GROUND COMBAT

This special limited edition of an all time classic on the war on the Eastern Front is based off the original British first edition. The dust jacket, photos and fold out map are reproduced exactly here as the original. The only small changes are upgrades on the binding, paper and overall production in which no expense was spared. Launched with an immense invasion force of three million men, Germany's surprise attack against Russia in 1941 was planned by Hitler to crush the Soviets within eight weeks. Instead, hampered by major strategic errors, fanatical Soviet resistance, and the severity of Russian winters, "Operation Barbarossa" lingered on until, in 1943, The German fighting machine finally broke down at Stalingrad in one of the most shattering defeats of the century. Rarely has this war of attrition be reconstructed in such authentic detail and with such starkly dramatic effects as it is in this account. Paul Carell, basing his story on official military records, the memoirs of commanders in both German and Russian armies, and extensive conversations with survivors of all ranks, has drawn an objective, extraordinary vivid pictures of a struggle which, in the size of the forces involved and the ferocity of the fighting, was unparalleled in the history of the war. Along "the greatest front in world history" three armoured spearheads advanced simultaneously in a Blitzkrieg aimed at the vital centers of Russia. Their superior direction of operations, the daring mobility of the Panzer Corps, and the toughness of the troops swept the Germans to within 60 miles of Moscow. But in 1942, while his generals were urging a direct attack upon the capital, Hitler ordered them to concentrate upon a drive south into the Ukraine and towards the oil of the Caucasus. The Germans rapidly penetrated as far as Stalingrad on the River Volga, and Hitler became obsessed with the necessity of capturing the city. By September his troops were fighting in its streets. But the Russians resisted heroically, and after breaking out from the city, encircled and captured a number of German divisions and high-ranking officers. It was this sudden collapse at Stalingrad which turned the tide of the war in Russia. Paul Carell demonstrates clearly in this definitive account the strategic issues of the Campaign, its origins and significance, Hitler's tactical blunders and his generals' achievements in spite of them. Includes stunning color and black and white photographs, that have easily stood the test of time in their dramatic appeal.

Auriga Publishing

Panther Panzerkampfwagen V (Sd.Kfz.171). History File No 001; Anderson. Photo essay presenting the operational history of Germany's counter to the T-34, the Panther medium tank possessed an excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection that made it a formidable adversary on any battlefield during the second half of WWII. Illustrated with 6 color profiles and 110 b/w photos; 68 pages. English text.

Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw.IV, Sd.Kfz.161)Short-Barrel Versions. History File No 003. Photo essay presenting the operational history of the low-velocity 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 armed infantry-support version of the Wehrmacht's workhorse medium tank Ausf.A-F). Illustrated with 5 color profiles and 79 b/w photos; Anderson. 68 pages. English Text.

Sd.Kfz. 7 Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t. History File No 004; Guglielmi. Photo essay presenting the versatile 8-ton Sd.Kfz.7 half-track artillery tractor. Includes technical description and glimpses of the vehicle in action under varying circumstances and in a wide range of environments. In addition to the original prime mover application, also describes the /1 (armed with 2cm Flakvierling 38) and /2 (armed with 3.7cm FlaK 43) mobile flak platforms. Amply illustrated with 6 full color profiles, specification tables and 117 b/w photos; 68 pages. Full English and Italian text.

Brassey's

Hitler's Gladiator-The Life and Wars of Panzer Army Commander Sepp Dietrich (Brassey's/C. Messenger) Soft cover, small format, 245 pages, 36 black and white photos plus several maps. Price $23 USD/$28 CDN/INT

Classic

Panzerwaffe - German Armor and Armored Formations 1939-1945 (John Prigent)

This is a new series of ten titles using the successful and visually appealing format of the Classic Colors series to examine the German Panzer force from its origins in the immediate post-First World War years through to the end of the Second World War. With clean and striking design, the series will focus on the campaigns of the German Panzerwaffe in the Second World War and the strengths and weaknesses of its commanders and operational methods.

