HISTORY:
** Throughout World War II, all sides grappled with how to deal with the threat of enemy armour. The Wehrmacht had adopted the 3.7cm anti-tank gun in the inter-war years, and it was this weapon that equipped the all-conquering armies of the Blitzkrieg years. However, it was already apparent that the 3.7cm gun lacked firepower, and more powerful weapons were introduced.
By 1942, hard-pressed Panzerjäger (anti-tank) units using towed anti-tank weapons fighting on the Eastern Front increasingly sought assistance from assault artillery units equipped with tracked Sturmgeschütz (StuG-assualt gun). By late 1943 the StuG was being issued to new tank destroyer units, and at the same time, a dedicated Jagdpanzer (hunting tank) was in development, based on the chassis and running gear of the PzKpfw IV.
This highly illustrated study by German armour expert Thomas Anderson uses archival material and after-action reports to describe the evolution of the Jagdpanzer, and the many variants built on other German tank chassis. It also details the organization of Jagdpanzer units and their operational experience on the battlefield. **
** Quoted from rear of the book.
THE BOOK:
Osprey Publications has released Jagdpanzer as a 272-page hardback book. Included with the text are black and white photographs with accompanying detailed captions and informational charts. It has a 2024 copyright, a publication date of March 14, 2024, and the ISBN is 978-1-4728-5736-1.
THE CONTENTS:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Anti-tank Defences: 1935-1939
Chapter 2: Panzerabwehr to Panzerjäger
Chapter 3: Russia 1942-1943
Chapter 4: The First Jagdpanzer
Chapter 5: Jagdpanther
Chapter 6: Jagdpanzer 38
Chapter 7: Jagdtiger
Chapter 8: Weaponry
Chapter 9: Allied and Soviet Types
Index
Acknowledgements
THE TEXT:
Author Thomas Anderson provides a well written and informative text which provides information on various types of Jagdpanzers used by the German military throughout World War II. Thomas Anderson discusses the Jagdpanzers development and numbers produced, improvements and updates made, dates of manufacture and dates of when they were supplied to various military units, the names of the specific military units to receive them, their use in combat, their shortcomings, successes and failures, number of vehicle losses, opinions of military personnel as to their implementation and use and other such information. The text goes into great 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 areas that are covered. Thomas Anderson provides a wealth of technical information and did not 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. Thomas Anderson has compiled information for his book from many different sources and has included personal quotes and information from several of those sources to include military after-action reports, military doctrines, lessons learned from personal experiences, personal reports to military supervisors, military field reports, military bulletins, military telex (teleprinter) documents, military operational assessments as well as official decisions from Adolph Hitler himself. The quoted information from those various sources makes up a great deal of the text provided. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be a crucial factor to everyone; however, it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 214 black and white photographs are included in this volume. There are no color photographs featured. The photographs range from wide angle photographs to close-up detailed photographs. They are a combination of in-action photographs, photographs removed from motion pictures to photographs that have been staged for the photographer. The majority of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few have an out of focus look to them and some appear to be too dark, and others appear too light. This is typical for the discussed period of history and the quality of the photographs is no fault of the author and do not take anything away from the book. Author Thomas Anderson stuck to the title of the book and chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject. There are several photographs showing various stages of tank construction, tank interiors, tank weapons, engine replacement and battle damage, as well as armor camouflage and unit and military markings. In addition to German armor the photographs include subjects such as American, British, and Russian armor, period military uniforms and civilian clothing, military small arms and anti-tank devices and field artillery pieces. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be excellent reference material for the scale modeler due to the details they contain. The military historian, and the military armor enthusiast, interested in German Jagdpanzers in use during World War II, will benefit from the excellent photographs.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs in great detail eliminating any doubt as to what is shown. The captions go into very specific detail as to the specific type of Jagdpanzer, artillery piece, etc. shown, as well as the company that manufactured them and their country of origin, weapon types and calibers, years of production, dates, locations, type of military personnel shown, the name of military operations, and other such pertinent information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. I was impressed by Thomas Anderson’s captions as they are very helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen in other publications that are brief and lacking in detail.
INFORMATIONAL CHARTS:
There are seven informational charts provided in this volume and they provide information on the following subjects:
1. Performance data of Pre-War Anti-tank Guns (German and captured Czechoslovakian)
2. Ballistic Performance
– 7.5cm PaK 40
- 7.62cm PaK 36(r)
- 7.5cm PzGr 39
- 7.62cm PzGr 39
- 7.5cm PzGr 40
- 7.62cm PzGr 40
- 7.5cm Gr 38 HL/C
- 7.62cm Gr 38 HL/C
3. Weapons – Technical Data
– 7.5cm Stuk 40
- 8.8cm PaK 43/2
- 7.5cm SprGr 34
- 8.8cm SprGr 43
- 7.5cm PzGr 39
- 8.8cm PzGr 39/1
- 7.5cm PzGr 40
- 8.8cm PzGr 40/43
- 7.5cm Gr 38 HL/C
- 8.8cm Gr 39 HL
4. Sturmgeschütz – Technical Data (Sturmgeschütz Ausf G vs Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Ferdinand
5. Sturmgeschütz – Abteilung (in PzJgAbt) – Sturmgeschütz company formation
6. Performance: 7.5cm StuK 42 L/70 (Pz IV/70(V) and Pz IV/70(A)
7. Panzerjäger Main Guns (weapon, barrel length, caliber, ammunition, muzzle velocity and penetration at 100m, 500m, 1,000m, 1,500 m and 2,000m)
– 7.5cm KwK 40
- 7.5cm StuK 40
- 7.5cm PaK 39
- 7.5cm KwK 42
- 7.5cm PaK 42
- 8.8cm KwK 36
- 8.8cm KwK 43
- 8.8cm PaK 43/2
- 8.8cm PaK 43/3
- 12.8cm PaK 80
CONCLUSION:
As with the other Osprey Publishing titles I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains a well written informative text, many subject specific photographs and illustrations, well detailed captions and more, all detailing German Jagdpanzers during World War II. As with the other Osprey Publishing titles, I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal reference library.
Osprey Publishing also offers Jagdpanzer, as:
Ebook (Epub & Mobi) ISBN: 978-1-4728–5737-8
and
eBook (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-4728–5738-5
Osprey Publishing’s Jagdpanzer is also available as an electronic Kindle version through Amazon.com.
PRICE:
UK £35.00/ US $50.00/ CAN $67.00
This book was provided to me by Osprey Publishing. Please be sure to mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when you make your purchase. Thank you.