Reference, Panzerwrecks Repairing the Panzers, German Tank Maintenance in World War 2, V.1

PANZERWRECKS

Repairing the Panzers, German Tank Maintenance in World War 2, Volume 1. By: Lukas Friedli. Hard covers, 8.5 x 11.5-inches, 256 pages. Contains 292 B&W photographs, 28 archival drawings, 14 pages of K.St.N. silhouette charts, numerous tables, appendices, glossary and index. ISBN 978-0984-18202-2.

One of the best things about our hobby is the number of enthusiasts that focus on a particular subject in great detail. They do it for the love of the hobby and to be able to share their findings with the scale modeling community. Often, they will create a web-site, such as David Byrdan has done, devoted to the Tiger I. Others are fortunate enough to have their work published in book form; an example is Neil Stokes excellent recent KV book from AirConnection (see review here at ToT).

The latest of the genre is this new book from Lukas Friedli, published by those astute folks that continue to bring us the Panzerwrecks series. Lavishly produced in hard-cover landscape format with glossy coated paper stock, this first in a projected two-volume series covers numerous aspects of the ways in which the German armed forces recovered, repaired and returned to service, various AFVs, wheeled vehicles and semi-tracked types.

The text is distributed over seven chapters, which cover the following subjects:

1. Overview and Background.
2. I-Dienste of the Field Troops.
3. The Panzer Werkstatt.
4. Armee, HGr and Homeland.
5. Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance.
6. Campaign Experience.
7. Causes of Panzer Losses.

These chapters are further broken down in to sub-sections. For instance, chapter 7 is broken down into sections that detail losses for 25.Panzer-Division, Panzer-Regiment 36 and schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 at various points in their careers. The lions share of the text is made up of translated archival documents and reports, with the authors comments and conclusions interspersed throughout. The text is well-presented, but the reader must be cautioned that it does not tell a story in a linear fashion. This is because there are, of necessity, gaps in coverage where documentary evidence was unavailable. In addition, as the author notes early on, certain bits of information are presented out of sequence due to the way the original documents were created. The reader is best advised to treat each increment individually while relating it to the overall story. Regardless, there is a huge amount of data presented, while the reports quoted give an excellent idea of the trials and tribulations that the troops had to contend with.

The graphic content of the book is, as one would expect from this publisher, outstanding. The archival images are nearly all completely new to me. The coverage is broad and deep and it details all sorts of workshop vehicle types. These include various vehicle tool and equipment load-outs using photos from technical manuals, different types of portable or self-propelled cranes, recovery vehicles both tracked and semi-tracked, special equipment (ground anchors and improvised heavy-lift devices) and trailers. Just about every German Panzer in service shows up in a photo or two, as do armored cars and semi-tracked vehicles. Naturally (considering the name of the publisher!), there are dozens of photos of wrecked Panzer and other vehicles and AFVs. Perhaps my favorite images depict the not-often-seen Bergepanzer III, while several new images of the Bergepanzer VI, made on the Ferdinand/Elefant chassis are also on hand. The use of a spade on the Sd.Kfz.9 is also depicted, using several new images. Details of the Bergepanther are shown using images mostly previously seen. In this case, they are all gathered here in one place, which is certainly fitting.

A number of illustrations taken from period documents are also included. These include maps showing the growth of maintenance facilities as the Ostfront expanded, and then contracted, and a large number of diagrams showing how various vehicles were arranged, along with their ancillary equipment, when recovering Panzer in various terrain conditions. Noted illustrator Hilary Doyle makes an appearance in the appendices; he has produced no less than 14 pages worth of silhouettes to enliven the Kriegsstärkenachweisung (K.St.N., or tables of organization and equipment to us Yanks) for no less than 11 different workshop, recovery and repair unit configurations. These run from 1937 through 1944 and cover various armored units at various levels within a Panzer-Division or independent Panzer-Abteilung.

The final ingredients in this tasty offering are the numerous tables that compliment the text. Several show losses and cause, some detail types and locations of units and one is an extensive, but tailored to the subject, glossary of German terms, complete with English translations. Also of interest is a set of graphics that show how a vehicles loss was reported and what means were used to direct a recovery unit to the site for a pick-up.

The careful and patient reader will learn a great deal about the subject and will often return to these pages for a refresher. The photos and other graphics are all well-captioned and germane to the subject, complimenting the charts and text quite nicely. In addition, the variety of vehicle types shown, their condition, and the action occurring in their vicinities will be a boon to AFV modelers as well as those who indulge in diorama construction. This book certainly deserves support from the hobby community since it has much to offer the scrupulous amongst us. Personally, I cant wait to see what volume two will look like!

Frank V. De Sisto

Panzerwrecks publications are available worldwide from their web-site at: www.panzerwrecks.com. Email Bill Auerbach at: bill@panzerwrecks.com, or Lee Archer at: lee@panzerwrecks.com.

PS, Bill Auerbach wants readers to know that Panzerwrecks XI has been slightly delayed due to work on this book. Fear naught, fans, as work on it is now proceeding apace.

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