Osprey- Panzer I vs T-26 Spanish Civil War 1936-39

Osprey's latest "Duel" series is Jacek Zabielski's Panzer I vs T-26 Spanish Civil War 1936-39. I'll cut right to the chase and say this is an excellent book about these early light tanks in the Spanish Civil War.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-39) served as a bit of a testing ground for equipment and tactics for those foreign powers (primarily Italy, Germany and the USSR) that chose to use the opportunity. It gave invaluable operational experience to those armies at low cost. If you are interested in this war, this is a great lightweight book to introduce you to the use of armor in the war. 

For those who have no real interest in the Spanish Civil War, I would still strongly recommend this book as excellent background on the T-26 and Panzer I tanks, and on the difficulties of employing armor in the early WW2 period. 

Jacek Zabielski is a Polish researcher who has authored several other Osprey titles. Although English is obviously not his first language, his writing is excellent - far better than some other authors for whom English *is* their first language. This book is well-organized and very clearly written. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the elephant in the room: the Spanish Civil War was a politically-complex conflict that still raises emotions and vigorous arguments even today. Zabielski does an excellent job giving the reader the essential background to the conflict without falling into the trap of taking sides with the politics, or falling for any overly-simple myths. If you are interested in the politics of it, I recommend George Orwell's classic Homage to Catalonia. 

In 80 pages, what we get here is a quick overview of the war, background on the AFVs, technical descriptions, and then a great account of how the tanks were used in Spain. Especially valuable are the detailed accounts of the training and maintenance difficulties both sides faced. Finally, we get interesting statistics and conclusions drawn from the war. All of this is done with two maps, about 50 black and white period photos, and 9 color illustrations.  

Table of Contents

The author begins with a brief overview describing the origins of the Soviet and German tank forces in the decades after WW1. The secret development of German tanks, the interwar research and development carried out by both nations, sometimes in partnership, and the production of several tank types, eventually resuliting in the Panzer I and T-26. 

We then get a very brief, but essential chronology in table form, covering the major events from 1930 to about June 1941. 

The author then describes the design and hardware specifications of both tank types in great detail. This is an excellent, well-written section. My only complaint is that the author wrongly describes the T-26 as having the driver on the left, when he was on the right in all T-26 variants. We get a detailed description of the hardware, including good info on the weapons, armor, powerplants, and construction of both vehicles. Several illustrations show the weapons, interiors, ammunition and so forth. There is a handy table comparing the major features of the two tanks. 

T-26 turret interior cutaway. A Panzer I turret cutaway is also provided. 

The 'Combatants' section describes the personnel involved, including the Soviet and German cadres sent to Spain and the Spanish troops who used the AFVs. The extensive training difficulties are described. Aside from the obvious language barriers, both Germany and the USSR found the Spanish training facilities to be inadequate, the Spanish trainees difficult to work with, and the logistical support weak. In these conditions it was frankly very difficult for either side to build up  functional armor units. 

Republican T-26 unit. Looks like the classic "hurry up and wait" situation.

The 'Strategic Situation' and 'Combat' sections provide us with some context on operations and then dive into several examples of tank usage in Spain. Unsurprisingly, knowing the training issues, neither side comes off looking very good here. The Spanish combatants managed to deploy very small tank units, usually no more than a company or so at a time, and almost always dispersed to provide infantry support on tough objectives. There was not a lot of tank-v-tank combat nor much use of armor in mass. The combat actions are described in very good detail. 

Nice image of a Nationalist Panzer I crewman and his local security dog. 

The book concludes with some analysis and aftermath thoughts. Here the author says the common belief that the Spanish Civil War served as a testing ground is exaggerated. I'm not sure I agree, but, the rest of his conclusions seem valid and, if anything, understated. The T-26 was shown to be easily the master of the Panzer I with its rifle-caliber MGs. The Germans concluded that they needed much better AFVs than the Panzer I. Remarkably, the Soviet also decided they needed much better tanks. Given the dominance of the T-26 over the Panzer I, it would have been easy for them to draw the wrong conclusion and believe instead that they did not need better tanks. The author's thinking is that since both sides' AFV usage was so disappointing, both sought better vehicles. 

A more significant conclusion for both the Germans and Soviets was the organization of tank units. Both sides drew important lessons here, and in the case of the USSR, some faulty conclusions were drawn. They backed away from their large, Corps-sized armor units in favor of smaller, independent tank units. In 1941, of course, this would be proven to be an expensive mistake.  

This book really hits the sweet spot in terms of detail and length. It's an easy read in a couple of evenings, and avoids assuming too much knowledge from the reader. Yet it goes deep enough to be genuinely useful as an overview of the topic. The bibliography provides good leads on deeper sources if the reader is interested in knowing more. The author is very consistent in avoiding the repetition of myths, whether they are political or military. I cannot recommend this highly enough. 

 Very Highly Recommended for all modelers interested in these AFVs or the Spanish Civil War.

Thanks goes out to Osprey Publishing for this review sample.

Reviewed by Dan Egan

 

If you liked this review, consider joining AMPS. Your annual membership
includes six copies of AMPS's magazine, Boresight,
and helps to support our ongoing reviews.

Click here for more information about joining AMPS