Our friends at Panzerwrecks have broken new ground with this, their first hardcover publication. Well known for their consistently high quality series of softcover Panzerwrecks books, this volume tackles a less glamorous and mostly neglected aspect of the famed Panzerwaffe, panzer recovery and repair. This is an ambitious project, covering as it does the entire range of recovery operations, repair at front line and rear echelon areas, and also causes of Panzer losses.

Vital Statistics

 

Format - Hardbound, heavyweight high gloss paper

 

Page Count - 256

 

Size - A4, landscape format

 

Photo count - 291 B/W, various sizes

 

Tables, drawings, diagrams - Yes, numerous

 

What's in the Book?

 

This book is laid out in 7 chapters, followed up with an Appendix which itself is chock full of interesting information and a Glossary which the reader will find quite useful. The Chapters are as follows:

 

1. Overview and Background

 

2. I-Dienste { Maintainance Units, see I told you the glossary is useful} of the Field Troops

 

3. The Panzer Werkstatt

 

4. Armee, HGr, and Homeland

 

5. Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance

 

6. Campaign Experience

 

7. Causes of Panzer Losses

 

Appendix

 

In general, the reader will find many tables of organization and equipment for Panzer Recovery and Repair units. There are also many clear, crisp illustrations of how recoveries were performed, and a great many photographs of all aspects of Panzer Recovery and Repair including various equipment used for both purposes. 

Photo coverage of workshop vehicles, cranes, and work in progress is fascinating. There are also many great photographs of tank recoveries, and for good measure also some of various shot up Panzers. 

 

Recovery and repair on wheeled vehicles is also covered in this book {chapter 5}, as is the German experience in Operation Zitadelle {chapter 6} which provides the reader with a rare snapshot of the stresses encountered by the Germans in this time period. Lots of information on the new Panthers, with some outstanding photographs in this chapter.

 

The final chapter of the book {chapter 7} is an interesting one, with many tables containing information on vehicle and panzer losses from three panzer units over given time periods. Some of the documented causes for loss or abandonment of these tanks are quite tame {stuck in marsh} while others only hint at the ferocity of Eastern front armored warfare {rammed by T-34}. As with all the chapters in this book, many outstanding photos accompany this chapter.  

 

I had a tough time picking out a few pages to scan to illustrate the quality of drawings and photos in this book, there were just too many to choose from. Above is a good example of the author's care in mating up scale drawings to a photograph of the real thing.

 

 

 

The material covered in each chapter is arranged logically by subject matter, but there does appear to be some overlap due to the nature of the source material {original wartime documents, unit diaries, orders, manuals, reports, etc.}. Where possible, some terms used throughout the book have been loosely translated into equivalent English terms for better reading, the Glossary at the end of the book covers the terms that for one reason or another remain in German.

As mentioned above, the book covers tank recovery and repair on all levels, from platoon level all the way back to Army Group, and even repairs done in Germany itself. The scope of this book is that big, and it is all covered thoroughly. This is a book that will take time and repeated readings to digest properly, there is that much raw information here. You will "discover" interesting bits of information every time you you refer to this book.

 

 

The book makes extensive use of drawings {from field manuals I suspect} to illustrate recovery operations on panzers, including those turned U-boat {as seen in the above illustrations}, the use of various recovery equipment in the field and all aspects of tank recovery.

 

  

The photographs throughout this book are of high quality, being clear and crisp. They range in size from quarter page to half or full page, with most being the latter sizes. Most benefit from being taken in rear areas, or where there was no current fighting taking place. The few photos which are not absolutely top notch are of fairly rare subjects, and are far better than no photo at all.

 

Conclusions

 

This review cannot possibly do this book enough justice, it's that good. It's obvious that the book was painstakingly researched, and the book's many photographs are completely live up to Panzerwreck's fine reputation for great photographs. This book will be a model builder's gold mine for it's many photos with diorama potential, it's photographs of some rarely seen recovery equipment in action, and last but not least, all of the raw data on these pages. As a reference work, this book will see heavy use for years. I do have one question for the author / publishers though....

 

What the heck can you put into Volume II that isn't already here?

 

Recommendation - A Must Have

 

Thanks to Panzerwrecks for the review copy

 

Reviewed by Chuck Aleshire, AMPS Chicagoland  

 

 

 

 

 

*****