Panzertruppen: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germanys Tank Force 1933-1942 (Schiffer military history) (v. 1) [Hardcover]

Thomas L. Jentz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schiffer military history | Publication Date: March 1, 1996

In September of 1939, the world was astounded by Germany's ability to defeat Poland in less than a month. With the world still puzzled by the suddenness of this event, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, and France fell in rapid succession to the German on

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887409156
• ISBN-13: 978-0887409158
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to any WWII historian, May 7, 1999

By 

J. Collins (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Panzertruppen: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germanys Tank Force 1933-1942 (Schiffer military history) (v. 1) (Hardcover)

Both this volume and volume 2, are excellent sources of primary documentation. Both use war diary, and after-action reports to describe tactics and weapons evolution. As I said in a review of vol.2, by allowing the crews and their platoon-battalion commanders to speak the book has an immediacy that can't be duplicated in other works of the same subject. The author assumes the reader has at least general familiarity with German operations, and knowledge of German WWII military terms and ranks. Probably not for a general interest reader.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A concise and exacting summary of the Panzertruppe., March 15, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panzertruppen: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germanys Tank Force 1933-1942 (Schiffer military history) (v. 1) (Hardcover)

This work is outstanding!! It has become an irreplaceable edition to my library. Thomas Jentz's research has produced an outstanding work that displays the evolution of the German Panzer machine. This book is a must for anyone with a desire to learn more about the German military genius. This book covers from platoon to division and corps level. It adds battle reports discussing the positive and negative aspects of each machine and the tactics and techniques used to fight them. I also suggest volume two which covers 1943 to 1945 to complete the history.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb reference source!, October 16, 2005

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panzertruppen: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germanys Tank Force 1933-1942 (Schiffer military history) (v. 1) (Hardcover)

Thomas Jentz's book proves to be a fantastic source of information regarding the German Panzer forces during World War II. This volume covers the period from the early 1930s to 1942. It uses primary German sources that revealed the evolutionary stages of the German panzer formations, their weapons and numbers as the years rolled by. The book also reflects on German perception of how they did, how their tanks performed and needs for changes.

The book reflects the closeness to the source German material. The author expects the reader to have a fine tune knowledge of the German military prior to reading this book. If you have to look up to see the difference between a Panzer 38(t) to Panzer IVd, this book is probably not for you. The unit organization tables are done in the unfamiliar German symbolism instead of your usual NATO symbols so that can be confusing to the novice.

The book seem to be written for people who wants a greater understanding of the German panzer formations and thier gradual metamorphosis. The second volume covers the second half of the war when the German forces were mostly on the defensive mode.

Overall, highly informative reading material, not for the casual reader since this book don't exactly read like a best seller.