Customer Reviews

The Panzer Divisions (Men-at-Arms)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book like other men at arms series books is filled with great illistrations but if you just want info get another book.

No disrespect to the author who has contributed much to the study of military history but this book is a good example of how time catches up with one. See my reviews of the new indepth five volume set on the German Army.
With a few exceptions all of the volumes numbered under one hundred in this series on modern twentieth century forces have become outdated. The publisher's original emphasis on stuffing a broad scope of basic information in a standard format for the benefit of wargamers and military miniature makers has now changed to studies of particular campaigns and finite periods of selected unit activities and dress for study in the detailed depth they deserve. This volume is just too simplistic to be of much use to the general reader and very little to the specialist almost twenty years on.

This title is older, as evidenced by the original publication date, but still contains some good information. Detailed info is more prevalent in Pruett's recent work on panzer uniforms, both with regards to unit assignments and uniforms. There are also some other titles in print covering color photos of the uniforms. This is a good primer and intorduction to the subject, however. The usual cautions apply to using Men at Arms titles as primary references.

I bought this book for an overview of panzer uniforms to help me paint my 1/35 figures.
The illustrations are beautiful and provide exactly the pictorial reference I required.

As someone who is researching and selling reproduction panzer uniforms, I still find much of value in this book. Pruett and Edwards have done excellent work in the field of panzer uniforms, but their volumes are expensive and not everyone needs to invest in that kind of volume to get the very basics which this book provides.

Colour plates are very appealing. Artwork is a bit murky - no hard dileneations such as in Volstad's paintings with deliberate black outlines, but poses are very good as is colour. Some fine recreated portrait shots show a wide array of uniform types and details.

Writing is good and concentrates on many general subjects, going into appropriate levels of detail such as when the complex collar patch situation for anti-tank and self-propelled units are discussed.

Good sketch histories; another good source for panzer division histories may be PANZER COLORS II, but there is more detail in MAA 24 regarding historical employment. Some fine photos complement the text and make this a good overall treatment which really doesn't show its age all that much. Stands up just fine with other books on the subject.

This book gives a in depth look at one of Germanys most inportant forces the panzer divisions with photos and butiful illurstions this book is great!

This book tells not only about the tanks but about all the ellenents of the division the grenaders the esscorting infantry and a lot more.

With all respect for the others reviewers, the illustrations on this, otherwise good, book are not as good as others in Men-at-Arms. Their colors looked blurred to me. The ones in this series German Army books are much better.
The text is very comprehensive and gives a lot of information.