Greenhill Books, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books, is an independent, family-owned company that publishes quality military history for knowledgeable enthusiasts. Its focus is on military history that matters and will have an impact. Publishing fascinating military history for the knowledgeable enthusiast, its books are renowned and available internationally with translations into other languages. The Greenhill catalog has a particular emphasis on World War biographies that bring to life the unique perspectives only first-hand battlefield experience can provide.

Simon Forty was educated in Dorset and the north of England before reading history at London University’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies. He has been involved in publishing since the mid-1970s, first as editor and latterly as author. His most recent titles include German Infantryman on the Eastern Front [2024], Panzer Crewman [2025], and Sturmartillerie Crewman [2025] in the Casemate Illustrated series.

Ian Springs developed a fascination with historical imagery from a young age and began collecting color photo slides of WWII from all over the world. Determined to preserve and share these historical moments, he created the PIXPAST Archive. Thought to be the world’s largest collection of WWII color photography, the archive has supported historical research and contributed to more than 50 publications.

This 288-page English language book was published on May 30, 2025, in the U.S. It is a 7.00” x 10.00” hard cover book with a separate glossy paper jacket. The text and photographs are printed on glossy paper. The front cover color photograph provides an idea of what you will discover inside this volume. The color photographs on the rear cover are all included inside this book with detailed captions. I counted 291 color photographs.

Simon Forty kicks off with a twenty-one-page Introduction that sets the background for the period photographs to follow. The rest of the book focuses on the color photographs accompanied by in-depth captions. This includes super-sharp personal portraits and vivid, detailed shots. One of these can be seen at the top of Page 39 in Chapter One: The German Home Front. This reveals five tank driver candidates in training steering a PzKpfw I Ausf A ohne Ausbau [Fahrschulpanzer I] during 1940. These training vehicles had no superstructure or turrets and initially used the same fuel as a standard PzKpfw. Fuel became scarce as the war dragged on and alternatives were soon utilized. This included wood-gas powered tanks [Holzgas] and town gas-powered tanks [Stadtgas]. Town gas was a form of LPG compressed coal gas.

Chapter Two: Behind the Front Lines leads off with one page of text, then it's on to the full captioned color pictures. A camouflaged PzKpfw III Ausf J of SS Panzer Division Wiking is awaiting anxiously as troops hurry to fill in a crater at the bottom of Page 90. The division sign can be spotted on the right front fender. This division was ordered in May 1941 to join Heeresgruppe Sud’s advance into Ukraine. The exposure at the top of the page features members of the Reichsarbeitsdienst [Reich Labor Service], a paramilitary group that focused on military-themed training as preparation for entry into military service proper. There were separate sections for men and women and the training usually lasted for six months before entering military service proper. Herer they are lined up for stew or soup for their meal. The image at the top of Page 123 is of the Gotha Go 242B glider. Notable is the man standing in front clothed in warm clothing, as opposed to what many German army personnel had available. The Gotha 242B was designed to supplant the DFS 230 combat glider, although the DFS 230 was employed from the beginning of WWII to its last day. The Gotha glider was designed to carry twenty fully equipped troops or an equivalent cargo. Cargo variants featured a loading ramp in the rear fuselage that used clamshell doors. When utilized in the cargo mode, it could carry a light vehicle like the Kübelwagen [~1,600 pounds, empty]. The major improvement of the Go 242B over the Go 242A variant was its jettisonable main landing gear.

The color snapshot at the top of Page 213 provides a head-on view of the 1944 Jagdpanther armed with the KwK 43/4 L/71 88 mm barrel. This self-propelled tank destroyer was a turret-less vehicle providing more protection and costing much less. Much lighter than the 65-tonne Ferdinand [Sd.Kfz. 184 Panzerjäger Tiger / Elephant] and carrying more armor than the 24-ton Nashorn, the Jagdpanther also provided more internal room for the crew and ammunition. The upper frontal hull plate was 80mm [~3.1”] and carried a single 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in a ball mount in the front glacis plate. Utilizing the established Panther Ausf G running gear, mechanical issues were minimal compared to other options. This Jagdpanther carries a more economical two-part barrel as well as a Zimmerit coating. Zimmerit was a pasty coating to help prevent the attachment of anti-tank magnetic mines. Interestingly, only Germany used magnetic mines for this purpose in WWII. Wehrmacht camouflage uniforms were first developed in the late 1920s. Originally issued to the Reichwehr in 1931 as a triangular tent / rain poncho as the dreiecks zeltbahn, it became known in Germany as the Buntfarbenaufdruck 31 [colorful print 31] and later as the Splittermuster 31 splinter pattern. And was used through 1945. The printed camouflage pattern was the same on both sides, but the colors were brighter on one side. Later in the war, a winter version was produced which included the Splittermuster 31 pattern on one side with the opposite side in white to provide winter camouflage. This Horch 108 driver wears the printed cloth Splittermuster 31 trousers with the pattern extending to his boots. His reversible winter jacket is inside out along with a fur hat. Auto Union produced light military vehicles under the Horch brand during WWII, alongside the Volkswagen Kübelwagen vehicles. The chassis and V8 engine/drive train were derived from the Horch 830 luxury car with the addition of wheels and fenders from Opel Blitz trucks. Note the unit insignia on the left front fender.

The sections include:

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Operation Barbarossa
• Rasputitsa and Winter
• Fall Blau
• The Long Retreat
• The Photographs
  1. The German Home Front [Page 039]
• Transport From Reich to Russia
• Transport Problems
  2. Behind the Front Lines [Page 090]
• The Luftwaffe [Page 123]
  3. On the Attack
• The Armoured Spearhead
• River Crossings
• Infantry in the Attack
• Portrait of the Enemy: The Red Army
  4. In Defence [Page 213]
• Life in the Line
• Portrait of the German Soldier [Page 262]
  5. The End
• The Cost
• Berlin
• Sources and Further Reading

I thoroughly enjoyed this pictorial volume and was able to read through it over four nights. I have seen color photographs from WW2 before, but contained here are 291 vivid color images [not colorized black and white photos] that lend a striking portrait of the war on the Eastern Front. This is a hefty book at 288 pages and those pages are printed on glossy paper with detailed captions. If you are into WW2 history or enjoy building figures / dioramas, this is your book.

My thanks to Casemate Publications, Greenhill Books, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.

Highly recommended!