Book Review of
Panzers in Normandy Then & Now
Author: Eric Lefevre
Pen & Sword Books
After the Battle Serie
ISBN: 0-900913-29-0
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $38.95
After the Battle Serie
ISBN: 0-900913-29-0
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $38.95
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books is located in the UK.
This book is hard-bound, with a paper-jacket that has ears that hold it tight to the book. It consists of 213 pages in 8” x 11 ¾” page format (2 pages are blank) on slick-coated paper. There ae 128 black and white photos in the book.
The cover art is both on the jacket and the book itself.
The front cover shows a color painting that was immaculately copied from a photo that appears later in the book. It shows Michael Wittmann sitting on the barrel of his Tiger tank, that is coated with anti-magnetic paste. He wears a black SS Panzer uniform.
The back cover shows a black and white photo of a crewman sitting on top of the turret of a Tiger tank.
First published in France as Les Panzers (Normandie 1944) in 1978, hundreds of additional photographs and other material have been added to this After the Battle edition to give it the magazine’s unique “then and now” character.
Forty years after D-Day, Panzers in Normandy, Then and Now was published to record one aspect of the campaign from the German side – the role of the German Panzers in Normandy. Locked in a slugging match in which ultimately they were ground down, as a result, the heart of the German armoured force was gradually whittled away, and those panzers that managed to survive the encircling arms of the Falaise pincer ended up abandoned during the retreat to the Seine.
In addition to covering the basic facts and figures of the panzer regiments in Normandy in 1944, this book contrasts the scenes of the fighting that raged in the countryside and villages of this part of France with comparison photographs of the battleground as it is today. Places which formerly were just names on a map are given a new perspective: a quiet country road today littered with armoured debris in 1944, a village square where once a battle was fought, a major highway once used by panzers on their “Marsch zum Front”.
Research for this book also resulted in the discovery of the location of the grave of one of the most famous panzer commanders, formerly listed as missing in action, when a Normandy roadside revealed its secret in 1983 as the last resting place of the victor of Villers Bocage, Michael Wittmann.
Military history of the twentieth century is the chosen subject of Tric Lefevre, Born in Paris n 1949. After studying at University and serving in the French Army, he launched his career as an author with Les Panzers in 1978. Since then he has written or co-written La Wehrmacht (two volumes in 1978 and 1979), Mai-juin 1940 (1950), Dunkerque (1981) and La Bataille des Alpes and operation Epaulard (1982).
The book begins with INTRODUCTION that shows a photo of German tanks advancing over a grassy field.
Organization of Panzer Regiment chapter shows a photo of a crew sitting atop their tank and 11 organizational charts for Panzer Regiment 44.
Chapter one is on Pz.Kpfw. IV (SdKfz 161) with 3 black and white photos of the Pz.Kpfw. IV and a line-drawing side-view of it with skirts. A list of its specifications is also included.
Chapter two is on Ausf. H (SdKfz. 161/2. Five black and white photos show it in fields and a town in Normandy. Houses in the town are shown as they were in WWII and today.
Chapter three is on the PzKpfw V Panther (Sd.Kfz 171). Eleven black and white photos show it. Along with a line drawing side profile of it with side skirts and list of its specifications.
Chapter four is on the PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf. E (Sd.Kfz 181). Seven black and white photos show it. Along with a line drawing side profile of it and a list of its specifications. A street front in Normandy is shown, then and now.
Chapter five is on the PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf B (Sd.Kfz 182). Four black and white photos show it. Along with a line drawing side profile of it and a list of its specifications.
Chapter six is on the Sturmgeschutz. Five black and white photos show it. One photo shows one destroyed. Another photo shows a road in Normandy then and now and there is a specification list for it.
Chapter seven is on the Jagdpanther IV. Four black and white photos are shown of it.
Chapter eight is about mobile Flak vehicles. Black and white photos of a Flak 38 20mm on a one-ton half-track SdKfz 10/4, a 38(t) Ausf M mounting a 20mm, with specifications and a line drawing side profile of it. An SdKfz 7/1 half-track with a quadruple 20mm on it. Specifications for a Flakpanzer IV.
Chapter nine is on recovery vehicles. It shows black and white photos of a schwerer Zugkraftwagen 38t. Three photos of a Pzkpfw III converted into a Bergepanzer.
