4 comments about The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles: From World War I to the Present Day.

1. Two outstanding references are top picks, packing in pages of value for their price tags and providing a wide-ranging history. Chris Bishop edits ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TANKS & ARMORED FIGHTING VEHICLES FROM WW I TO THE PRESENT DAY (159223626X): an exhaustive reference that may appeal to general readers, but is a special pick for military collections. Over 300 tanks and vehicles are presented in a pairing of vintage and action photos and detailed drawings, with descriptions including extensive and in-depth service histories of specs and tanks.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. My husband is infatuated with army tanks (and anything else related to)from WW I and WW II. There is not a week that goes by that he is not reading about the war or watching the Military Channel. If you have any interest in the war, this book is very informative and the photographs are very well preserved. Educational at best!



3. This is truly a complete encyclopedia of Tanks from WWI to the Present Day. I own the Christopher Foss encyclopedia (Nov. 2002) and this encyclopedia is a lot more updated than that volume. For example, there is a lot more information and more recent photographs on the latest Chinese MBT, the type 98 tank. This volume also describes the latest Merkava Mk 4 tank. The most recent Russian tank, the type 90 is given a lot fuller treatment.
   
   What I enjoyed the most are the wonderful photographs / color plates and descriptions for each tank and AFV. Notable tanks are given a feature article, such as the Panther, the Sherman, the Centurion, the Challenger I, the Abrams Tank, etc. I really enjoyed some of the feature articles that described the combat performance of these notable tanks. For example, for both the British Challenger I and the Abrams tanks, there was a brief feature article about how each performed during the 1st Gulf War.
   
   Besides covering tanks, this reference also describes the various armored personnel carriers, light tanks, motorized gun carriages, along with specialized vehicles.
   
   It is truly a monumental work. Tank buffs and modelers will love this reference!



4. Excellent reference resources. Good pictures and discussion. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the development of armored vehicles.

5 comments about Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius (Stackpole Military History Series).

1. I agree with many of the other reviews in that this is a great first hand account of tank warfare in WWII. With that in mind, some the narration is somewhat bland.
   I especially liked the conversation Carius had with Henrich Himmler, speaking his mind.
   The only account I've read of a tanker in a Jagertiger. Great insight.



2. Simply amazing the luck in his career. Being able to survive 5 years of war says a lot about his skill and bravery too. Also very notable is that both his father and brother also survived WW2. Remarkable feat for all three to fought in multiple campaigns and survive.
   
   This book provides the first person point of view from the company level of combat. The technical descriptions of the vehicles, equipment, and difficulties in serving on the front lines along with trying to stay warm in an unheated steel machine in the freezing winter is all described. The strengths and limitations of the Tiger tank with regards to road marches, bridge crossings, and need for infantry support is completely detailed.
   
   Notable in his career was his time spent outside a tank where his experienced front line infantry battalion was lacking equipment and replacements. Meanwhile, a newly formed and inexperienced Air Force infantry regiment passed on their way to the front line, courtesy of the arrogant and boastful Goering. This new regiment had new machine guns, but no experienced sergeants to direct their fire or officers to coordinate the defenses. As a result, this unit was quickly overrun by the Soviets in their first engagement. All the new equipment was lost along with hundreds of German casualties. A tremendous waste of material and irreplaceable lives.
   
   What really made this book unique were copies of his original German Army citations and documents. The translation of these documents to English is also very helpful. The unit history summaries on the company and battalion battles are also very good historical reading. The difficulties in maintaining, repairing, refueling, and re-arming these mechanically complex machines is detailed. But what is most important and recognized is the efforts it took to care for the men who lived, fought, and died as part of their Tiger tank.
   
   Panzer Aces I and II provide more battles and overall campaigns of other German tank aces. Other history books provide overall descriptions of battles and statistics. This book along with Audie Murphy's autobiography, To Hell and Back, show the human side of the battle and the bond that forms among soldiers who serve in combat with each other. It is the human and individual experience over the entire career that makes this book worth reading. Nice addition to a book collection.



3. It is a good book that is a little heavy on rhetoric and a little light on historical content. If you are looking for a battle history, this is not it. Still there is enough content here to interest the casual reader.



4. This is a great book since first page.
   
   The narrative is precise and exciting, you can feel yourself inside the tiger tank with guns blazing across the eastern front.
   
   Mr.Otto Carius is very inteligent and has a great point of view about the war to share with the readers.
   
   It is definitely a must have book.



