The author of the bestselling Panzer IV at War delivers a highly
illustrated look at “a key element in the German Blitzkrieg”
during the Second World War (HistoryOfWar.org). In the aftermath of
the Great War, which saw the introduction of the tank, the more far
sighted military leaders realized that the future of warfare hinged on
a balance of mobility, firepower and protection. Tanks would need to
be accompanied into battle by supporting arms, specifically infantry,
artillery and engineers. An all fully-tracked field army was thought
to be too expensive, so the semi-tracked support vehicle (commonly
called a halftrack) was born. The halftrack concept was embraced by
France, the US and most notably Germany. The Germans commissioned
numerous types of half-tracked tractors, which were classified by the
weight of their towed load. These vehicles were designated
Sonderkraffarzeug (special motorized vehicle), abbreviated as Sd.Kfz.
These front-wheel steering vehicles with tracked drive transformed the
fighting quality of the armored divisions. They carried the infantry
alongside the advancing panzers and brought guns and pontoon-bridge
sections. The halftrack also became the preferred reconnaissance
vehicle. This latest addition to the highly successful and collectable
Images of War series has a superb collection of rare images, supported
by detailed captions and text, of the many Sd.Kfz variants in diverse
theatres of war. It is worth reflecting that, without half-tracks,
there could have been no Blitzkrieg.
Les mer
Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781783038527
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Independent Publishers Group (Chicago Review Press)
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter