HISTORY:
** The success of fast-moving Blitzkrieg tactics by the Nazi war machine depended on high mobility. With their on- and off-road capabilities, motorcycles became an important component of the Nazi war machine’s arsenal making a particularly significant impact in French and Russian campaigns. The motorcycle troops became known as Kradschützen Truppen. They were motorized, lightly armed and highly mobile infantry units of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS.
The Kradschützen Truppen, was used in a variety of roles including patrolling, intelligence gathering, and police duties in occupied Europe. Motorcyclists could be found in every unit of an infantry and Panzer division including headquarters, which had a motorcycle messenger platoon. Their versatility also enabled them to survey enemy positions until coming under fire, before reporting back with vital intelligence relating to enemy locations and strengths.
By 1938 some 200,000 motorcycles were produced in Germany and occupied territories. The principal makes included BMW, DKW, NSU, Triumph, Victoria, and Zundapp. Sidecar combinations, often mounted with an MG34/42 machine gun, also made the bike a very effective weapon.
By describing in words and contemporary images the role of the German motorcycle and motorcyclists during the Second World War, this book fills an overlooked gap in coverage of Nazi military capability. It shows how they were used as a rapid mobile assault and reconnaissance force, which were integral to the German Blitzkrieg success of 1939-40. However, by 1943 and the development of Kampfgruppen, panzer grenadier regiments and armoured half-tracks, it meant that large formations of Kradschützen Truppen became obsolete, with the soldiers being transferred to other services. For the remainder of the war the motorcycles would be regulated to support roles such as despatch riders, messengers and light reconnaissance. **
** Quoted from the back cover of the book and the Pen & Sword website.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books has released German Motorcycles at War, 1939–1945, The Kradschützen Truppen, as part of their Images of War series of books. It is a 128-page softcover book, 7.5 x 9.75 inches in size. Included with the text are black and white photographs with detailed captions. The book has a 2024 copyright, a publication date of October 2, 2024, and the ISBN is 978-1-0361-0056-8
CONTENTS:
Introduction
Chapter One
- Origins of the Kradschützen Truppen
Chapter Two
- Blitzkrieg
Chapter Three
- Eastern Front, 1941-43
Chapter Four
- Last Years: Relegation
Appendix I
- Components of a Kradschützen Battalion
Appendix II
- Motorcycle Rifle Battalions, 1939-43
Appendix III
- Motorcycle Company, Type b
THE TEXT:
Author Ian Baxter provides a well written and informative text detailing the various types of motorcycles produced and used by the German military during World War II. There are a total of 10 specific pages of text, not including the pages titled “About the Author” and “Introduction” or the pages dedicated to Appendix I, Appendix II and Appendix III. The text associated with the photographs provides the majority of the book’s text. 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, Ian Baxter goes into great detail with a no-nonsense type of writing that provides a wealth of information on German military motorcycle troops in WWII. The text is provided in four separate chapters and details the areas outlined on the contents page, please refer to the contents listing that I have provided for the areas that are covered. I feel that Ian Baxter has covered the subject of German military motorcycles, and the military personnel that used them in WWII, well and has provided the information in an easy-to-read format which the detailed oriented reader will benefit from. Ian Baxter 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 148 black and white photographs are included in this volume. No color photographs are featured. Author Ian Baxter chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. Most of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few of them are somewhat blurry and a few of them appear to be too dark, while others appear to be too light. This can be typical for some photographs taken during the period of history discussed and the quality of the photographs is no fault of the author, and they do not take anything away from the book. There are photographs shown as a series of the same subject and have obviously been taken from motion pictures. Some of the photographs appear to have been taken by one of the subject’s fellow soldiers, while others were obviously taken by professional military photographers such as those with the propaganda department. In addition to the various types of motorcycles produced and used by the German military, the photographs also contain a wealth of subjects such as German tanks, armored vehicles and soft-skinned vehicles such as trucks and staff cars, various uniform types and associated gear, small arms, civilian vehicles, and clothing, rail cars, camouflage types and techniques, vehicle markings, how personal gear was stowed and attached, horses and wagons and related horse tack and more, all taken on different fronts in different weather conditions and on various road types in urban and rural settings. 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 uniform and smalls arms enthusiast will also benefit from the excellent photographs as will anyone that is interested in German military motorcycles, including the Kettenkraftrad, used by the German military during World War II due to the details they contain.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs nicely. In addition to detailing the actions taking place in the photographs, the captions also provide specific information such as motorcycle types, engine types and sizes, the role that the motorcycle(s) are being used in such as courier, reconnaissance and medical, the military unit they are attached to and the unit markings, additional items stowed on the motorcycles, uniform and weapon types, types of armor and soft-skinned vehicles shown, who people are, other than Germany military, that are shown such as prisoners of war and civilians, also provided are dates and locations shown such as countries, cities and rivers and other such information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. As the captions make up the majority of the text in the book, I enjoyed reading Ian Baxter’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 information.
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 the German Motorcycle Troops (Kradschützen Truppen) and the various motorcycles and related equipment that were used by them 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.
Pen & Sword Books’, German Motorcycles at War, 1939–1945, The Kradschützen Truppen, is also available electronically as (ePub).
File Size: 33.0 MB (.epub) Pages: 128, ISBN: 978-1-0361-0057-5
PRICE
UK £14.99 / US $26.95
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.