5. I have just finished reading this very interesting book which was written from the perspective of a highly decorated panzer commander. How refreshing to read a viewpoint from a WW2 German frontline soldier. He tells his story without embellishment, there is no hollywood exaggeration here. Playing down the danger & terror which was part of the Russian front, he calmly relates details of battles he took part in, comparing the pros & cons of both the German & Russian tactics. Until the Tiger tank made an appearance at the front, the Germans had no answer to the Russian T34s & KV1s.
   It was quite clear that he respected the fighting abilities of the Russians while he was less than impressed with the Americans who relied on technology rather than properly trained personnel. And for those that had the impression that the Americans were the good guys, think again. Carius confirms that the Americans instigated a harsh post war policy of starvation & neglect on German POWs.
   I used to wonder how the Germans & their allies managed to fight on multiple fronts against the world's most powerful nations and hang on for as long as they did. The answer I think is to be found in this book, far from being an exception, men like Otto Carius were quite numerous in the German army. These were men who did not shirk responsibility, but did their duty competently both in attack and defence, who were resilient, tough & stoic under all conditions. Their principle motivation came from a strong sense of duty & loyalty to their families, homeland & comrades, qualities which are these days played down and even discouraged.
   The book also gives an insight to the real Heinrich Himmler who listened attentively to Carius's honest assessment of the worsening frontline situation.
   If you want mindless entertainment then watch Hollywood inspired movies & documentaries, if you want the truth then read books written by people who were there, on the frontline, people who survived numerous battles and lived to tell the tale.
   All I can say is that I enjoyed this book enormously, and the one criticism I can make is that it was not long enough.

3 comments about World War II AFV Plans: German Early War Armored Fighting Vehicles (World War II Armored Fighting Vehicle Plans).

1. And I was expecting a lot. George Bradford is one of the best technical artists that I know of, and he didn't disappoint me in the least. I have really been looking for some good reference drawings of WWII vehicles. Most books have only a handful, and don't always include 4 views. This series of books really delivers on excellent accurate drawings. There are very few comments or photographs in it, just high quality line drawing goodness.
   
   These are really indispensable for the serious WWII modeler. Whether you build plastic kits or create them digitally, these reference drawings are a Godsend. I use line drawings like these to create vehicles with a 3D modeling program for an online game.
   
   There were a few models I would have liked to see that weren't included, but overall there are plenty of useful drawings for me in this book. I guess that not everybody will be 100 percent happy with the selections the author made, but who could really complain for the price?
   
   I checked out a free example of a Pz IVE on the authors website, and I was getting ready to order some of these drawings online from him, but this series of books will save me a lot of money. Though I am planning on buying some of the other drawings that aren't in this series.
   
   If you're not sure about purchasing, just search the book and examine the quality of the drawings. I'm sure you will be more than satisfied. As for me, I'm ordering the rest of the books in this series now!



2. While the four views themselves are outstanding the organization of their presentation just didn't seem to make sense though it does seem to be vaguely chronological. It would have been much more helpful to group them into tanks, SP's, armored cars, etc. and then to have grouped all marks of a specific vehicle together. I found myself continually backtracking to compare, for example, late model Panzer II's with the earlier models. To do this I basically had to flip through the whole book over and over again.



3. As advertised this book has "AFV Plans" and not much else -- but this is its strength. It is a straight forward book of line drawings of German armored vechicles from the 1930s into the early years of the war. It has the well known and the obscure; tanks, armored cars, self-propelled guns, etc. Also of note is that all are drawn to scale (either 1:35 or 1:48) and the book includes a chart for how much to reduce or enlarge the drawings for other scales.
   
   This is a niche book for the specialist. There is very little in the way of explanation for the vechicles in the book. In fact, most of the drawn vechicles don't have any kind of written explanation or history; and the book doesn't list the technical specs. You'll need other books on German armored vehicles to flesh out the information presented here.
   
   Why do I recommend the book? It is probably the most complete book available on the many and varied armored vehicles used by the Germans in the early part of the war especially for the price. Many times when I'm reading WWII histories, or playing WWII wargames, I find references to various armored vehicles and I was looking for a simple to use, yet complete reference, so I could visualize what I was reading about. The vast majority of books out there address the famous and common vehicles (Panther, Tiger, PZIII, PZIV, etc) but this book has drawings of the more obscure to include French tanks pressed into German service and others.

5 comments about Panzer Tactics: German Small-Unit Armor Tactics in World War II.

