This addition to the Images of War series concentrates on the 7th Panzer Division during the war with France in 1940. At the time, this unit was led by a fairly unknown major general named Rommel. Rommel was very much an enthusiast of fast moving armor, feeling that tanks could break through the enemy's initial defenses then run rampant just behind the enemy's front line. In this way, he could disrupt their logistics train, leaving the defenders in dire straits for lack of materiel.

Rommel was quite successful in this tactic and though slowing somewhat to allow the infantry to catch up, was able to cover a before unheard of amount of territory in a very short time. Indeed, from the original breakthrough in the Ardennes, his division covered the northern part of the country, cutting off Allied forces and eventually worked his way south down the coast. It is here that his reputation was formed and why he was later sent to North Africa. But that is getting a bit ahead of things.

This volume, and there are more to come, concentrates on his work in France. As with others in this series, the book is mostly photos and these come from a variety of sources. This includes images from Rommel himself. He is frequently photographed with a Leica camera. This author includes a more extenvie historical background than some others and this is not concentrated in the start of each chapter, but goes throughout the book. This is in addition to the image captions, which are always interesting. In all, this is another excellent addition to a fine series and one that I can easily recommend to both the historian and modeler alike.

August 2024

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