Book Review of
The Armour of Hitler’s Allies in Action 1943-1945
Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives
Author: Ian Baxter
Pen & Sword Books
Images of War Series
ISBN: 9781399085441
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $26.95
Images of War Series
ISBN: 9781399085441
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $26.95
HISTORY:
While much has been written about the Nazi panzers, comparatively little is known about the armoured vehicles in service with the other Axis armies. This classic Images of War book redresses the balance by covering in detail the equipment operated by these nations, supporting Hitler’s war machine.
Using rare and often unpublished photographs with full captions and authoritative text, it provides a comprehensive coverage of Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles.
Examples of tanks and assault guns are the Romanian TACAM R-2 (Panzer 35t tank destroyer, TACAM T-38 (Panzer 38t, the Bulgarian Jagpanzer 38(t), StuG 40 Ausf. G, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H and the Hungarian StuG. III Ausf. G, not forgetting Tigers and Panthers.
As well as giving technical specifications, the book traces the fighting record of these vehicles between 1943-1945. It shows how armoured units fought bands or partisans , and were used to defend their frontiers against the overwhelming might of the Red Army, until they were either captured or destroyed.
THE BOOK:
This book is in soft-cover, of 128 pages (5 pages are blank) in 7 ½” x 9 ½” page format.
Including the front and back covers, it includes 154 black and white wartime photos. It contains 7 chapters:
Introduction
Joining the Axis Powers
Romania, 1943-44
Bulgaria, 1944
Hungary, 1943-45
Order of Battle
Tanks used by the Axis Powers
At the top of the front cover there is a black and white photo of Hungarian troops hitching a lift on board a StuG III.
Below are 4 more black and white wartime photos.
The 1st photo, on the left, shows a Hungarian Pz.Kfpw. IV, supported by foot soldiers.
The 2nd photo, to the right, shows a Hungarian 39M Csaba armoured car, along a dirt road bound for the front.
The 3rd photo, to the right, shows Romanian soldiers being supported by a StuG III in late 1942 or early 1943, during operations around Stalingrad.
The 4th photo, to the right, shows a line of T-11s in a field. Note that the first three tanks, numbered 55, 56 and 57 are armed with the improved Skoda A-7 37mm gun. All ten of these variants were sold by Germany to Bulgaria.
The back cover of the book shows 3 more black and white wartime photos:
The 1st photo, on the left shows a T-III (StuG III Ausf. G) advancing along a road. This variant has a cast armoured shield in front of the commander’s area.
The 2nd photo, to the right, shows a Maybach T-IV of the Bulgarian Army. It has a St Andrew’s cross painted on the sides of the turret armor and its nose.
The 3rd (and last photo) to the right, shows Hungarian soldiers posed for the camera next to a Pz.Kpfw. IV at the Esztergom-Kertvaros Training Camp.
This book will be of great interest to armor modelers and military historians alike.
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 web site at:
While much has been written about the Nazi panzers, comparatively little is known about the armoured vehicles in service with the other Axis armies. This classic Images of War book redresses the balance by covering in detail the equipment operated by these nations, supporting Hitler’s war machine.
Using rare and often unpublished photographs with full captions and authoritative text, it provides a comprehensive coverage of Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles.
Examples of tanks and assault guns are the Romanian TACAM R-2 (Panzer 35t tank destroyer, TACAM T-38 (Panzer 38t, the Bulgarian Jagpanzer 38(t), StuG 40 Ausf. G, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H and the Hungarian StuG. III Ausf. G, not forgetting Tigers and Panthers.
As well as giving technical specifications, the book traces the fighting record of these vehicles between 1943-1945. It shows how armoured units fought bands or partisans , and were used to defend their frontiers against the overwhelming might of the Red Army, until they were either captured or destroyed.
THE BOOK:
This book is in soft-cover, of 128 pages (5 pages are blank) in 7 ½” x 9 ½” page format.
Including the front and back covers, it includes 154 black and white wartime photos. It contains 7 chapters:
Introduction
Joining the Axis Powers
Romania, 1943-44
Bulgaria, 1944
Hungary, 1943-45
Order of Battle
Tanks used by the Axis Powers
At the top of the front cover there is a black and white photo of Hungarian troops hitching a lift on board a StuG III.
Below are 4 more black and white wartime photos.
The 1st photo, on the left, shows a Hungarian Pz.Kfpw. IV, supported by foot soldiers.
The 2nd photo, to the right, shows a Hungarian 39M Csaba armoured car, along a dirt road bound for the front.
The 3rd photo, to the right, shows Romanian soldiers being supported by a StuG III in late 1942 or early 1943, during operations around Stalingrad.
The 4th photo, to the right, shows a line of T-11s in a field. Note that the first three tanks, numbered 55, 56 and 57 are armed with the improved Skoda A-7 37mm gun. All ten of these variants were sold by Germany to Bulgaria.
The back cover of the book shows 3 more black and white wartime photos:
The 1st photo, on the left shows a T-III (StuG III Ausf. G) advancing along a road. This variant has a cast armoured shield in front of the commander’s area.
The 2nd photo, to the right, shows a Maybach T-IV of the Bulgarian Army. It has a St Andrew’s cross painted on the sides of the turret armor and its nose.
The 3rd (and last photo) to the right, shows Hungarian soldiers posed for the camera next to a Pz.Kpfw. IV at the Esztergom-Kertvaros Training Camp.
This book will be of great interest to armor modelers and military historians alike.
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 web site at:
Highly recommended.