When Germany started rebuilding its army after WWI, they were very limited in what they could have in terms of numbers and material. One thing that carried over were horse-mounted calvary units. In fact, pretty much every nation with a standing army used these forces. They were good for reconnaissance, getting in and out of an area in a hurry, and for quickly flanking enemy ground units. In fact, these were often the best units in the army and often used in parades.

As the mid-1930s came around, the move was away from horse-mounted units to motorized units. You didn't have to put as much effort into keeping vehicles operating and a truck rarely sh*t on the floor of the motor pool. Eventually, these units also got armor in the form of armored cars or even light tanks. Prior to the start of WWII, all but one of the pre-war light divisions had swapped over to motorized transport with only one still keeping horses.

This book continues where the other left off and is dedicated to the operations of these units during the Poland invasion. The prior use and development is fully covered in volume one which also covers the takeover of Austria and Czechslovakia. Germany felt that Poland would be equally subservient and they soon realized this was not the case. Even though the Polish Army was similarly equipped, the Germans were even more so and had the years before the war to properly train.

Even so, the Poles were fighting for their country and took a fairly heavy toll on the lighter units. What was learned during this campaign was used to alter both the strategy and tactical use of light units as well as somewhat changing the equipment that they used. It definitely spelled the end of horse mounted cavalry and switched it completely to motorized operations. Added into this volume are the colors and markings of these units as well as uniforms and personal equipment. It makes a great companion to the first volume and is actually considerably larger in terms of page count and images. Well worth picking up.

July 2026

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