For any of us that frequent the many scale modeling shows and contests, follow the abundant online forums, blogs, and websites, as well as read any of the numerous modeling technique publications it is very evident that WWII German armor is a niche that alive and well…and kit manufacturers and aftermarket producers are keeping this hunger well fed. A perfect complement to this appetite is a book brought to us from Osprey, “History of the Panzerwaffe Volume I: 1939-1942.” This book is extremely helpful for students of this genre (myself included) to understand the story behind the most recognized armored force in history.

The book’s author, Thomas Anderson, a German national, is well known in armor modeling circles in Europe, has spent decades researching the Panzerwaffe. He had at his disposal captured German documents available from the national Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. as well as original documents kept at the Bundearchiv-Militarärhiv in Freiberg, Germany. He utilizes direct quotes from these documents frequently in this publication.

Of the 255 photographs in the book many are from the German national archives that I have not seen in any other publication or online. Some of the most impressive, in my opinion, are the ones of the WWI years as well as those taken during the formative years of the Panzerwaffe in the late 1920s and 1930s. As one flips through the pages of these early chapters it stands a strong reminder and given all the heavier German armor we tend to focus on as modelers, that the lighter tanks (Panzer I & IIs and their prototype forbearers) weighed so heavily in the plans and tactics of the early Panzerwaffe. Not only are there great pictures but Mr. Anderson does a solid job of transcribing the reports from the armor pioneers and leaders of the day and you get a chance to peek into the thoughts of the tacticians of the early Panzerwaffe. Of particular interest to me was the quick realization, in the words of the battlefield leaders of the time, that a machine-gun armed Panzer I is not going to cut it on the fast evolving armored battlefield.

The book is divided into 12 chapters with each chapter focusing on a major event in the years leading up to and including WWII. For example, the Spanish campaign has its own chapter dedicated to the operations and lessons learned by the Panzerwaffe as well as chapters for the invasion of Poland, Norway, France, etc. The last chapter leaves us with a “cliff-hanger” with Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union by the Third Reich. Those of us that are students of history know this is the high point of the Panzerwaffe’s (larger) successes and volume II, when released, will most probably focus on their reactions and adaptations to Allied advances in armored warfare in the eastern, southern, and western fronts.

While the book follows a succinct historical timeline of pre- and early WWII it only focuses on the Panzerwaffe and its role in each campaign.

Chapter Breakout

1. Laying the Foundations
2. The First Panzerdivision
3. From The LaS to the BW
4. The Condor Legion
5. 1938 – The Annexation of Czechoslovakia
6. Fall Weiss – The Invasion of Poland
7. Norway: Unternehmen Wesrübung
8. The Western Campaign
9. Between the Campaigns
10. Sonnenblume – A War of Logistics?
11. Unternehmen Marita – The Unwanted Campaign
12. Barbarossa – Offensive in the East

I highly recommend this book for any armor modeler and even more so if you are interested in German armor of this very popular time period. I found myself eagerly flipping to each successive page, absorbing and enjoying everything Mr. Thomas had to offer – both in text and in pictures. It goes without saying that this is a very popular modeling genre in recent years and thus this book will fit nicely in anyone’s collection. A huge thanks to Osprey for giving IPMS/USA access to this book and allowing us to review it.