Each book will feature a detailed narrative text, describing the planning of each campaign, command and leadership within the Panzerwaffe, strategy and tactics, analysis of successes and failures, orders of battle, a technical overview of armored vehicle types and their variants, a focus on key commanders, individual units and theatre aces. The narrative texts of each book will be written by one or more acknowledged specialists in their field under the coordination of the Series Editor, John Prigent, himself a renowned expert on the German Panzerwaffe. Each title is supported by around 150 rare and fascinating photographs, specially commissioned color artwork of the tanks described and pictured, relief-style terrain maps, graphics illustrating tactics and battles, sidebars and text boxes.

This is an exciting new series which will apply a fresh and highly illustrated format to this subject matter, and provide much of interest for those absorbed in the history of mechanized warfare in the last century and offer much practical help for the military modelers.

Future titles in the series will include:- The First World War and the evolution of the Panzerwaffe 1918-1936- German armor in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939- Austria and Czechoslovakia, 1938-1939- Blitzkrieg in Poland, 1939- Assault on Scandinavia, 1940- Attack in the West: the Low Countries and France, 1940.

Greenhill

German Tanks of World War Two (George Forty). Soft cover, large format, 160 pages, 219 black and white photos plus 1 map. Price $25 USD/ $30 CDN/INT

Kagero Publications

Panzerwaffe - Poland 1944 (Wrobel and Wroblewski)

Opens with a brief overview of the German panzer troops in Poland during 1944 and their vehicle color schemes followed by an extensive range of full color profiles for 46 vehicles. Includes: Pz.Kpfw.IV; Pz.Kpfw.V Panther; Sd.Kfz.251/1/3/7/9; Sd.Kfz.162 Jagdpanzer IV; Sd.Kfz.142/2 Sturmgeschütz III; Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger II, Tiger; Sd.Kfz.142/2 Sturmhaubitz 42; Sd.Kfz.165 Hummel; Pz.Kpfw.III; Sd.Kfz.166 Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär; Pkw Type 166 Schimmwagen; Sd.Kfz.233 and Pz.Kpfw.II. Also Includes bonus decals in 1/48 and 1/35 scales. English text with English and Polish captions. 52 pages.

Price: $34.00 USD / $42.00 CAD

TWO SOLDIERS, TWO LOST FRONTS - German War Diaries of the Stalingrad and North Africa Campaigns (Don A. Gregory and William R. Gehlen)

This book is built around two recently discovered war diaries-one by a member of the 23rd Panzer Division which served under Manstein in Russia, and the other by a member of Rommel's Afrika Korps. Together, along with detailed timelines and brief overviews, they comprise a fascinating "you are there" look at the German side of World War II. The stories are told primarily in the first person present tense, as events occurred, and without the benefit (or liability) of postwar reflection.

The assignment of keeping the first diary was given to a soldier in the 2nd Battalion, 201st Panzer Regiment by a commanding officers and the author never saw fit to include his own name. This diary covers the period from April 1942 to March 1943, the momentous year when the tide of battle turned in the East. It first details the unit's combat in the great German victory at Kharkov, then the advance to the Caucasus, and finally the brutal winter of 1942-43.

The second diary's author was a soldier named Rolf Krengel, and the diary was the original, handwritten copy. It starts with the beginning of the war and ends shortly after the occupation. Serving primarily in North Africa, Krengel recounts with keen insight and flashes of humor the day-to-day challenges of the Afrika Korps. During one of the swirling battles in the desert, Krengel found himself sharing a tent with Rommel at a forward outpost.

Neither of the diarists was famous, nor of especially high rank, and no books have been written on their military careers. However, these are the brutally honest accounts written at the time by men of the Wehrmacht who participated in two of history's most crucial campaigns.

