Helion- Imperial German Army Motorised Troops 1914-1918 Vol. 2

Armoured Units, Assault Tanks, and the Weapons of Modern Warfare

Book Specifics

Author: Jacek Zabielski

Price: $39.95

ISBN: 978-1-804517-65-9

Softcover, 130 Pages, 8.3 x 11.7 in, 182 b/w photos, 5 color photos, 9 color profiles, 2 color illustrations, 2 figures, 1 table

What's Inside

To check out the review of Volume 1 in this two part series, check out this link: https://www.amps-armor.org/SiteReviews/ShowReview.aspx?id=25465

This second volume centers on the operational deployment and the technological advances in armored units and assault tanks in the latter stages of the Great War. The book presents how the armored cars and assault tanks evolved and how they were organized into operational units detached throughout the late engagements. We get hints of their implementation and performance on the battlefield.  The book's rare photos come from archival materials and are excellent inspiration for the modeler. The table of contents are as shown:

Chapter 1 sort of leaves off where Volume 1 of the series ended with towed artillery- this time focusing more on truck-borne guns. There are a variety of different designs throughout- which definitely hint at where later iterations developed in WWII. Like I said in the last review, I would love to see more of these lorries offered as scale models as they are really unique looking designs. In this book, there are occasional colorized photos that really stand out...and the captions throughout are concise and informative.

Chapter 2 is all about the armored cars- and like the tanks initially in the war, many of the armored cars early on were captured French and Belgian cars like the Minervas and would lead to early examples from Daimler, Ehrhardt, and Büssing examples. One of the photos of the Büssing cars has serious Tesla Cybertruck looks to it....

There are some truly unique looking cars throughout this chapter- and as a modeler, I am pleased to see that Copper State Models and Miniart have at least a few of these in kit form for us. The book features some excellent references on the different camouflage schemes and in the midst of the chapter are some excellent color profiles drawn by David Bocquelet.

The Assault Tank Detachments chapter is most excellent in regards to seeing how tank development really was a reactive practice- one side coming out with something that the other side tried to match and improve on. The British were obviously the first ones to throw these behemoths into combat, but the Germans captured examples and build wooden mock-ups to train with and use to eventually emerge with their own unique tanks.

It was fascinating to me to read about how designs were tested- flaws were exposed- and then further designs overcame. The Germans may have been behind in the Great War- and late to the party. However, they quickly adapted and that learned knowledge was put to good use post-war as we see in the beginning of WWII where it was the German panzers setting the standards. There were really some excellent photos here that had me digging out my Meng A7V kit and putting it on the short list for a build in 2026. 

The final chapter delves into details for the uniforms, personal equipment, and weapons of those in the motorised divisions. Emblems and other uniform elements are touched on before the leather suits and overalls took priority. The chapter then dives into armored vehicle crew dress and headgear- as well as common equipment they used. Two brief appendices close out the volume.

Conclusion

The second volume is just as excellent as the first- providing a concise and thorough investigation into the birth of armored transport and fighting vehicles for the Imperial German Army in the Great War. The archival photos are previously unseen by me and represent a sublime study of the vehicles and the crews that manned them. This is a worthy addition to the bookshelf of any WWI modeler or enthusiast.

Highly Recommended for WWI modelers and buffs.

Thanks goes out to Casemate Publishing for this review sample.

Reviewed by Michael Reeves

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