This is the first volume in what appears to be a series of books on armored operations during WW2. The large format works quite well for a book of this type. The publisher has provided plenty of space for photographs, superlative profiles as drawn by Julio Lopez Caeiro and Luis Fresno Crespo. In fact, the 250 profiles in the book are for me, a major draw as I've always been inspired as a modeler by what artists provide in this respect. In addition, the large format allows for a font that is easy to read. I should also mention that the editor of the book had the good sense not to have images cross 'the ditch', something I see far too often.

Anyway, the book covers some of the more interesting events of World War II and not exactly what you might be thinking of when it comes to armored ops. There are basically ten different sections in the book and they are:

Soviet Invasion of Poland, French campaign from Sedan to Abbeville, Montcoronet in May of 1940, the Arras counterattack, Rommel's counterattach in the Western Desert, the encirclement of Minsk, Krasnograd, Prokorovka in 1943, Villers Bocage in 1944, and operation Cobra in 1944.

Each of these sections has profiles of the vehicles that took part in the event as well as in-depth articles on personalities and/or equipment that were there at the time. This includes several large fold-outs that highlight some of the more widely used tanks.

When you put all the ingredients together, superb historical sections, profiles, quality period images, maps, and a well done write-up, it makes for an outstanding book that will appeal to both the historian and the modeler alike. You simply cannot go wrong with this one.

October  2007

Review book courtesy of  Casemate Publishing, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb books.

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