Military Model Scene

Title: Panzer I and II

Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones

Publisher: Pen and Sword

ISBN: 978-1-52670-163-3

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A new release from Pen and Sword in their Images of War series is the conclusion of a sub-set within the series by author Anthony Tucker-Jones which examines the range of German Panzers in WW2.  They have been done in reverse order, so having started with the Tiger they have now reached back to the early Panzers I and II.  All together, they make for a fine reference on the Panzers of WW2.

This one is divided into 9 chapters, each one with a few pages of background text, then accompanied by a series of archive photos which each have more information contained within their captioning.  As gun tanks, these early Panzers were quickly rendered obsolete once WW2 got under way, but many served on as SP artillery or SP anti-tank mounts.

The first 3 chapters look at the Panzer I, the Ausf A and B, then the C and F and then Other Variants (150mm artillery, 4.7cm Panzerjager and Command vehicles.  Chapters 4 through to 8 deal with the Pz II, Ausf a/1,a/2.a/3 and b: then the Ausf c, A,B, and C: Ausf D, E and F: Ausf G, J and L: and finally the Variants, which include Flammpanzer, Marders (anti-tank) and Wespe SP artillery.  The variants served on through to the end of the war, long after the basic gun tanks were obsolete.  It leaves chapter 9 to look at how these early Panzers faired in Combat, in Poland/Belgium/France, then in North Africa and later in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia in 1941.

The mix of text and archive photos is very nicely balanced and plenty of useful material for modellers as well as the armour historian.

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Thanks to Pen and Sword for this review copy.

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Robin