Chapter ten is on half-tracks. It shows black and white photo of a SdKfz 151/8, that has an ambulance red cross insignia on its sides. A city street in Normandy then and now. Specifications for a Mittlerer Pioneer Panzerwagen Ausf D (SdKfz 251/7. A photo and a line drawing side profile of it. Two photos of a SdKfz 251/15, one of which is shown burning.
Chapter eleven is on Other armoured vehicles. It shows black and white photos of a 38(t), a group of German officers in front of a Hotchkiss tank mounting a 7.5 cm Pak 40 L/46. A British soldier standing beside a Bren gun-carrier. A U.S. soldier sitting on top of a Goliath demolition tank. A Renault R-35 chassis, with a Czech 47mm anti-tank gun in German service. A Sdkfz 135, 7.5cm Pak 40/1 auf Lorraine schelleper, shown knocked out with women and children walking past it.
Chapter twelve is on German uniforms. Two black and white photos show German tank-crewmen in black SS uniforms.
Chapter thirteen is on German Heer uniforms. Eight black and white photos show German tank-crewmen in black, field-grey and camouflage uniforms.
Chapter fourteen is on the German Waffen SS uniforms. Five black and white photos of men in black uniforms, sometimes in leather, field grey uniforms and overcoats are shown.
Chapter fifteen is on the Panzerkampfabzeichen. A silver badge given to tank crews. A black and white photo of a crewman wearing it and a photo of the badge.
Chapter sixteen is on Panzerlied (music). Shown is a black and white photo of a man playing snare drums and a man with a guitar and a sheet of German music.
Chapter seventeen is on Panzer regiments. Shown are two black and white photos of German officers walking down a street and in a group. There are two battle maps included.
Chapter eighteen is just labeled the Heer. Only one black and white photo of a tank that is covered with brush and its crew sitting atop it is shown.
Chapter nineteen is on the Panzer Lehr Regiment. Shown are tanks, officers, an organizational chart, 3 battle maps, 7 shots of knocked-out German tanks, roads, fields and buildings then and now.
Chapter twenty is on Panzer Regiment 3. Shown are a Pzkpfw. IV Ausf D knocked out, with a British truck passing by, a street then and now, an organizational chart, a Panzer Ausf. G, a group of knocked out German tanks, buildings then and now, a battle map.
Chapter twenty-one is on Panzer Regiment 16. It shows an organizational chart, tanks, buildings then and now.
Chapter twenty-two is on Panzer Regiment 22. It shows a field (then), a PzKpfw. IV Ausf B and G, an organizational chart, 5 photos of a knocked out PzKpfw IV Ausf. F tanks, 2 battle maps, a woods (then), an officer, a building (then).
Chapter twenty-three is on Panzer Regiment 33. It shows a German tank that is covered with brush, burning German vehicles, an organizational chart, a Kubelwagen, a Panther tank.
Chapter twenty-four is on Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503, it shows PzKpfw III’s, a road (then), German tank crewmen, 4 photos of knocked-out German tanks, a woods (then), buildings (now), an organizational chart.
Chapter twenty-five is on Miscellaneous Army Panzer Units. It shows 3 organizational charts, a brush-covered German tank, a Jagdpanzer, buildings (now), a Samoa S-35 and a French Char B-1.
Chapter twenty-six is on the Waffen SS. PzKpfw IV’s moving down a road are shown. Two photos of the Arc de Triomphe, then and now, are shown and an organizational chart is given.
Chapter twenty-seven is on SS Panzer Regiment 1. It shows German tanks on a road and on railroad cars, a knocked-out Panther, a Sturmgeschutz 40 Ausf G on its side in a river, the river (now), a Pz.Kpfw. IV knocked out and being passed by a Sherman tank, a German officer.
Chapter twenty-eight is on SS Panzer Regiment 2. It shows a knocked-out PzKpfw. IV Ausf J being passed by a Sherman tank, 2 roads then and now, a battle map, a German tank-crewman, 5 photos of buildings then and now, a road then and now, a knocked-out Panzerjager 38(t) Ausf. M being viewed by civilians, a knocked-out PzKpfw. IV, an organizational chart, a German officer, a cemetary and street now.