1. As a noted authour of German military formations and History, Wolfgang Schneider has gone one step further and written a very well researched and interesting book on German small unit armor tactics.
   The book interestingly is divided into sections that deal with such topics as Unit movements, Command and Control, Logistics and maintenance,combined Arms operations and both defensive and Offensive operations.
   It is well documented with maps and examples dealing with the various topics including armour battles where these tactics were used to great effect to prove the point.
   It is filled with numerous photographs of german armour, on the march in battle or at rest which accompany the examples mentioned.
   I found this book fascinating reading and gives a very very good insight into german armoured thinking throughout the war.
   The authour of other notable books such as Tigers in combat and Das Reich Tigers means you know you are geting a book that is a great accompaniment to any history of german panzer units.



2. ...at least in my own ever-growing collection. We have the experiences of a Guderian, von Mellenthin, or Manstein, self serving as they sometimes may be, but at all these decades remove the view of the actual panzer crewman starts to get a little hazy. This book remedies this by way of hundreds of photographs that I don't believe are published in any other popularly available work. The CAPTIONS to these are of value! (For example: "Proper spacing is 100 meters - these Pz IIIs are too close!).
   
   Each chapter begins with a concise exposition of the topic (Offensive operations, Defensive operations, Unit Movements, Command and Control, Logistics and Maintenance, etc.) from the point of view of the experienced veteran. A number of reproductions of the actual training materials for panzer crew from the period are included. The author takes pains to show how, during actual operations over the course of the war, panzer crew were repeatedly forced to improvise, departing from rigid adherance to the doctrine in these materials. Also included are a number of sketch maps of various operations at the smaller unit level, to further illustrate the principles. I believe a number of these are from actual after-action reports, hand drawn by the officers involved.
   
   But it's the photos that are of the most value. These bring to life all the gritty little details of the panzer crew's existence, which was at times boring, terrifying, exhausting, freezing, burning, bleeding, and at most times thoroughly miserable. Life in a tank in WW II was hard. Operating them with enough skill to accomplish impossibly difficult missions with any chance of survival was even harder. This book goes some way towards showing how the Germans did it.
   
   If you are a modeler or wargamer, mark this one down as a MUST HAVE.



3. This is a great resource book. It goes into tremendous detail about how Panzers were deployed and used in WWII. It is well writted and easy for the non professional soldier to understand.



4. and very illustrative book to comprehend the details of panzer tactics, which decide the success on the battlefield. Good eye opener before taking up some WWII memoirs!



5. Great b&w photos, and the maps are interesting although would be more useful if translated. The Panzer tactics shared are nothing more than what good common sense would dictate in a combat situation. This book is on the pricey side for what you get. I would recommend Otto Carius' "Tigers in the Mud" or Michael Whitmann as more interesting subject matter regarding Panzer tactics.

No comments about MARINE CORPS TANK BATTLES IN VIETNAM.

3 comments about German Late War Armored Fighting Vehicles: World War II AFV Plans.

1. I knew about the drawings of George Bradford (he has is own website) and I had a free image to study. I think he does a great job. As I am interested in Russian armor I bought this book, it's great, nice line art, fine details, together with some good pictures of these items every modeller will have great results building models from scratch. Well worth it's price.



2. When I received notice from Amazon for pre-publication orders on several George Bradford books, I jumped on it. I'd seen many of his drawings previously and the individual drawings are available online. This collection fits the salient illustrations together under one cover.
   
   There are several prototype or paper vehicles included as well as familiar production types. Collected here are tanks, self-propelled guns, prime movers, APCs and reconnaissance vehicles from the latter half of the German war effort. Some of the larger vehicles are reproduced in 1/48 or 1/76 scale but most are in 1/35 so copy making is kept at a minimum.
   
   A must-have for any modeler or military vehicle enthusiast. There are also titles available on U.S., Soviet and early war German vehicles. I hope that Mr. Bradford will be able to publish his drawings of more modern vehicles.



3. This is not a book for the WWII armored vehicle newcomer and knowledge of overall German armor is a plus, or at least a few other books on the subject.
   
   As advertised this book has "AFV Plans" and not much else -- but this is its strength. It is a straight forward book of line drawings of German armored vechicles from the mid-war period to the end of the war. It has the well known and the obscure; tanks, armored cars, self-propelled guns, etc. Also of note is that all are drawn to scale (either 1:35 or 1:48) and the book includes a chart for how much to reduce or enlarge the drawings for other scales. At the same time there are at least four drawings per vechicle; straight-on front and rear, a top view, and a side view.
   
   This is a niche book for the specialist. There is very little in the way of explanation for the vechicles in the book. In fact, most of the drawn vechicles don't have any kind of written explanation or history; and the book doesn't list the technical specs. You'll need other books on German armored vehicles to flesh out the information presented here.
   
