The book Panzer-Rgt./Abt.18 on the Battlefield - World War Two Photobook Series Vol.26 is written by Tom Cockle. There are two pages dedicated to the history and combat experience of the Panzer-Regiment 18. This regiment was created primarily as the ‘Tauch’ or ‘Unterwasser’ (Dive or Underwater) and ‘Flamme’ (Flame) unit and the photographs in the book cover the period from early 1941 to late 1942. The photographic history of the Panzer-Regiment 18 shows Panzer II, Panzer III, Panzer IV tanks and even a picture of a captured British Cruiser Mk.IV tank, as well as some soft skin vehicles. The scenery includes vehicles’ travel to/from the battlefront, repair depots, resting spots, battle damage to the vehicles, and some accidents. The pictures shine a light on the weather conditions that the soldiers had to endure: heat, dust, and cold. Many pictures show tank crews at rest or posing with their vehicles. The author points out to some details that a casual reader may miss, such as a presence of the mold seams on the rubber tank tires (which is often a topic of discussion among modelers), or unit badges and numbering on the vehicles, or the battle damage.

What I found interesting was the casual look of the crews with a variety of uniforms, or the lack of them during hot days. The book also provides a couple of documented accidents involving collapsed bridges that did not withstand the weight of the passing tanks. This was a surprise to me because they involved Pz.Kpfw. III tanks which were not very heavy. What a reader gets in this book is a series of casual scenes showing tanks and their crews in various war situations, and most of them behind the front line. The photographs come from two sources: Peter Kocsis Collection and AMC.

The captions for the pictures are provided both in Hungarian and English. This book is for the history enthusiasts as well as the modelers. There are many photographs that could provide a great diorama material. Therefore, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about less-known German units during WW2 or replicating vehicles and their surroundings presented in this volume.

My sincere thanks go to PeKo Publishing for providing this book for a review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.