Chapter twenty-nine is on SS Panzer Regiment 8. It shows a Panther Ausf. G, a road then and now, an organizational chart, a German officer, maintenance being done on a German half-track, 2 battle maps and a street (now).
Chapter thirty is on SS Panzer Regiment 10. It shows an organizational chart, 2 groups of French civilians, a street (now), a German officer, a battle map, buildings then and now.
Chapter thirty-one is on SS Panzer Regiment 12. It shows an organizational chart, PzKpfw. IV’s, 3 photos of German officers, a battle map, streets and buildings then and now, a knocked out PzKpfw. IV Ausf A upside down in a field, the field today,3 photos of buildings then and now, 2 photos of a knocked-out PzKpfw. IV Ausf. G, a road then and now, a burning German tank, a battle map, German officers, a PzKpfw. IV Ausf. H.
Chapter thirty-two is on SS Panzer Abteilung 17. It shows a Sturmgeschütze 40, a German officer and an organizational chart.
Chapter thirty-three is on Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 101. It shows a PzKpfw. IV moving down a road past an officer in a Kubelwagen, the black and white photo that was used to do the cover art of Michael Wittmann is shown, an organizational chart is given, German tanks moving down roads and streets and them shown now, buildings and a cemetery then and now, 8 battle-maps, many photos of wrecked tanks.
Chapter thirty-four is on Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 102. It shows a field (then), an organizational chart, a knocked-out German tank, 3 battle-maps, streets and buildings then and now, an officer, German soldiers.
Chapter thirty-five is about What now Remains? It shows a horse and wagon passing a knocked-out Panther Ausf. A on a road that is shown then and now, 3 photos of a field full of wrecked German vehicles and that field now. Wrecked German equipment in woods then and now, a 7.5cm Pak40 on display now, a wrecked Panzer IV in a woods then. A road today, a PzKpfw. IV in wave pattern camouflage and no markings on display today.
The Glossary is 2 pages, with 2 photos. One photo shows a German soldier standing next to a road sign that says: La Luzerne 0k4, over St. Andr-de-I’f INE 3K 9 and a photo that shows that road today.
The last page of the books shows a German soldier reclined atop a tank, over a comparative rank table list.
There is a post card inserted into the book, to use to get information about any other Pen & Sword books.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Pen & Sword books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s webpage at:
Pen & Sword Books is located in the UK.
This book is hard-bound, with a paper-jacket that has ears that hold it tight to the book. It consists of 213 pages in 8” x 11 ¾” page format (2 pages are blank) on slick-coated paper. There ae 128 black and white photos in the book.
The cover art is both on the jacket and the book itself.
The front cover shows a color painting that was immaculately copied from a photo that appears later in the book. It shows Michael Wittmann sitting on the barrel of his Tiger tank, that is coated with anti-magnetic paste. He wears a black SS Panzer uniform.
The back cover shows a black and white photo of a crewman sitting on top of the turret of a Tiger tank.
First published in France as Les Panzers (Normandie 1944) in 1978, hundreds of additional photographs and other material have been added to this After the Battle edition to give it the magazine’s unique “then and now” character.
Forty years after D-Day, Panzers in Normandy, Then and Now was published to record one aspect of the campaign from the German side – the role of the German Panzers in Normandy. Locked in a slugging match in which ultimately they were ground down, as a result, the heart of the German armoured force was gradually whittled away, and those panzers that managed to survive the encircling arms of the Falaise pincer ended up abandoned during the retreat to the Seine.
In addition to covering the basic facts and figures of the panzer regiments in Normandy in 1944, this book contrasts the scenes of the fighting that raged in the countryside and villages of this part of France with comparison photographs of the battleground as it is today. Places which formerly were just names on a map are given a new perspective: a quiet country road today littered with armoured debris in 1944, a village square where once a battle was fought, a major highway once used by panzers on their “Marsch zum Front”.
Research for this book also resulted in the discovery of the location of the grave of one of the most famous panzer commanders, formerly listed as missing in action, when a Normandy roadside revealed its secret in 1983 as the last resting place of the victor of Villers Bocage, Michael Wittmann.
Military history of the twentieth century is the chosen subject of Tric Lefevre, Born in Paris n 1949. After studying at University and serving in the French Army, he launched his career as an author with Les Panzers in 1978. Since then he has written or co-written La Wehrmacht (two volumes in 1978 and 1979), Mai-juin 1940 (1950), Dunkerque (1981) and La Bataille des Alpes and operation Epaulard (1982).
