HISTORY:
** The occupation of Europe by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy from 1939 met with resistance from all the peoples of Western, Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Balkans. This resistance took various forms from low level sabotage and intelligence gathering in some Western European countries to full scale Partisan resistance in other parts of Europe. In this first of two volumes on Partisans and Guerrillas between 1939 and 1945 the Partisans of Poland from 1939, the Soviet Union from 1941 and Czechoslovakia from 1939 are covered. Italian Partisans were active from the fall of Mussolini in 1943 and the French Resistance went from insurgency in 1940 until from 1942 til 1945 it developed into full scale partisan warfare in some remoter regions of the country.
Using over 300 wartime photographs some of which have not been published before Philip Jowett retells the story of resistance, guerrilla and partisan warfare. This brutal chapter in World War Two annals was to greatly effect the situation at the front line while the populations of occupied countries suffered the wrath of the occupying armies. His second volume in this series will feature the occupied Balkans where some of the fiercest partisan fighting of the war took place..**
** Quoted from the back cover of the book.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books has released Partisans & Guerrillas of World War Two - Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Italy, France as part of their Images of War series of books. It is a 248-page softcover book, 6.75 x 9.75 inches in size. Included with the text are black and white photographs. The book has a 2025 copyright and the ISBN is 978-1-3990-3797-6.
CONTENTS:
Prelude
Introduction
Chapter One
- Poland 1939-1945
Chapter Two
- Soviet Partisans 1941-1944
Chapter Three
- German Partisan Operations 1941-1944
Chapter Four
- Soviet Partisan Warfare 1943-1944
Chapter Five
- Axis Anti-Partisan Forces in Russia 1941-1944
Chapter Six
- The Warsaw Risings 1943-1944
Chapter Seven
- Czechoslovakia 1940-1944
Chapter Eight
- Italian Partisans
Chapter Nine
- Italian Partisans & Fascists
Chapter Ten
- French Resistance 1940-1944
THE TEXT:
Author Philip Jowett provides a well written and informative text detailing partisan and guerrilla warfare in Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Italy and France during the Second World War. The text goes into very specific detail in all areas of the book as outlined on the contents page, please refer to the contents listing that I have provided for the subjects that are covered. There are a total of 39 pages of text, not including the pages titled “Prelude” or “Introduction”. The remainder of the book is dedicated to the photographs and the captions associated with them. Even with the limited number of pages of text, Philip Jowett goes into great detail with a no-nonsense type of writing that provides a wealth of information on partisan and guerrilla warfare and the activities taken by the various factions in each of the countries specified in the title of the book. The text details things such as each group’s organization, the numbers of personnel in the various groups and from where the number of fighters were gathered, their areas of activity and the names assigned to various operations, specific targets they engaged such as bridges, railroad tracks and trains, mission successes and failures, the types of weaponry they used and employed and where those items were obtained and how such as by air drops from the Royal Air Force, issued from their own government and militaries to the items being captured from the Germans and Italians, the numbers of individuals killed and wounded and whether they were Axis personnel, civilians or partisan or guerilla fighters, locations of Axis retaliation attacks due to partisan and guerilla activity, and other such very detailed information specific to each of the countries listed and the partisan and guerrilla forces in action there. In addition to his own words, the author has also provided quotes from sources such as Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin. I feel that Philip Jowett covered the subject of partisan and guerrilla warfare during World War II well and has provided the information in an easy-to-read format which the detail-oriented reader will benefit from. Philip Jowett doesn’t use what I refer to as fluff writing where a large amount of non-essential extra text is provided just to help fill the pages. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be an important factor to everyone however it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 346 black and white photographs are included in this volume. There are no color photographs featured. Author Philip Jowett chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. The photographs are a combination of in-action photographs, photographs removed from motion pictures, official studio portrait photographs, photographs that were staged for the photographer as well as photographs taken for propaganda purposes. The photographs included in this book provide a wealth of up-close detailed images showing things such as all types of small arms from Allied and Axis countries such as pistols, rifles, submachineguns, hard grenades, machineguns, mortars and larger weapons such as anti-tank guns. For the reader interested in uniforms and related equipment there are many images of members of both the Axis forces and the resistance forces. They include issued uniform items and civilian clothing as well as combinations of military uniforms and civilian clothing. Also included are images of tanks, armored vehicles, motorcycles, aircraft, armored trains and more. As well as vehicles there are also several pictures of horses which also show things such as saddles, bridles and other related equestrian tack. Most of the photographs are clear and focused, however there are some that have an out-of-focus look, and some appear to be too dark and others too light. This can be typical for the period of history that is discussed and the quality of the photographs is of no fault of the author, and they do not take anything away from the book. One thing that I was appreciative of with the photographs is that a good majority of them are not overused photographs that are used in other publications dealing with the same subject. Many of the photographs were taken in the field while the various components were in action. There are also images of actions taking place in villages and towns. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be of great interest to anyone interested in partisan and guerilla warfare against the Axis forces in Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Italy and France during World War II due to the details they contain.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs nicely. The captions go into very specific detail as to the actions taking place, dates and locations, individuals names and nicknames, military rank, military units, partisan organizations, weapon types, caliber, country of manufacture, nomenclature, numbers produced and if they were captured or provided to them by the Allies and by which means such as RAF airdrops, types of armor, vehicles and aircraft and their country of manufacture and who is using them, the number and types of targets destroyed by partisan activity, and other such information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors, yet they aren’t perfect. Such as on Page 72, the caption referring to a picture of a German armored train states that “the armour on the turret shows that it has been damaged in a previous encounter”. What is referred to as damage is actually three firing ports in the side of the turret and not battle damage. Even with errors, Philip Jowett’s captions will be helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen that are brief and lack detail.
CONCLUSION:
As with the other volumes of the Images of War titles from Pen & Sword Books, I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains a well written informative text, many subject specific photographs, well detailed captions and more, all detailing partisan and guerilla warfare against the Axis forces in Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Italy and France during World War II. As with the other Pen & Sword Books titles, I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal military reference library.
PRICE
UK £19.99 / US $32.95
https://www.casematepublishers.com/
This book, from Pen & Sword Books, was provided to me by Casemate Publishers. Please mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when making your purchase. Thank you.