HISTORY:
** German Halftracks is a richly illustrated reference work focusing on the wide range of German half-track vehicles used throughout World War II. It features detailed technical data, variant identification, and operational context for vehicles such as the Sd.Kfz. 10, Sd.Kfz. 7, Sd.Kfz. 8, Sd.Kfz. 11 and others. The book combines colour profiles, archival images, and expert commentary to give readers a clear understanding of these iconic machines. Whether you are a modeller looking for accurate details or a military history buff interested in armoured vehicle development, this book delivers both depth and clarity in one accessible volume. **
** Quoted from the back cover of the book and the Casemate website.
THE BOOK:
MMPBooks has released German WW2 Zugkraftwagen Half-track Tractors as part of their Green Series of books. It is a 94-page softcover book, 8.27 x 11.9 inches in size. Included with the text are black and white photographs, full-color illustrations, scale line drawings, informational charts and more. The book has a 2026 copyright, a publication date of July 9, 2026, and the ISBN is 978-83-68377-04-0.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
Sd.Kfz. 6 Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 5t
Sd.Kfz. 7 Germany’s 8-Ton Medium Half-Track
Sd.Kfz. 8 Germany’s Medium-Heavy Half-Track
Sd.Kfz. 9 Germany’s Heavy Half-Track Prime Mover
Sd.Kfz. 10 Leichter Zugkraftwagen 1t
Sd.Kfz. 11 Leichter Zugkraftwagen 3t
THE TEXT:
Author Robert Pęczkowski provides a well written and informative text in English detailing various German half-tracks that were manufactured and deployed to the various combat frontlines. Each of the individual chapters include an average of two to three pages of text. The remaining portion of the chapters is dedicated to the photographs and their accompanying detailed captions. The text in the chapters provides specific information such as the origins, design, development and evolution for each of the discussed models of half-tracks as well the manufacturing companies names, different variants, conversions, prototypes, specialized configurations, production modifications, towing capacity, engine types and horsepower provided, foreign country usage and operational roles. Other information provided covers subjects such as ground displacement of the various models by weight. Some information I found to be quite interesting is where the author also details the traverse and elevation limits of the various weapon systems such as the 8.8 cm Flak 18 gun when placed on the halftracks being used in the self-propelled gun role. The last section of the book has the same text that is provided in each of the preceding chapters; however, it is provided in the Polish language instead of English. I feel that Robert Pęczkowski has covered the six different half-tracks listed and their variants well and has provided the information in an easy-to-read format which the detailed oriented reader will benefit from. Robert Pęczkowski 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 65 black and white photographs are included in this volume. There are no color photographs featured. Author Robert Pęczkowski 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 photographs that were staged for the photographer as well as photographs taken for propaganda purposes. Many of the photographs are of the vehicles while they are stopped or parked during operations showing their crews, additional equipment. Several of the images show the half-tracks towing various items such as artillery pieces, trailers and one shows a halftrack towing a Russian T-34 tank during a recovery operation. There are also photographs that were taken during training as well as during testing trials such as climbing up inclines. The various areas of combat are also shown such as the Eastern front, Western front and North Africa. There are several close-up detailed images showing the various types of tracks and roadwheels used as well as the varying styles of front ends and back ends of various models of halftracks. The vast majority of the photographs are clear and easily viewable and compliment the title; 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 the period of history being discussed, and the quality of the photographs is of no fault of the author, and they do not take anything away from the book. I have seen some of the photographs in other publications dealing with the same subject matter, however the majority of them were new to me. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be of great interest to the scale military modeler as well as anyone that is interested in German halftracks during World War II due to the wealth of details they contain.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS:
A total of 36 full color illustrations by artist Slawomir Zajaczkowski are included in this title. The illustrations are all of various German half-track vehicles of the World War II era. Some of the vehicles represented are:
Sd.Kfz. 6 Zugkraftwagen 5t
Sd.Kfz. 6 Zugkraftwagen 5t Pioneers version
Sd.Kfz. 6/1 Zugkraftwagen 5t mit Artillerie-Aufbau
Sd.Kfz. 6/2 Zugkraftwagen 5t mit 3.7 cm FlaK 36
Sd.Kfz. 6/3 Zugkraftwagen 5t mit 7.62 cm FlaK FK 296(r) Selbstfahrlafette
Sd.Kfz. 7 Zugkraftwagen 8t
Sd.Kfz. 7 Mittlere Zugkraftwagen 8t
Sd.Kfz. 7/1 Zugkraftwagen 8t 2 cm Flakvierling 38 auf Selbstfahrlafette
Sd.Kfz. 8 Schwere Zugkraftwagen 12t
Sd.Kfz. 9/1 FAMO Schwere Zugkraftwagen mit 6t Bilstein Crane
Sd.Kfz. 10 Leichter Zugkraftwagen 1t mit 3.7 cm Pak 36
Sd.Kfz. 11 Leichter Zugkraftwagen 3t
The illustrations are nicely done and represent several different military units to which the half-tracks were assigned. In addition to being represented in the standard German gray, some of the vehicles are painted in various camouflage schemes which should prove to be helpful to the scale modeler.
THE SCALE LINE DRAWINGS:
There are a total of 6 scale line drawings provided in this volume. Please refer to the scan that I have provided. As a scale-modeler that appreciates line drawings, I was glad to see that there were some included for reference.
THE INFORMATIONAL CHARTS:
A total of 14 information charts are included in this volume. The first seven are in the English language and the same charts are later provided in the Polish language. The charts provide information on:
- Production numbers of the KM-11 variant
- Sd.Kfz. 7 variants and numbers produced
- Sd.Kfz. 8 known variants
- Sd.Kfz. 9 versions
- Sd.Kfz. 10 numbers produced
- Sd.Kfz. 10 towing load weights
- Sd.Kfz. 10 variants
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs nicely. The captions go into very specific detail as to the specific model and version of half-track shown, the type of trailer or type of artillery piece being towed, field modifications that have been made, color scheme in which it is painted, military unit to which it is assigned, types of enemy armor such as the Russian T-34 actions taking place, dates and locations, and other such information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Robert Peczkowski’s captions are helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen that are very brief and lacking in detail.
CONCLUSION:
I found this title to be a very nice reference book that contains a well written informative text, many subject specific photographs, excellent illustrations, well detailed captions and more, all detailing six different German halftracks and their variants in use by the German military forces during World War II. 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 £19.22 / US $26.00
https://www.casematepublishers.com/
This book, from MMP 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.
