Under the Gun 1: Panzers in the Bocage crosses the line

At the header of this website it states unambiguously "in the interests of fair play and maintaining intellectual property, any attempt to usurp & exploit our original research & imagery without acknowledgement of this source for commercial gain will be uploaded & identified here for the public record, if necessary."

It's in this regard it's necessary to place the recently published book, Under The Gun 1: Panzers in the Bocage under review here:



Readers should note, although it isn't clearly stated anywhere in this title, well known publisher/author/artist Dennis Oliver, is responsible for this work, despite the name "Karl Berne" being identified as the author/artist - apparently a pseudonym used to distance the real author/artist from the fact the book is clearly usurping original research & imagery from sources such as this, for commercial gain, by deliberately failing to acknowledge such sources.

Here is an example:



For the public record, this is a deliberate and direct infringement of copyright by Dennis Oliver , given the marking he has copied exactly was drawn by eye by me alone. To date this marking only appears in one other source, published after Dennis' book was released (I refer to Editions Heimdal's book Tilly-sur-Seulles which has also used my artwork without acknowledgement). While its hard to see in this scan, the correct placement of this marking on the engine side plates in Dennis' profiles is also effectively plagiarising research exclusively revealed on this website.

This is not an isolated example either - Fred Bayerlein's Pz Lehr Pz IV research so generously shared on this site has also been usurped by Dennis Oliver without recognition, in colour plates on page 15 of Oliver's book.

In a fashion, what this book essentially represents is what the music industry would call 'sampling' (recall for example the infamous case of Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby rip off of Queen's Under Pressure). Sampling of another's work without the basic common courtesy of an acknowledgement in his book is one thing however, but significantly Dennis also failed to provide that basic courtesy despite a personal assurance he would do so, which was given to another member of this forum who had been passing on assistance sourced from others connected with this forum:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/1256800063/Setting+the+record+straight-++%26quot%3BPanzers+in+the+Bocage%26quot%3B

The completely unethical reality revealed here is all the more worthy of note, given the author/artist/publisher has also clearly relied on the sampling of other published sources in the creation of this book, which likewise receive no acknowledgement. For example, amongst many others, the information on the inside back cover outlining the structure of the various Tiger units serving in Normandie is derived from tables which originally appeared in Wolfgang Schneider's Tigers in Combat 2.

Beyond what these issues above reflect is the similarly remarkable degree to which this book is so poorly researched - the number of mistakes in a book so small (just 35 pages) are as revealing as they are notable:

Here is just a selection:

Page 6, a well known photo of the Isigny dump is mis-captioned stating both Pz IVs seen belong to 2.SS - the eg on the left is in fact a vehicle of Pz Regt 3, the Pz IV unit of 2. Pz Div.

Page 8, vehicles of LSSAH near St Barthelemy are instead identified as "possibly 2.SS... near Trun"(?!)

Page 9, the famous Argentan Panther with characteristic II./Pz Regt 33 track hangers is described as a tank that "may belong to I./Pz Regt 24". This mistaken view seems to be copied from the old and naturally mistake-riddled Panzers In Normandie Then and Now by Jean Restayn.

Page 12, The "9. Pz Div" identity of the Pz IV seems to have been copied from Zaloga's caption in Concord's US Tank Battles in France. The type of spare track stowage is indicative of PLD PzIVs in Normandie however.

Page 13, colour profiles of 2. Pz Div Panthers "414" and "215", fails to show the Pz Regt 3 insignia, beside the divisional trident marking.

Page 17, a colour profile of 2. Pz Div Pz IV "635" repeating the same error on page 6 by identifying the vehicle as 2.SS

Page 17, a colour profile of 2.SS SdKfz 251/9 omits the highly characteristic field-mod elongated foot step and bow track hangers.

Page 18, colour profile of a 12.SS SdKfz 251/17 misidentified as a "SdKfz 251/1" and shown with the 25mm Hotchkiss AA gun mounted too far forward in the cabin. The camouflage paint scheme is also not consistent with SPW of this unit.

Page 18, colour profile of a SdKfz 251/1 "111" - this vehicle appears in Wochenschau footage of a unit in training in the spring of 1944. The commentary describes it as showing fighting in Normandie, which it clearly is not. It is more than likely the setting is the Kummersdorf grounds in eastern Germany.

Page 21, well known photo of a destroyed StuG III near Clinchamps with caption that states: "in the original print it is possible to see what may be the unit insignia of 9. Pz Div. on the fender." The reality is the original print shows an area of badly damaged Zimmerit and no evidence of any marking whatsoever. The plain Dunkelgelb finish, field-mod spare track rack on casemate side and model of StuG all indicate it belonged to 1.SS Pz Div. The fact two Pz IV of this unit were KO'ed ahead of this StuG supports this.
Page 25, author fails to note the Tiger II at the bottom shows the tac number "122" or "132" on the turret's rear hatch.

Page 27, well known SdKfz 251/1 described as "probably 2.SS", regardless that it carries 1.SS registration and rear Balkenkreuz, plus characteristic 1.SS-style stowed wooden beam.

Page 27, well known burning SdKfz 251/1 identified as "possibly of 9. Pz Div...near Carrouges" is in fact a vehicle of Pz AA 2, of 2. Pz Div ambushed near St Aubin d'Appenai.

Page 28 well known SdKfz 250 Ausf B of Pz AA 2 is identified as "knocked out outside Mortain near l'Abbaye-Blanche during Operation Lüttich" when in fact it was KO'ed in the same ambush near St Aubin d'Appennai as the previous 251/1

Page 28, well known photo of a 2.SS Hummel and SdKfz 251/18, with the latter misidentified as just a "SdKfz 251", despite the appearance of a Sternantenna mast projecting from the inside rear.

Page 29, the author has no idea the upper-most photo shows the same location and distant SdKfz 251/18 seen in the previous error on Page 28. Also no mention the vehicle had the name Kirschke emblazoned on its side (the name being deciphered by Hans Weber many years ago on www.missing-lynx.com).

Back cover, colour profile of Pz Lehr Div SdKfz 251 with tac no. "3" should show it as "613" (thanks Sam Wren)

CONCLUSION: attractive-looking nature of the profile artwork aside, the cheap, common and poorly reproduced nature of the photographic content, combined with the notable ethical and research shortcomings makes it very hard not to consider this book as a fairly cynical attempt by the publisher to cash in on the more lucrative Panzer market - something that the British armour market, which Dennis Oliver personally specialises in, does not regrettably provide currently.

Its perhaps not surprising therefore Dennis Oliver does not identify himself as the author or artist anywhere in this book, despite the very clear indications he performed both functions, as well as publishing it. It's a demonstration Dennis himself perhaps realised this book crosses the line professionally.

For a contrasting perspective of this book, readers may be interested to take a look at this book review:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/477322/message/1256404643/Reference%2C+Firefly+Collection%2C+Under+the+Gun+1%2C+Panzers+in+the+Bocage

Readers should perhaps note the www.missing-lynx.com reviewer routinely receives a kickback in the form of free merchandise from the publisher in return for his review. The reviewer is also a professional colleague of publisher of the book, both being employed by Dragon Models Limited's publishing arm Concord Publications.


In light of such thinly veiled advertising, arguably a far more realistic take on the book may be found on this site:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/616600


Baz