures. There are even more pictures of support vehicles (why are they in the book? The introduction isn’t about them) than of the Panzer I and II types. It is also worth mentioning that a lot of pictures are about Bulgarian used German armour (30 pictures in total). This isn’t bad, but why only cover the Bulgarian army? And not also that armour bought by the Finnish, Romanian or Turkish army?
The setup is strange, the Panzer I, II and VI types are depicted together with its variants. The Panzer III and IV are first depicted with pictures of the main battle tank and the variants are depicted after the pictures of the Panzer VI.

in conclusion

I have the feeling the author started with an idea of a book and just couldn’t realize it. The result is a book that feels like it is put together quickly just to release it. It contains some very fuzzy pictures (is it really a Jagdpanzer?) Some pictures are very well known from other publications. In the end there are enough nice pictures to be able to like the book but I have seen better from Concord.
Recommended to starters and those interested in the Bulgarian army.

My thanks to Concord Publications for the review sample.