Panzers in the sand Vol 1 and 2

[fireman]

Panzers in the Sand vol 1and 2
by Bernd Hartmann
• Vol 1 ISBN 0811707237 vol 2 ISBN-10: 0811707733
Author Bernd Hartmann served in the post-war German army as a Lt. Colonel and is now the spokesman for the Panzer Regiment 5 Veterans Association. Being in that position he is more than capable to bring us the history of Panzer regiment 5 from its early days to its end in 1945. This is done through a quiet interesting way of mixing the veterans firsthand accounts as well as after action reports which are a very interesting read.
The pictures are outstanding with many new and interesting ones. Which will be of use to the military modeller as well those interested in German panzer units.
Volume 1
Consists of 298 pages in six chapters. Included are 386 black and white photographs and 49 maps, diagrams, and various tables. Chapter one begins with the creation of the unit on the 15 October 1935 and then through the next six chapters follows the unit as it trains and then is deployed for war with volume one finishing in 1941 with the battles around Tobruk.

Volume 2
This volume is almost identical to the first in length and content .It contains are more than 285 photographs, along with many charts and tables. The quality of the photos is very good as are those of the first volume . The book continues with the fighting that took place in North Africa and follows the unit through the various actions with an incredible insight as to what it was like to fight in that theatre of war. With the demise of the unit in Tunisa it then switches’ to the final reincarnation of the unit as Panzer Abeilung 5 and the final battles toward the end of the war.

I would highly recommend both of these books to any historian or military modeller.