STURMGESCHÜTZ III Vol. 1 - Development, Production, Deployment (Peter Müller and Wolfgang Zimmerman)

The Sturmgeschütz III, or Assault Gun Model III, was a fully tracked armoured vehicle originally designed to provide the infantry of the Wehrmacht with direct fire support. In addition to admirably fulfilling that role, it also served for the better part of World War II as a self-propelled antitank weapon, a role for which it was never intended. As the war dragged on, it performed this important function with increasing regularity throughout all of the Wehrmacht's theatres of operation; from Norway to North Africa; from France to the Soviet Union; across Italy and the Balkans; and finally, within Germany itself.

This publication documents the developmental history, mass production, deployment and combat operations of Germany's Sturmgeschütz III during World War II.

In order to provide a better appreciation of the historical significance of the Sturmgeschütz III, this study first examines its technical design and development, production, modification and the fielding of the different versions, ranging from models A through G, as well as a survey of Sturmgeschütz III production assembly plants at Daimler-Benz, Alkett, and MIAG, where more than 10,500 of these vehicles were produced between 1940 until the end of the war in Europe. Other chapters cover the Sturmgeschütz III's operational history, including its combat debut and remarkable success as an antitank weapon. As the reader will discover, the German General Staff's and upper echelons of the Wehrmacht's growing appreciation of this remarkable weapons system ultimately led to an overestimation of its capabilities, contributing to Germany's defeat as both Sturmgeschütz III crewman and vehicles themselves were over-committed to the point of collapse.

In this study, the authors have drawn almost exclusively on primary source material rather than the existing body of secondary literature, tapping into a vast reservoir of original files, reports and operational records. In all, some 400 different sources were used during the production of this reference work and are listed in the bibliography. The authors have verifed production figures by cross-referencing and recomputing dozens of original source documents, resulting in the most up-to-date and comprehensive information about the Sturmgeschütz III's to appear in print. To round out this volume, it includes 125 historical photographs, many of them reproduced for the first time, as well as seventy charts and that tables that verify the authors' conclusions.

STURMGESCHÜTZ III Vol. 2 - Variants, Modifications, Technical Drawings (Peter Müller and Wolfgang Zimmerman)

Volume 2 of Sturmgeschütz III provides a selection of images that illustrate in striking and unique detail the evolution and operational employment of this potent weapons system. Reliable documentary evidence, such as the date the image was made, location and unit of assignment is provided for many of these photographs, allowing the reader to precisely identify specific variants of the Sturmgeschütz III. The quality of research displayed throughout this volume makes it an ideal reference work for vehicle restoration, for historically accurate modeling or for diorama building. The superb photographs in this volume also illustrate a tremendous amount of technical information for historians most interested in tracing the continuous development of one of the most significant armoured vehicles to see action during World War II.

Within this volume, the photographic evidence is used to accurately present 90 specific identifying characteristics of the Sturmgeschütz III and how each of the weapon system’s unique features arose during design and development. Accompanying timelines illustrate when different versions of the Sturmgeschütz III were manufactured, using documentary evidence such as the original records that list chassis serial numbers assigned for each assembly plant as well as other primary source information. It also includes a supplemental chart that provides a quick and handy reference to the various versions of the Sturmgeschütz III that saw service.

Volume 2 also systematically covers unusual configurations of the Sturmgeschütz III, including field modifications, backed up by tabulations for easy reference. Superb four-level cutaway technical drawings illustrate the characteristics of each of the wartime production runs of the Sturmgeschütz III at precisely defined points in time. High-quality photos compliment each of the drawings.

This volume also accurately documents for the very first time the evolution of the appearance of the Sturmgeschütz III from 1940 to 1945 on a month-by-month basis, enabling the historian or modeller to interpret other Sturmgeschütz III photographs and place them in their proper historical timeframe and operational context.

Hardcover, 296 pages, 550 wartime photographs, many published for the first time and 100 technical line drawings, most in 1:35th scale.

This excellent series from Japan has been an invaluable resource for armor modelers for years. Achtung Panzer No.2 focuses on the Panzerkampfwagen III with excellent wartime photos, full color museum photos, technical drawings and more!