Panzer I i II - Niemcy: książki - historia, typy i technika (2/2)

While the Panzer I and II are not as famous as the German tanks produced later in the Second World War, they played a vital role in Hitler's early blitzkrieg campaigns and in the Nazi rearmament programme pursued, at first in secret, by the Nazi regime during the 1930s.
Anthony Tucker-Jones's photographic history of their design, development and wartime service is an ideal introduction to them. Both panzers saw combat during the invasions of Poland and France, the Low Countries and Scandinavia during 1939-40.

Although by the time the Wehrmacht invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Panzer I had been virtually phased out of service, in the form of self-propelled guns they continued to see combat well into 1943.
The Panzer II was also phased out with the panzer regiments in late 1943, yet it remained in action on secondary fronts and, as the self-propelled Marder II anti-tank gun and Wespe artillery variant, it saw active service with the panzer and panzer grenadier divisions until the end of the war.

The Panzer I and II were the precursors of the formidable range of medium and heavy tanks that followed-the Panzer III and IV and the Panther and Tiger-and this book is a fascinating record of them.

The Panzer I and II played a significant part in the blitzkrieg campaigns that brought Germany such extraordinary success in the early years of the Second World War, and this highly illustrated volume in the TankCraft series is the ideal introduction to them.

The Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to manufacture tanks so the Panzer I had to be developed in strict secrecy, but by the time of the invasion of Poland the Wehrmacht had over 1400 of these light tanks. The Panzer II was an interim design, bridging the gap between the Panzer I and subsequent, far more viable armoured fighting vehicles like the Panzer III and IV.

As well as tracing the history of the Panzer I and II, Robert Jackson's book is an excellent source of reference for the modeller, providing details of available kits, together with artworks showing the colour schemes applied to these tanks.
Each section of the book is supported by a wealth of wartime photographs as well as diagrams showing the technical changes that were made to these tanks in the course of their careers.

The Panzer II was Germany's first cannon-armed tank in the post World War I era. Designed and initially produced under the code name of 100-horsepower Farm Tractor, owing to the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, the Panzer II remained in production, and in the field, well after it had been surpassed by better engineered, more heavily armed and armored vehicles, and indeed played a key part in the early victories achieved by the Blitzkrieg.

This book features nearly 200 scarce wartime photos, illuminated by detailed captions. Coverage includes the Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. A; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. B; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. c and A-C early; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. c, A, B, C modified Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. D; Pz.Kpfw. II (F) Ausf. A & B; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. F; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. G; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. J and the Pz.Kpfw. II "Lynx."
All of the photos have been carefully selected to showcase the many details of the variants. Many "Panzer rarities" will be found within the 168-pages of this hardbound volume.

Hitler's lightning invasion of Poland in 1939 marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. This was the period when armoured warfare inscribed itself into global consciousness as the Poles desperately sought to stave off the Blitzkrieg.
At the heart of the fighting on the ground, large numbers of Nazi Germany's PzKpfw II battled against Poland's better-armed but much less numerous 7TP tank. The two types both possessed unique strengths and weaknesses - unlike the 7TP the PzKpfw II was always equipped with radio, which proved critical for command and control purposes in the heat of combat. But the German tank was blighted by thin armour, which could not withstand Polish gunfire at combat ranges.
This fully illustrated, detailed work evaluates the qualities and idiosyncrasies of each tank, giving a stark and arresting crewman's-eye-view of the brutal armoured combat at the height of the invasion of Poland.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and Development - Technical Specifications - The Combatants - The Strategic Situation - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Aftermath - Bibliography - Index.