Panzer II & Luchs - The World War II German Basic Light Tank, by Samir Karmieh and Lukasz Gladysiak
Published by Kagero in 2016, 90 pages. Softback (N6572)
Brand New Book
From the opening page: In the first part of the 30s in the 20th century, the new chapter of the German history has opened - of the Germany that was facing more than only an economic crisis. On 30th January 1933, the office of chancellor of the, at that time still, republic, was taken by the leader of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP) – Adolf Hitler. In a short time the supporters of the superpower politics, braking with the resolutions imposed on the Berlin on the strength of the Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, seized both power and control of the country. The birth of the Third Reich was proclaimed, with Hitler acting as the Leader (Führer), at the head of the state. Any restriction, supervised by the international community, was rejected and turned down, clearly and unambiguosly [leading] Germany on the path towards a new war.
In those fervent and ardent times, even before announcing the restoration of the compulsory military service and setting up Wehrmacht in place of the Republican Armed Forces, a new armoured divisions development programme was launched in Berlin. Soon, the assembly lines began producing light tanks Pz.Kpfw. I Ausf. A and the prolonged, developmental version – Ausf. B, which in larger and larger amounts joined the ranks of new Panzerwaffe sub-units, formed over and over again. Shortly afterwards it turned out, among others during field manoeuvres in various parts of the Third Reich, that in case of escalation of armed conflict with two basic enemies: Poland on the east and France on the west, these vehicles might turn out to be inefficient in combat. One of the main weaknesses and foibles of the Pz.Kpfw. I was the armament consisiting of only two 7,92 mm machine guns Maschinengewehr 13, which performed well against enemy infantry, but made quite a poor opponent for the enemy tanks...
The first 20 pages of the book provides a detailed account of the development and history of the Panzer II light tank, and are illustrated with lots of black and white photographs. There are then 15 page of detailed line drawings (two per page) of the vehicles themselves, and these offer an invaluable reference for modellers. The remainder of the book is taken up with full colour illustrations showing detailed close ups of parts of the tank(s), as well as full vehicle profiles that include camouflage designs and colour schemes.
| Condition | New |