introduction

This book is a pictorial guide to the Danish Army in Afghanistan 2011 - an Army that has been a part of the coalition forces in Afghanistan from the very beginning, and now has fully adapted its vehicles to the conditions of warfare in this very different environment.
As a Dane this is a very welcome book. Unless you know people serving in Afghanistan, it is rather difficult to keep up with the developments there. This book provides a 2011 view of deployed vehicles and their adaptation to the war in Afghanistan.

contents

The book has a six-page introduction to the subject in German and English, followed by seven chapters on different categories of vehicles. Next to each picture is a text mostly giving technical info.

The first chapter deals with Light Support Vehicles, including the Polaris Sportsman, different types of Mercedes 270 Geländewagen (armored and soft skinned) and Volkswagen Minibus. Apart from giving good clear pictures of the different types used, the book also provides good references to the weathering effect on the vehicles. Lots of interesting subjects here!

The next chapter is about trucks. This chapter clearly shows that transport in the Danish Army is a "MAN" job, from standard trucks like MAN LE220 4x4 and MAN 27.314 6x6 to more cross country types like MAN SX 45 8x8 and MAN HX 77 8x8. All of these trucks serve many roles, and they have been comprehensively covered.

The third chapter is entitled Protected Wheeled Vehicles, and deals with the Eagle IV, the DURO HIII, The Cougar 6x6 ISS MRAP and finally the Piranha IIIc. As these are front line vehicles they show high adaptation in the form of Barracuda covers and (for the Piranha) slat Armor.

Then it is the Tracked Armor. This deals with only two types, the M113 G3, in Danish called PMV, and the newer CV9035DK. All M113 variants (4 in all) show passive armor added - in Denmark usually referred to as stakitter (fences) - and many locally-made variations. The CV90 vehicles are fitted with both Barracuda and slat armor. Not mentioned in the text, however, is that they have proved a huge disappointment to the Army. They have a hard time coping with the heat and the dust. This partly because the Army did not use enough time to test them before deployment - like they did with the Leopard 2 tanks.

The fifth chapter is about the Main Battle Tank, the Leopard 2A5DK. 9 very good pictures offer great references on this tank. Covered in Barracuda and with slat armor this is a very interesting subject indeed, and is, at least for me, the high point of the book.

The remaining chapter deals with Engineer Vehicles and Logistics. The latter is necessary - I guess - but boring (to this Reviewer). The Engineer Vehicles section is centered on the Wisent recovery Vehicle, which is also used as a mine clearing vehicle equipped with Pearson Engineering's FWMP. It would have been more natural to put the M113 and Cougar mine clearing vehicles in this chapter too; instead they have been put in other chapters.

conclusion

The book offers lots of interesting subjects for the modeler with an interest in Danish vehicles currently serving in Afghanistan. It provides detailed photos of the many modifications the vehicles have to adapt them for this theater of war as well as good reference on weathering. The text becomes somewhat monotonous as it only provides technical information. All in all though, I will recommend this book highly for those with an interest in the war in Afghanistan in general, and (naturally!) especially for those with an interest in the Danish army.