The book begins with INTRODUCTION that shows a photo of German tanks advancing over a grassy field.
Organization of Panzer Regiment chapter shows a photo of a crew sitting atop their tank and 11 organizational charts for Panzer Regiment 44.
Chapter one is on Pz.Kpfw. IV (SdKfz 161) with 3 black and white photos of the Pz.Kpfw. IV and a line-drawing side-view of it with skirts. A list of its specifications is also included.
Chapter two is on Ausf. H (SdKfz. 161/2. Five black and white photos show it in fields and a town in Normandy. Houses in the town are shown as they were in WWII and today.
Chapter three is on the PzKpfw V Panther (Sd.Kfz 171). Eleven black and white photos show it. Along with a line drawing side profile of it with side skirts and list of its specifications.
Chapter four is on the PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf. E (Sd.Kfz 181). Seven black and white photos show it. Along with a line drawing side profile of it and a list of its specifications. A street front in Normandy is shown, then and now.
Chapter five is on the PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf B (Sd.Kfz 182). Four black and white photos show it. Along with a line drawing side profile of it and a list of its specifications.
Chapter six is on the Sturmgeschutz. Five black and white photos show it. One photo shows one destroyed. Another photo shows a road in Normandy then and now and there is a specification list for it.
Chapter seven is on the Jagdpanther IV. Four black and white photos are shown of it.
Chapter eight is about mobile Flak vehicles. Black and white photos of a Flak 38 20mm on a one-ton half-track SdKfz 10/4, a 38(t) Ausf M mounting a 20mm, with specifications and a line drawing side profile of it. An SdKfz 7/1 half-track with a quadruple 20mm on it. Specifications for a Flakpanzer IV.
Chapter nine is on recovery vehicles. It shows black and white photos of a schwerer Zugkraftwagen 38t. Three photos of a Pzkpfw III converted into a Bergepanzer.
Chapter ten is on half-tracks. It shows black and white photo of a SdKfz 151/8, that has an ambulance red cross insignia on its sides. A city street in Normandy then and now. Specifications for a Mittlerer Pioneer Panzerwagen Ausf D (SdKfz 251/7. A photo and a line drawing side profile of it. Two photos of a SdKfz 251/15, one of which is shown burning.
Chapter eleven is on Other armoured vehicles. It shows black and white photos of a 38(t), a group of German officers in front of a Hotchkiss tank mounting a 7.5 cm Pak 40 L/46. A British soldier standing beside a Bren gun-carrier. A U.S. soldier sitting on top of a Goliath demolition tank. A Renault R-35 chassis, with a Czech 47mm anti-tank gun in German service. A Sdkfz 135, 7.5cm Pak 40/1 auf Lorraine schelleper, shown knocked out with women and children walking past it.
Chapter twelve is on German uniforms. Two black and white photos show German tank-crewmen in black SS uniforms.
Chapter thirteen is on German Heer uniforms. Eight black and white photos show German tank-crewmen in black, field-grey and camouflage uniforms.
Chapter fourteen is on the German Waffen SS uniforms. Five black and white photos of men in black uniforms, sometimes in leather, field grey uniforms and overcoats are shown.
Chapter fifteen is on the Panzerkampfabzeichen. A silver badge given to tank crews. A black and white photo of a crewman wearing it and a photo of the badge.
Chapter sixteen is on Panzerlied (music). Shown is a black and white photo of a man playing snare drums and a man with a guitar and a sheet of German music.
Chapter seventeen is on Panzer regiments. Shown are two black and white photos of German officers walking down a street and in a group. There are two battle maps included.
Chapter eighteen is just labeled the Heer. Only one black and white photo of a tank that is covered with brush and its crew sitting atop it is shown.
Chapter nineteen is on the Panzer Lehr Regiment. Shown are tanks, officers, an organizational chart, 3 battle maps, 7 shots of knocked-out German tanks, roads, fields and buildings then and now.
Chapter twenty is on Panzer Regiment 3. Shown are a Pzkpfw. IV Ausf D knocked out, with a British truck passing by, a street then and now, an organizational chart, a Panzer Ausf. G, a group of knocked out German tanks, buildings then and now, a battle map.
