Model Armour

Panzerwrecks 9 - Italy 1

Publisher: Panzerwrecks

Authors: Lee Archer & William Auerbach

Price: £16.99 (£14.99 if pre-ordered)

Softcover; A4, 96 pages

ISBN: 978-0-9555-940-95

Introduction

Lee Archer & William Auerbach began the Panzerwrecks series of titles in 2004 with an attempt to illustrate as they put it.... "the empirical evidence of engagements with enemy armour". They've succeeded in this aim admirably, so much so that we're now up to the ninth instalment in the series. Panzerwrecks 9 - Italy 1 is aimed at depicting the Allied inspired carnage of German panzers that worked its way up the length of Italy during 1944.

The Contents

As usual, the book consists of a series of period photographs taken of the subject matter involved, many of which are in large format, one to a page, and suitably captioned by the authors. Seems a simple idea, but one that is exceptionally well realised.

A quick glance through the pages will lead the casual browser to the conclusion that many of the photographs are not of the best quality, but this would miss the point of why these specific photographs have been included. Many of them were taken by ordinary servicemen using their own equipment, not professional journalists and photographers, at a time when personal cameras were something of a rarity. As such, they represent our best opportunity to see these wrecks in their true aspect, before they were picked clean, sanitised, or otherwise altered to better suit the needs of the press corps following the front line; a point particularly well illustrated by a photograph of a destroyed 2cm Flakvierling mounted onto a Mercedes-Benz 4500A. Some people would no doubt prefer that such photographs have no place in a title of this nature, and whilst they may have a point, if it's the only such photograph of that particular type of vehicle in that state, then I think its inclusion is justified.

The photographs begin with the almost obligatory shot of a burnt out Panther. Any casual browser will have his attention caught by this big cat, and will almost certainly delve further into the contents. This initial attention-getting photograph of the Panther is then followed by a number of pages showing destroyed Panzer IV's, information on which is scant according to the authors, although the US Officer responsible for the photographs seems to be keen on making sure he's included in the photographs. A few wrecked StuG.III's are then followed by another Panzer IV, this one ending up in a muddy bog, almost up to it's cupola. You can't but wonder is this is one of the ones that's since been pulled up and recovered...or is it still at the bottom of a bog in Italy? Anybody know of any Panzer IV's recovered from Italian bogs?

There's a photograph on page 12 of particular interest for me, having an interest in halftracks, consisting of two different vehicles pushed into a ditch alongside a road. At the front there's a late production variant Sd.Kfz.7 with a wooden rear body, whilst behind it there's a Sd.Kfz.10 with a widened rear bed prepared to mount a 2cm FlaK 38, although this is missing. I appears that both vehicles were being used as ordinary load carriers prior to being knocked out, and serves to illustrate just how wrong some modellers are when they insist that such and such a vehicle wasn't built for that purpose and only used for this purpose etc.! On the facing page there's a comprehensively wrecked 250/3 showing an internally mounted 'Kubelmast'...one of those huge telescopic radio masts.

Back to the heavy armour and we're offered various Panzer IV's again...their number in this title perhaps being reflective of the numbers of these vehicles actually produced by Germany during WWII. One of them exhibits a particularly interesting field applied Zimmerit coating, which would look interesting on a model and no doubt draw some attention. Then we're back to halftracks and a 251/C looking almost complete except it's missing it's front wheels and lying on its side. Painted on it's rear doors is the large slogan 'Keep Off - Booby traps!', although since the logo is written vertically, it would appear that it was written before the vehicle was pushed onto its side? The booby traps were less than sensitive then? Or is it that many vehicles were marked thus to deter people from prising off souvenirs?

A wrecked Sd.Kfz.7 2cm Flakvierling with the side panels being constructed of something other than the normal mesh is shown on page 22, and also shows an unusual cut-out to the armour plate covering the front of the engine. Perhaps something for builders of the Dragon kit to consider? There's another one on the facing page, again showing an unusual type of mesh used in its construction, and this time towing an ammunition trailer.

There's a number of more unusual vehicles shown too...and not all them wrecked. An Sd.Kfz.261 being driven by GI's and towing a le.Einheits-Pkw. A pair of wrecked Pz.Sp.Wg AB41 201's, 15cm sIG33 Grille, and a M41 90/53 801 in German colours. Of course there are lots more Panzer IV's too, together with Tiger I's, Hornisse and more Panthers! Towards the centre of the book there are a series of Panzer III photographs taken from an official report, indicated by the labelled and numbered points marked on the photographs...although the origin of the photographs is explained, we're not privy to what the indicated numbers refer to on the first two pages, but the ones taken of the inside of the turret are explained in the captions!

Of course, the strength of these titles lies in the work that the authors have put into correctly identifying the various vehicles and their sub-types, and also which units they've come from and any unusual modifications etc., if they can be seen. Not an easy task seventy years after the events.

Conclusion

If you're an Axis modeller, these books are an absolute 'must-have' on your bookshelf. Endless inspiration for diorama ideas, they can also provide that rare photograph showing a small field mod or little-known variation that can make you model unique. Aside from that, they just make fascinating reading, and you'll find yourself going through the pages time and time again, and always finding a new detail to pour over. Exceptional!

My thanks to Lee Archer of Panzerwrecks for the review sample.