Tanks (up to 1945) - Spain: books - history, types and construction

Spanish Civil War Tanks - The Proving Ground for Blitzkrieg (Osprey)

The tanks used during the Spanish Civil War are not often examined in any great detail, and are often labeled as little more than test vehicles in a convenient proving ground before World War II. But, with groundbreaking research, armor expert Steven J Zaloga has taken a fresh look at the tanks deployed in Spain, examining how future tanks and armored tactics were shaped and honed by the crews' experiences, and how Germany was able to benefit from these lessons while their Soviet opponents were not.

Based on recently uncovered records of Soviet tankers in Spain and rare archival accounts, this book describes the various tanks deployed in Spain, including the PzKpfw I and the T-26.

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Panzer IV y Stug III - El grupo acorazado alemán del programa «Bär»

At the end of 1943 about twenty Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. H and a dozen Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G arrived by train, forming what became known in military circles the "German Armoured Group".
Despite their small numbers, they were a breath of fresh air in the impoverished and very worn-out Spanish armoured fleet, all of which had come from foreign aid during the Spanish Civil War.

Two companies were formed with the tanks and integrated into the regiments "Alcazar de Toledo" No. 61 and "Brunete" No. 62 of the newly organised Teutonic model "Armoured Division".
After various reorganisations and their passage through the cavalry, the panzers were decommissioned in the early 1960s.

With the StuG III assault guns, an Experimental Battery was organised within the Artillery Application and Firing School (EATA), which remained operational until 1957, when it handed over its equipment.

This is the story of how the material was obtained and how it was used in the post-war Spanish Army.

Text in Spanish.

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