With rare, often unpublished photographs and full captions Hitler’s Heavy Tank Battalions provides a superb record of the Wehrmacht’s Schwere Panzerableilung on operations between 1942 and 1945.
In addition to the Tiger I and successor Tiger II heavy tanks, these battalions were equipped with Pz.Kpfw III’s, Flakpanzer IV, Sd. Kfz 7/1 self-propelled antiaircraft guns, Sd.Kfz 9 and 10 halftracks, Sd.Kfz 2 and Kettenkrad gun tractors. The Tigers required substantial maintenance and the Berge Panther armored recovery vehicle played a key role.
Heavy tank battalions saw action on the Eastern Front, in Italy and North West Europe before being pushed back to Berlin for the final defensive battles and there are graphic photographs and descriptions of vehicles on operations in all these theaters.
While feared by the Allies in the early years, these units suffered increasing attrition from antitank artillery, ground attack aircraft and mechanical issues.
Modelers and equipment buffs in particular will find this latest Images of War book extremely useful and fascinating.