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Panzerjäger (ISBN: 9788412372717) Weapons & Organisation of Wehrmacht’s Anti-Tank Units (1935-45) Abteilung 502 via AK Interactive Even before WWII the Nazis realised that towed artillery could be difficult to move around, and that self-propelled artillery was both easier to deploy and faster between locations, with none of the fuss and hassle of folding the trails and stashing the ammo and equipment back in the towing vehicle. Initially these were smaller calibre guns mounted on captured chassis of obsolete tanks such as the French R35 and the Czech T38, which were often ridiculous-looking vehicles due to the size of their casemates. Later models used obsolete German tanks such as the Panzer I, II and III, eventually using the Panzer IV, which was still relatively modern. Their final attempts to create the ultimate Panzerjäger met with mixed success, such as the StuG and Hetzer types that were well-regarded, the Jagdpanther and Jagdpanther, whilst impressive and terrifying, were not efficient use of their dwindling resources both in terms of men and materials. The Jagdpanther was over-complicated, and the Jagdpanzer was simply too heavy for its drive-train, leaving many of them stranded on the battlefield, abandoned by their crews. The Book This book by Ricardo Recio Cardona and illustrated by Carlos de Diego Vaquerizo catalogues the history of the type from its genus in the mid-30s to the end of WWII. It is not a picture-book, but there are many interesting pictures throughout with informative captions accompanying them. The text in between the photos and illustrations concerns the creation of the battalions and units that would form the backbone of the German Self-Propelled Gun force. It also details the different vehicles that they used, including the captured vehicles that were stripped of their upper structure and had casemates of varying sizes installed instead to house whatever artillery piece was flavour of the month. The book is hard bound with a matt black cover that is covered with profiles on the front and photos on the rear with 112 pages of thick satin-finished paper within, plus two blank card leaves separating the pages from the cover. The quality of the contemporary photos is excellent for the most part, although some have a little grain and pixelation due to their source material being less than we expect from modern hi-def digital sources. The illustrations are excellent and highly realistic, with their captions usually detailing the sources that gave the artist inspiration. Many of the photographs are candid in nature, showing the troops and crews at rest or hard at work maintaining, or even operating their vehicles. Other photos depict the vehicles after the war in either an abandoned or destroyed state, and all of these are perfect inspiration for dioramas for any modeller. The text is informative, although as it has been translated from another language, occasionally an unusual choice of words pops up that jars ever-so-slightly to a native speaker. It’s easy enough to understand though, so isn’t an issue, just worth mentioning. It's amazing how many different types the Germans fielded during the war, and it’s hardly surprising that they found it difficult to support them with spares and repairs. Conclusion This is a very interesting book that will keep your mind entertained as well as your eyeballs. Tons of pictures in between the text, and a great deal of information throughout the pages. It’s a little poignant and sad seeing the happy smiling faces of the crews, many of whom wouldn’t have made it through the war, and it’s scary how young they all were. In our increasingly online world, you’ll be interested to hear that you can buy these books digitally by using the AK Interactive app on either iTunes of Google Play. There's a link from the site. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of