INTRODUCTION

German Leichte Panzer at War #7066 is a 72 page soft-bound book authored by Frank V. De Sisto and published by the Concord Publications Company. One of the latest releases in the Concord Armor at War Series, this book contains 172 black and white photographs as well as 16 color prints by artist Laurent Lecocq. The Panzerkampfwagen I, Panzerkampfwagen II, Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) and Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) along with some of their variants are the main focus of the book.

what's covered

The book begins with a nicely written 4 page history which discusses the restrictions placed on Germany after WWI due to the Versailles Treaty, and how the Germans secretly developed the Panzerkampfwagen I and how that led to other armor developments. The Panzerkampfwagen I, Panzerkampfwagen II, Panzerkampfwagen 35(t), and Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) are all discussed in great detail in sections dedicated to each individual vehicle. The remainder of the book is dedicated to a wide array of photographs and the color prints.

The German manufactured light tanks covered throughout the book are the:

•Panzerkampfwagen 1 Ausf. A
•Panzerkampfwagen 1 Ausf. A Munitions panzer
•Panzerkampfwagen 1 Ausf. B
•Panzerkampfwagen 1 Ausf. F
•Panzerkampfwagen 1 Ausf. F Kl.Pz.Bef.Wg (Sd.Kfz.265)
•Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. a/1, a/2, or a/3.
•Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. A
•Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. B
•Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. C
•Panzerkampfwagen II Flammpanzer Ausf. D
•Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. F
•Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. L “Luchs”

One of my long time favorite military subjects is captured/commandeered vehicles, equipment, and weapons so I was very pleased to see that captured/commandeered armor was covered in this book for the following:

•Panzerkampfwagen 35(t)
•Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) Ausf. B, C, D, E, F or G
* The majority of the Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t) pictures are not identified as to a specific model.

Some of the panzer units covered throughout the book are the:

•1. Panzer-Division
•2. Panzer-Division
•4. Panzer-Division
•5. Panzer-Division
•6. Panzer-Division
•7. Panzer-Division
•8. Panzer-Division
•11. Panzer-Division
•12. Panzer-Division
•Polizei- Panzer-Kompanie 8
•1. Leichte-Division
•Panzer-Abteillung Z.b.V66
•Sturmgeschutz-Batterie 660
•Pz.Abt. (f) 100
•Pz.Abt. (f) 101

There is a variety of other armor, vehicles, and equipment seen and discussed throughout the book. These include:

•Panzerkampfwagen III
•Befhelspanzer III Ausf. H
•Panzerkampfwagen IV
•BMW light field car
•Stoewer light field car
•Auto-Union Wander light field car
•Opel Blitz 3-ton truck
•Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8-ton Sd.Kfz. 7 (KM10)
•Bussing NAG 4.5-ton tactical transport truck
•Schutzenpanzerwagen Sd.Kfz. 251
•Tiefladeananhager Fur Panzerkampfwagen Sd.Ah. 115 trailer
•Schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18-ton Sd.Kfz. 9
•Schwerer Panzerspahwagen 8-Rad Sd.Kfz. 231
•7.5 cm I.IG18 Infantry Gun
•Horch command car
•Staff cars
•Motorcycles with and without sidecars
•Unidentified tracked tractor
•Commandeered bicycles
•Horses
•Horse drawn equipment
•Railroad cars
•Engineer bridge
•Pontoon bridge
•Small infantry cart
•Bunker complex
*Some of the above mentioned items are not positively identified and that is stated so in the captions.

photographs and prints

The Photographs:
There is a wide array of subjects in the photographs focusing on the Panzerkampfwagen I and II and some of their variants, as well as the captured Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) and the Panzerkampfwagen 38(t). The photographs are in order as to each particular type. They start off with the Panzerkampfwagen I, then the Panzerkampfwagen II, the Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) and finally the Panzerkampfwagen 38(t). Some of the photographs do specify actions such as the French Campaign, the Polish campaign and the Ostfront (East front). The photographs cover various wartime locations, terrain and different seasons, and range from action scenes to more casual scenes.

As I looked through the book I was pleased to discover that a majority of the photographs were new to me and I found this to be very appealing. It appears that the author took the time to locate photographs that have not been used time and time again in other publications. One photograph that I found particularly interesting shows some Panzer I’s that had been modified to look like Panzer III or IV’s. I had never heard of that before so I thought it was fascinating and would/could be the source for an interesting scratch-build project (I have included this picture with my review). Another picture shows crew member graffiti on a panzer and the caption provides translations for what is written. I felt that was a nice touch as it helps out people, such as myself, who always wonder what the graffiti says in photographs such as that one.

Shown throughout the photographs, and detailed in the captions, are a variety of tank crew member uniforms, divisional markings, national markings, pennants, and different camouflage techniques. The majority of the photographs are nice and clear. There are a few that have a little blurry/fuzzy look to them, however that does not take away from the quality of the book.

The Color Prints:
Artist Laurent Lecocq has provided sixteen color prints which are done very well. They show nice representations of different WWII German light armor and their variations illustrating different markings and camouflage colors, and detailed captions describe the represented armored vehicle and the unit to which it is assigned.

The Captions:
The captions that accompany the photographs are well written and are very detailed. As with the color prints, they include information about the armor vehicle shown as well as the unit to which it is assigned and the area/theater/campaign in which it is shown. Also pointed out are things such as modifications and additional armor that has been added to the tanks. The captions cover everything from general information about the vehicle down to such minor things such as tool placement.

Also described are the different camouflage patterns, the colors used and the specific number of the paint. They also go into detail in regards to the military personnel shown and their uniforms, what the tank crew members are doing, as well as identifying different things shown in the photographs such as a Zeltbahn shelter. As I mentioned before they also translate the graffiti that is shown.

Upon reading through the captions I noticed that some of them are not clear as to the specific model of the vehicle shown in the photograph and the captions state the uncertainty of the specific model shown. The following is an example, "This Pz.Kpfw. 38(t) Ausf. B, C or D………..". However, I am very impressed with how detailed and informative the majority of the captions are.

CONCLUSION

All in all I am very impressed with this book. The variety of subjects covered will appeal to the armor enthusiasts as well as the armor and diorama modelers. I believe that it would be a welcome addition to anyone’s personal reference library. This is the second Concord Publications Company book that I have reviewed and I would have no hesitations to add other Concord titles to my personal library, or to recommend this book to others.

Note: The pictures that I have provided look blurry and the captions are hard to read. This is due to my scanner. That is not how they appear in the book, so please don’t be misled by my examples.