HISTORY:
** During the spring and summer of 1944 a series of Soviet offensives, culminating in Operation Bagration which was launched on 22 June, threatened to destroy the entire German army on the Eastern Front. As infantry units scrambled to hold makeshift defensive positions the mobile Panzer battalions were the only formations that were able to plug the increasing number of gaps in the frontline. One of the most important weapons in the Wehrmacht's arsenal at that time was the Pzkpfw V Panther tank which had gone into combat for the first time in July 1943. Armed with a powerful 7.5cm main gun, these tanks were capable of penetrating the armour of the strongest Soviet designs and it was planned that every Panzer regiment would eventually contain a battalion of these impressive vehicles. In his latest volume in the TankCraft series Dennis Oliver continues the story of these remarkable vehicles using archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the Panther battalions that fought to hold back the Red Army's push to the borders of Germany during 1944. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic tanks. **
** Quoted from the back cover of the book.
THE BOOK:
Pen and Sword Books has released Panther Medium Tank, German Army Waffen-SS and Luftwaffe Units, Eastern Front, 1944 as Number 46 in their TankCraft series. It is a 64-page soft cover book, 11.7 x 8.25 inches in size. Included with the text are black and white and color photographs, black and white and color illustrations, information charts and more. It has a 2025 copyright, a publication date of December 15, 2025, and the ISBN is 978-1-0361-4058-8
CONTENTS:
- Introduction
- The Eastern Front, 1944-1945
- The Panther Units
- Camouflage & Markings
- Model Showcase
- Modelling Products
- Technical Details and Modifications
- The Kreigsstärkenweissungen
- Product Contact Details
THE TEXT:
Author Dennis Oliver provides a well written and informative text detailing the German Panther medium tank used on the Eastern Front during World War II as well as detailed text for the scale modeling section of the book. The text goes into great detail in all areas of the book as outlined on the contents page, please refer to the contents listing for the areas that are covered through the book. Dennis Oliver covers the time frame of August 1943 through December 1944 and gives specific information such as the numbers of Panthers produced such as the ausf. D and ausf. G. The author also provides detailed information on several panzer units and discusses things such as specific modifications required by the different units, changes made to the Panthers as well as things such as the particular camouflage patterns and colors used by them. The panzer units that the author provides information on regarding their use of the Panther are the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th, 29th, 31st, 35th and 36th Panzer-Regiments as well as Panzer-Regiments Großdeutschland (GD) and Brandenburg. Dennis Oliver also provides information on Fallschirm-Panzer-Regiment Hermann Göring, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th and 10th SS-Panzer-Regiments as well as Panzer-Abteilung Nord. The author has done an excellent job of providing the information in a well written and easy to follow and understand manner. For the scale modeling section, the text goes into very specific detail as to the manufacturer and scale of the model, the name of the modeler that built and finished the model, build options available and represent different Panthers, the version of the model being built such as if it is an ausf. D, ausf G, etc., the addition of after-market detail sets, what they were and the name of the company that produced them, brands of paint used, the quality of the detailing and the model parts, the modeler’s thoughts on the decals, and other such specific information. There are individually titled sections provided for specific manufacture’s scale models shown such as Dragon, Academy, ICM, Italeri, Airfix, Suyata, Zvezda, Gunze Sangyo, Bandai, Tamiya, Trumpeter/Hobby Boss, Takom, and Meng-Model, and others. The text in the book is nicely written and well detailed. 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. Anyone wanting to add an excellent reference, history and modeling book on the German Panther medium tank used on the Eastern Front during World War II to their personal library will be pleased with this informative and interesting book.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 71 black and white photographs and 87 color photographs are included in this volume. The photographs range from wide angle photographs of various Panthers as a whole to close-up detailed photographs of specific parts on the Panther such as the various exhaust systems, commander’s cupola, Schürzen hangers, external storage locations and the FG 1250 infrared equipment as well as things such as camouflage and Zimmerit patterns and also of scale models showing things such as photo-etched brass detailing items. They contain 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 of the historical photographs 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 period of history being discussed and the quality of the photographs is of no fault of the author and do not take anything away from the book. The photographs of the modeling related subjects are nice and clear and provide close-up detailed images of several different modeling companies Panther models in varying stages of completion. Author Dennis Oliver stuck to the title of the book and chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be a wealth of information to the scale modeler as well as anyone interested in the German Panther medium tank used on the Eastern Front during World War II due to the details they contain.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS:
There are 11 black and white illustrations and 42 color illustrations included in the volume. The illustrations are very well done and nicely detailed. The illustrations are mostly side view illustrations showing various colors and camouflage techniques used as well as vehicle numbers, storage lettering and unit markings. All of the illustrations will prove to be a valuable reference for the scale modeler as well as the German tank and military historian and enthusiast. Each of the illustrations are accompanied by a detailed caption describing the vehicle shown, the military unit to which it was assigned, details of the unit markings, modifications that were made dates, locations and other such information.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs and illustrations in great detail. For the period photographs the captions go into very specific detail as to whether the tank shown is an ausf A, ausf D, ausf G, etc., specific parts shown on the Panther, field modifications made, camouflage and unit markings, the military units to which the tank is assigned, dates, locations and other such pertinent information. For the scale modeling photographs the captions go into very specific detail as to the manufacturer and scale of the model shown, manufacturer of after-market detailing sets used, brand of paint used and other such specific information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. I was impressed by Dennis Oliver’s captions as they are very 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.
INFORMATIONAL CHARTS:
There are 3 informational charts included in this volume and they provide data on the following:
- Panzer-Regiment, April 1944 (One page of information)
- Panzer-Division Graf Strachwitz, August 1944 (One page of information)
- Panzer-Regiment, November 1944 (One page of information)
The charts are extremely detailed and take a full 3 pages to list all of the information that they contain including flow-charts and silhouette images of various armored vehicles.
MAPS:
There is one black and white map included in this volume and it provides information on the following:
The Eastern Front 1944-1945
- Shows the locations of the front lines, locations of the large German Army Groups involved in the Russian Campaign and other related information.
CONCLUSION:
As with the other volumes in the Tank Craft series, from Pen & Sword Books, I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains well written informative text, many subject specific photographs, several photographs of scale models with detailed captions and more, all detailing the German Panther medium tank in use on the Eastern Front in 1944. 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 history, and scale modeling reference, library.
Pen and Sword Books, Panther Medium Tank, German Army Waffen-SS and Luftwaffe Units, Eastern Front, 1944 is also available digitally from:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
PRICE
UK £19.99 / US $29.95
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.
