This latest addition to Osprey's Duel series covers a pair of combatants during the early days of WWII, the German Panzer II and the Polish 7TP. Both are light tanks and both were mainly designed as either infantry support or reconnaissance tanks. As is often the case in conflict, tank vs tank battles were not all that common with most tanks being destroyed by anti-tank guns or other weapons.

The 7TP was pretty much the result of the need for an armored corps, but a lack of the sort of funding that was needed to produce a world-beater tank. Still, the 7TP had several things going for it. It was relatively well armed and it had a 37mm gun that could penetrate the armor of many then current tanks. Indeed, this gun was enough to knock out even Germany's early Panzer IV and made a mess of other German tanks when the conditions were favorable. This was basically due to its being able to provide a penetrating round at a reasonable distance.

The Panzer II, on the other hand, was developed to be a relatively fast reconnaissance tank and was only armed with a 20mm main gun. Sure, it could penetrate the armor of the 7TP, but it had to get pretty close to do so. The Panzer I was even weaker and was pretty much nearing obsolescence when the war began. Its machine gun calibre weapons were only useful against soft targets. Such was the difference in offensive armament between the Panzer II and the 7TP, that a considerable number of the German tanks were knocked out during the brief Polish campaign.

As is often the case, the winners write history and the Germans wrote that the Polish campaign was a cake-walk. Well, as reality often brings to light, it was a much tougher campaign that we were led to believe. The Poles had quality material, they just did not have the leadership that was needed to take advantage of it. Things were also not helped by the Luftwaffe gaining air superiority in the first week. This further decreased the effectiveness of Polish armor as it could more easily be spotted from the air. Add to it the invasion by the Soviets a few weeks into the war and the end was a foregone conclusion.

In this duel series, we have a pair of fairly evenly matched vehicles, though the Polish tank was generally superior. We get a nice background on the situation in Poland and Germany that led to the development of these vehicles and how they evolved until the end of Septemer 1939. To add spice to the book, a look at a major section of the campaign shows how these two vehicles were used by their respective armies. We also get a chance to see how they performed in combat. Add to it the great period photos as well as some great artwork, and you have a book that is interesting, entertaining, and that busts a few myths along the way.

April 2015

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