Chapter twenty-one is on Panzer Regiment 16. It shows an organizational chart, tanks, buildings then and now.
Chapter twenty-two is on Panzer Regiment 22. It shows a field (then), a PzKpfw. IV Ausf B and G, an organizational chart, 5 photos of a knocked out PzKpfw IV Ausf. F tanks, 2 battle maps, a woods (then), an officer, a building (then).
Chapter twenty-three is on Panzer Regiment 33. It shows a German tank that is covered with brush, burning German vehicles, an organizational chart, a Kubelwagen, a Panther tank.
Chapter twenty-four is on Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503, it shows PzKpfw III’s, a road (then), German tank crewmen, 4 photos of knocked-out German tanks, a woods (then), buildings (now), an organizational chart.
Chapter twenty-five is on Miscellaneous Army Panzer Units. It shows 3 organizational charts, a brush-covered German tank, a Jagdpanzer, buildings (now), a Samoa S-35 and a French Char B-1.
Chapter twenty-six is on the Waffen SS. PzKpfw IV’s moving down a road are shown. Two photos of the Arc de Triomphe, then and now, are shown and an organizational chart is given.
Chapter twenty-seven is on SS Panzer Regiment 1. It shows German tanks on a road and on railroad cars, a knocked-out Panther, a Sturmgeschutz 40 Ausf G on its side in a river, the river (now), a Pz.Kpfw. IV knocked out and being passed by a Sherman tank, a German officer.
Chapter twenty-eight is on SS Panzer Regiment 2. It shows a knocked-out PzKpfw. IV Ausf J being passed by a Sherman tank, 2 roads then and now, a battle map, a German tank-crewman, 5 photos of buildings then and now, a road then and now, a knocked-out Panzerjager 38(t) Ausf. M being viewed by civilians, a knocked-out PzKpfw. IV, an organizational chart, a German officer, a cemetary and street now.
Chapter twenty-nine is on SS Panzer Regiment 8. It shows a Panther Ausf. G, a road then and now, an organizational chart, a German officer, maintenance being done on a German half-track, 2 battle maps and a street (now).
Chapter thirty is on SS Panzer Regiment 10. It shows an organizational chart, 2 groups of French civilians, a street (now), a German officer, a battle map, buildings then and now.
Chapter thirty-one is on SS Panzer Regiment 12. It shows an organizational chart, PzKpfw. IV’s, 3 photos of German officers, a battle map, streets and buildings then and now, a knocked out PzKpfw. IV Ausf A upside down in a field, the field today,3 photos of buildings then and now, 2 photos of a knocked-out PzKpfw. IV Ausf. G, a road then and now, a burning German tank, a battle map, German officers, a PzKpfw. IV Ausf. H.
Chapter thirty-two is on SS Panzer Abteilung 17. It shows a Sturmgeschütze 40, a German officer and an organizational chart.
Chapter thirty-three is on Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 101. It shows a PzKpfw. IV moving down a road past an officer in a Kubelwagen, the black and white photo that was used to do the cover art of Michael Wittmann is shown, an organizational chart is given, German tanks moving down roads and streets and them shown now, buildings and a cemetery then and now, 8 battle-maps, many photos of wrecked tanks.
Chapter thirty-four is on Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 102. It shows a field (then), an organizational chart, a knocked-out German tank, 3 battle-maps, streets and buildings then and now, an officer, German soldiers.
Chapter thirty-five is about What now Remains? It shows a horse and wagon passing a knocked-out Panther Ausf. A on a road that is shown then and now, 3 photos of a field full of wrecked German vehicles and that field now. Wrecked German equipment in woods then and now, a 7.5cm Pak40 on display now, a wrecked Panzer IV in a woods then. A road today, a PzKpfw. IV in wave pattern camouflage and no markings on display today.
The Glossary is 2 pages, with 2 photos. One photo shows a German soldier standing next to a road sign that says: La Luzerne 0k4, over St. Andr-de-I’f INE 3K 9 and a photo that shows that road today.
The last page of the books shows a German soldier reclined atop a tank, over a comparative rank table list.
There is a post card inserted into the book, to use to get information about any other Pen & Sword books.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Pen & Sword books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s webpage at:
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.