   Why do I recommend the book? It is probably the most complete book available on the many and varied armored vehicles used by the Germans from mid- to late-war. Many times when I'm reading WWII histories, or playing WWII wargames, I find references to various armored vehicles and I was looking for a simple to use, yet complete reference, so I could visualize what I was reading about. The vast majority of books out there address the famous and common vehicles (Panther, Tiger) but this book has drawings of the more obscure to include Germany's remote controlled tanks.

5 comments about Japanese Tanks 1939-45 (New Vanguard).

1. This gets 5 stars primarily because it is the only one stop shop for info on Japanese tanks in the English language. The subject really deserves a full blown book, but if you need need to identify a tank the book gets the job done. The title is a bit misleading - it includes info not just on tanks from 1939-45, but starts with their use of WW1 era tanks as well as indiginous designs from the 20s. Amphibious as well as experimental tanks are also included. And it contains other valuable nuggets such as production dates and numbers, theatres employed and combat examples. Japanese tank cannon penetration figures would have been great to include, but when you are limited to 50 pages you can't have everything. Still, an invaluable reference for wargamers.



2. Just started a Japanese Armoured force in 15mm for Flames of War this is a must have item for the model maker and historical gamer.
   Great unit history's painting info and colour plates for painting
   Cant wait to see more like this....Gordon Hollis NH



3. Armor expert Stephen J. Zaloga's Japanese Tanks 1939-45 is another fine addition to Osprey's New Vanguard series. As the other notes in the bibliography, there are not a lot of English-language sources on Japanese armor in the Second World War, so this volume fills a valuable niche in military history. Overall, this is a very good volume, that balances technical description with operational history fairly well, although clearly there are some "nice to have" items (such as an order of battle listing Japanese tank units, more data on guns/armor/penetration) that space did not permit.
   
   The volume begins with about 10 pages focusing on pre-war tank development in Japan, starting with the rather clunky Type 89 tank in 1931. The first relatively modern tank the Japanese built, the Type 95 Ha Go light tank, appeared in 1936 and this type was encountered by U.S. forces during the Pacific War. In the next 10-page section, the author details Japanese tank development in the Second World War, culminating in the production of medium tanks by late in the war. As the author notes, the Japanese recognized the technical inferiority of their tanks after their defeat by the Soviets at Khalkin Gol in 1939 and vainly struggled to catch up with foreign medium tank designs. Instead, the Japanese Army was saddled for most of the Pacific War with tanks that were too lightly armed and armored to compete with Western tanks. Zaloga comments that at Peleliu in 1944, U.S. Marine Corps anti-tank guns blew the attacking Japanese Type 95 light tanks into so many fragments that the Marines were unsure after the battle how many enemy tanks had actually been destroyed -a telling indictment of the incompatibility of a weapon system on a modern battlefield. Although outside the scope of this volume, the author does not mention that the Imperial Japanese Army also had fairly obsolete artillery and infantry weapons as well.
   
   In the final 9-page section the author goes over the operational history of Japanese tanks, campaign by campaign. This section is very good and lists units and numbers of tanks involved, as well as opposing Allied tank units. Throughout the volume, the B/W photos are quite good, most from NARA. The color plates by Peter Bull are also excellent, depicting most of the various Japanese tank models. The author also provides two charts on Japanese tank production. The only area that appears slighted in the technical description of Japanese tanks was in communications - there was no mention about internal communications (intercom?) or radio. Yet several of the B/W photos show old-style radio aerials on one or two tanks and clearly the battalion or regimental commanders must have had radio. Additionally, the volume really could have used a chart listing the major technical characteristics of the main Japanese tank models, since this was difficult to pull together in the text. Nevertheless, this volume is a nice addition to Second World War literature.



4. A book about Japanese tanks. It is the only one I have that I don't have to translate. Lots of photos, some nice color illustrations, and a cutaway of a type 95 light tank. (Though I wish it had been a type 97). The book gives a brief history of the development of the different tank models, and then a short history of their employment in the Pacific war. I felt there could have been a bit more of the early war and pre- war history of the Japanese tank actions. So few books on this topic are around that this one is in a class of its own.



5. Fast paced book summarises Japanese tank development from from 1918 thru 1945 in the first 22 pages. The last 10 summarize their use/tactics during WW2 in SW and Central Pacific, China, Burma, Philippines, and Manchuria. Filled with great photos makes you wish the book was several times larger. But the book does cover all major aspects of their developement and use. Includes photos of some experimental tanks including the Japanese equivalent of the Panther - well, it was meant to be equivalent.

No comments about British Armored Fighting Vehicles (World War II AFV Plans).

No comments about Other Axis and Allied Armored Fighting Vehicles (WWII AFV Plans).

No comments about M3 Medium Tank vs Panzer III: Kasserine Pass, 1943 (Duel).