We all know about Germany's famous tanks from the WWII. There are few with even a mild interest in WWII who have not heard of the Tiger or Panther tanks. But what about the First World War.

Things were quite different in this regard and Germany was quite late in realizing the value of weapons such as these. In fact, so late were they that their tank designs were not put into battle until the last months of the war and then they were not very successful. A far cry from their later experiences.

Steven J. Zaloga is an acknowledged expert on things military and has produced a superb book on the German tank efforts of WWI. He covers the development and design of several vehicles, but concentrates on the A7V, Germany's only real tank of the conflict. This huge vehicle was only moderately successful as the design of tanks was still an on-going process.

The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of tanks used by Germany in WWI were those captured from the British after various larger battles. An industry of sorts grew up from recovering and patching up British tanks to be re-issued to German tank battalions.

The book is a fascinating read and thanks to some very nice period photos and the superb illustrations of Brian Delf, is a book that deserves a spot on your shelves. Highly recommended.

September 2006

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