David Mitchelhill-Green

During the 1920s, Germany defied the Treaty of Versailles by rebuilding its military and pioneering new forms of mechanised warfare. This detailed study traces the development of the German tank during this crucial time, from experimental prototypes to Adolf Hitler’s first mass-produced tank, the Panzer I – a tank that would help German forces train for and execute their Blitzkrieg operations. The performance of this small, lightly armed tank was limited, nevertheless it participated in the opening campaigns of the war, including the invasions of Poland, Denmark and Norway, the Low Countries, France and Russia. It provided a valuable training platform for Panzer crews and helped pave for the way for the subsequent heavier and more powerful German models. Covering the design innovations of the various models and variants, as well as their combat history and performance, this is a fascinating look at the Panzer I during pre-war training and later operational service. Part of the Images of War series, combining a treasure trove of rare and unpublished photographs with well-researched text, this is a valuable source for students of the war, modellers and anyone fascinated by military technology, armoured warfare and the evolution of the tank.

The Kaiser’s Panzers charts the development of German armoured vehicles during the First World War. Late to adopt the tank as an offensive weapon, in a theatre characterized by bloody trench warfare, the Imperial German Army’s fledgling tank force fielded only twenty A7V tanks by the time of the November 1918 Armistice. To address this shortcoming, the German Army pressed more captured British Mark IV tanks into service through a dedicated workshop facility in Belgium during the final year of the war. A handful of these vehicles later saw service in the Freikorps to suppress left-wing uprisings in Berlin and Leipzig.Although German tanks played an insignificant part in the conflict, two early commanders rose to prominence in the Third Reich: Ernest Volckheim a leading interwar armour theorist and later Panzer commander; Josef ‘Sepp’ Dietrich a SS Panzer general implicated in the 1945 Malmedy massacre.Drawing on contemporary records, newsreels and newspaper accounts, The Kaiser’s Panzers is a heavily illustrated record of Germany’s first tanks, the predecessor force to Adolf Hitler’s vaunted Panzertruppen, and will be enjoyed by all military history enthusiasts.