Classic Colours - Panzerwaffe The Campaigns in the West 1940

96 pages
Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing; illustrated edition edition (March 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0711032408

This is the second book in a series of ten titles using the successful and visually appealing format of the "Classic Colours" 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. This book describes the continuing 'Blitzkrieg' campaigns of 1940 with the German invasions of Norway and Denmark and the later attack on the Low Countries and France. The narrative text, written by Mark Healy, an authority on German armoured warfare in World War Two, addresses the events of the year 1940. This witnessed the greatest triumph of the German tank arm in the campaign that saw France and the Low Countries vanquished in just six weeks.This was also the year which saw the overwhelming vindication of the armoured warfare tactics advocated by Guderian and his supporters throughout the 1930s. Following the French surrender, and certain in the conviction that he now had to hand a war-winning weapon, Hitler ordered the doubling of the strength of the Panzerwaffe in preparation for its greatest challenge in the summer of 1941. More specifically this volume deals with: Light divisions to Panzer Divisions - the Panzerwaffe in the aftermath of the Polish campaign; Panzer operations in Denmark and Norway; the influx of new equipment - Panzerjager, Sturmgeschutz, Schutzenpanzerwagen and the first self-propelled artillery prior to the assualt on the west; the evolution of Case Yellow - the attack in the West - from October 1939 through to the launch and execution of the devastating armoured assault of May 1940; preparing the panzers for Sealion - the invasion of Britain; the doubling of the size of the Panzerwaffe.Accompanying the text will be over 150 rare and mostly previously unpublished photographs of the panzerkampfwagen I, II, III, and IV battle tanks, plus the Sturmpanzer I Bison (Sd.Kfz.101)150mm heavy infantry gun (mortar) carrier, the specialist Bruckenleger IV - bridging vehicle, the Maschinengewehrkraftwagen (Kfz.13) Adler light armoured car and Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 (SdKfz 251) half-track. The photographs will be further supported by detailed computer-generated artwork of key vehicles which also portrays campaign camouflage and markings, plus Orders of Battle. 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 mechanised warfare in the last century and offer much practical help for the military modellers.

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Superb Series with a good text and colour throughout. Panzer equivilent of the Jagdwaffe Luftwaffe Colours series also by Ian Allan Publishing.