Customer Reviews

Tigers in Combat, Vol. 1

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

 

 

The book has good information. Seems it covers all the units that were issued with the Tigers. The action accounts are dry
facts. One thing that caught me the author seems fixiated on
covering the turret numbering system over and over and over again. I liked the pictures in the book. These were the real deal. These pictures looked like they came from former crew members and combat photographers not the type from German propaganda. Pictures scored the 4

The new softcover edition is of very poor quality compared to the original hardcover. The photos look like they are photocopies of the originals. It's nice that this book has been reprinted (it's a classic) but the cheap paper used really makes the quality suffer. Do your best to find a hardbound copy at a reasonable price before getting this edition.

If it weren't for the fact that the soft paper cover remains bent open after only a few uses (leading it to be more susceptible to damage), I'd give this book five stars. The binding also is not the greatest, and pages will eventually come out (notably the color plates in the back of the book) Actually, because of only the cover and binding, I'd give it 4.5 if Amazon let us give out half stars. ;-)

The content of this book is fantastic. The author tracks in a timeline the history of each of the Wehrmacht Tiger battalions, citing when each battalion/company received Tigers, how many, what type (if needing to differentiate between Tiger Is and Tiger IIs), some of the battles fought, damages to the Tiger units from battle or wear/tear, all the way through to when the unit in question was disbanded or surrendered. He also notes how many tanks each battalion had at any given time (due to losses from combat or wear/tear and replacements). There are holes in the diaries as written, and the author acknowledges that he did not succeed in describing *every* battle that *every* unit and/or company took place in, citing that many times the units were scattered hither and yon, and tracking the movement and combat *each* and every individual Tiger is sometimes impossible. But what he has compiled is a wealth of data surely to keep you occupied for some time.

I'm not certain what LKP Peter below was smoking, or what his standards are, but there are a plethora of photographs taken by crews and donated to the author for illustrations. Yes, some of the photos are a bit blurry - but consider the time they were taken, and the conditions that the original photos were probably in. Other photos are more crisp; probably from being preserved better. All in all they will give modellers (and modelling gamers) an added resource to draw upon for how to represent units of the different Abteilungs. In the back of the book there are some color plate drawings, giving fairly good representation of what might be a typical color/camo scheme for a given unit. A must for modellers and miniatures gamers.

The unit organization tables are very informative, and helpful. Schneider does not break the OOBs down by day, week, or after losses/replacements. Instead they give snapshots of what the Abteilungs were composed of (e.g., for schwere.Panzer-Abteilung 505, he shows OOB snapshots for March 1943, July 1943, and August 1944). Helpful for anyone interested in what OOBs were to be in the various battalions (but again, does not indicate losses or replacements; you will need to infer that from the text).

Finally, in the very back of the book there are some color plate maps showing the transport movement and some combat engagement points of the various Abteilung in different theaters. I would have liked to have had more detailed info on this section (maybe a map tracking each Abteilung instead of overlaying a bunch in one area), but it works well enough to give a feel for where units operated. Some of the colors used don't contrast very well with the background map colors, but when you have so many units to portray,and limited color choices to use...

Definitely a must-buy book, especially for the price! Incredibly glad I picked it up. If it's not be the quitessential book on Tiger company activitiess - it's damned close!

Tigers in Combat, Vol. 1 is an excellent reference for serious scale modellers and for others who have a need for details of German Army Tiger tanks in WW II. The range of photographs is extensive, with many published for the first time. Summaries of individual heavy tank battalion operations throughout the war and details of their organization are invaluable -- especially for the diorama builder. One point of criticism is the treatment of the system of numbers used to identify vehicles in Heavy Tank Battalion 505. This unit used an unique system whereby a mounted knight replaced the German cross on the turrets, and the vehicle numbers were placed on the main guns. This system is explained on page 256 of the book -- company number in large numerals on the gun mantlet, with platoon and tank numbers in smaller type on the gun barrel. However in at least a half-dozen cases elsewhere in the book, photo captions do not follow this rule, thus causing confusion and thereby detracting from an otherwise first class publication.

Tigers In Combat I by military historian Wolfgang Schneider is an exhaustive and illustrated history of the Tiger Tank as used in combat by the German army throughout World War II. Each chapter focuses upon a different Tiger Tank model and includes a "Combat Diary", "Photo Coverage", "Inventory and Losses Charts", and "Unit Organizational Diagram". Enhanced with an extensive five page bibliography, several pages of detailed, color drawings of Tiger Tanks, and concluding with colored maps ranging from Tunisia to Germany where the Tiger Tanks saw action, Tigers In Combat I is a seminal, core addition to 20th Century Military Studies shelves in general, and German World War II Weaponry reference collections in particular.

This is THE BOOK for anyone interested in this legendary vehicle.

The paperback copy is a downgrade from the hardback, but the price makes the publication accessible to almost all individuals out there interested in this vehicle.

There is quite detailed information given in this book, and the number of personal photos are impressive! Never knew that so many pics of tiger tanks exist (other than the general ones). I'm very satisfied with the soft copy edition, and can't wait for the 2nd part of this 2-part series in paperback edition. Really worth the price I'm paying to get this book through Amazon.com, as opposed to buying it off the shelf in a regular/specialized bookstore in Malaysia (i.e. Kinokuniya, KL).

I have hardcover versions of tigers in combat I and II,I use them so often as a modeling reference,these are great books,i got the paperback versions so i could save the hardcover books,after reading reviews that the hardcover versions are far superior in quality I almost didn't get them,but after comparing them,other than the hardcover and better paper,there is very little difference in photo guality,these are nice books.and you can't beat the price

Many fantastic photos...but not much else, unless you want to know Panzer Battalion structures and equipment.

I agree with many of the reviews posted in regards to the quality of the new paperback editions. Having seen the hardcover copies and now owning the paperback the photo quality has suffered greatly with many details now not being seen. Still it is full of info on the day to day operations of Tiger units and hundreds of photos. If you can find a copy (cheap!) of the orginal hardcover get that, even if it si a little more money than the paperback, its worth it.