Book Review: Stug III & IV, Western Front, '44-'45, Dennis Oliver

Another excellent addition to the very useful Tank Craft series, from the ever-reliable Dennis Oliver.

Oliver has his own preferred format for these that differs somewhat from that usually adopted by other authors contributing to this series, deploying unit histories and schematic diagrams. In this 19th instalment of the Tank Craft series Oliver covers the Stug III & IV, and even then only really looks in detail at their deployment and use on the Western-Front in the last two years of the war, 1944-45. I hope there'll be more titles covering their service elsewhere forthcoming? As Stugs were the most produced German AFV of the war, and served in all theatres throughout the whole shebang, '39-'45.*

Production of the Sturmgeschütz III and Sturmhaubitze 42 at Alkett. [1]

One of the chief attractions of these books are the colour profiles, presented here under the heading 'Camouflage and Markings'. And in this instance we have 11 pages of these, depicting 19 Stug III, and three Stug IV, all illustrating vehicles serving in the aforementioned theatre/period. The 'Model Showcase' section features one Stug IV, and two Stug III, all in 1/35 scale. One minor gripe with the whole Tank Craft series, especially so for me as someone who builds almost exclusively in 1/72, is the rarity with which this scale is represented in the Showcase segments. This said, 1/72 kits are featured, alongside other scales (1/76, 1/48, 1/16, etc) in the usefully informative 'Modelling Products' section.

Camouflaged Stug III, France, '44. [2]

As already alluded to, their remains much of the Stug's WWII story to be told, so I hope more Stug volumes appear in due course. They'd be even better if they were to include some 1/72 kits in the Showcase section. I have four or five Stug models, and intend to paint them for theatres such as Italy and Russia, as well as the Western Front. But even with this tight focus on one theatre and a limited time period, this remains an excellent and, I think, essential reference for modellers and wargamers, etc.

* Oliver says there were none deployed in the initial invasion of Poland, but I've read or heard of other sources claiming there were a few deployed in that theatre.

This wonderful photograph does not appear in the book. [3]

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NOTES:

[1] This picture appears in the book. My version, and the caption below, are both sourced from Wikipedia's entry on the Alkett factory.

[2] This image appears on the cover, albeit in a small/cropped form.

[3] That said, many of the images of the late war Stugs covered by this book are, like this one, either destroyed, abandoned and/or captured.

Book Reviews: Panther Tanks, Normandy '44, & Defence of the West '45, Dennis Oliver

Taken together these two titles, numbers 3 and 18 in the Tank Craft series, give a very decent account of the Panther tank, as deployed on the Western Front circa '44-45. One might immediately think 'what then of the Panther's history and development before this, and it's service on the Southern and Eastern Fronts?' I'll return to these thoughts in due course.

As ever with Dennis Oliver, he deploys his own particular approach, utilising maps, timelines, organisational schematics, unit histories, and so on. Where he follows the standard Tank Craft template is in the central three segments: Camouflage and Markings, Model Showcase, and Modelling Products.

A Panther pauses on a French road, Normandy, '44. [1]

U.S. troops gathered around a disabled Panther.

The Normandy title features five models, all in1/35, and all very impressive. The Defence of the West  book, on the other hand, has just two 1/35 models and a single 1/48 example, the latter getting more pages than are normally given over to any one model in the Showcase section. Between the two books that's eight models, all bar one in 1/35. I'd have liked to have seen at least one bigger kit, in 1/16, perhaps, and one or two smaller models, in 1/72 or 1/76.

The colour profiles in the Camouflage and Markings chapter are nicely done, and are both fascinating and exciting. The range of styles and approaches the Germans employed, despite a palette of just three basic colours (which admittedly varied in themselves) was very diverse and, I find, endlessly intriguing. My only gripe on this front is that either the work of the illustrator, or perhaps the printing process, has rendered the core trio of colours less than 100% satisfactorily.

Panther in 'ambush' camo' scheme with infra-red sight.

Fabulous Panther Ausf G, by Lim Kian Guan, aka ChefLim. [2]

This is particularly noticeable with the green. The Dunkelgelb and Rotbrün, whilst only approximate, are near enough. But the green is way too light and bright. This is exaggerated even more in the bottom of the two cover images, shown at the top of this post (the Defence of the West one, sourced from Pen & Sword's own website listing for the book), where the green is almost fluorescent marker-pen bright! The actual books are closer colour-wise to the very top Normandy Campaign cover image.

Panzer graveyard with Panthers in the foreground.

A grimmer graveyard scene. Is this 'Ursula' again? [3]

It's this colour issue that leads me to dock half a balkenkreuz. Whether Oliver's obsessively detailed coverage is a blessing or a curse - what of Panthers in Italy and Russia, and prior to '44? - depends on how much hardcore info you can take, and whether you can stretch to buying so many titles on the one vehicle.

At an RRP of £15 a time (£14.99 to be exact), they aren't exactly cheap! NB: at the time of posting this review both titles are available at reduced prices, at Pen & Sword's website. I'm lucky in that the publishers have been generous enough to send me copies gratis, for review. Otherwise I'd be lusting after these whilst lamenting the lack of brass in my pockets! Anyway, as regards useful info and inspiration, etc, these books are fab. And I'd highly recommend them.

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NOTES:

Note on photos/pictures: in this post I've tried to use images that do appear in the books under review.  The two exceptions are the final black and white image above, and the colour picture of ChefLim's model, which is from his website.

[1] This picture appears in a smaller/cropped format.

[2] This superb model appears in the Showcase section of the Defence of the West title.

[3] The more eagle-eyed might notice that a charred corpse lies atop the rear deck of this knocked out tank. In fact more than one German soldier died on the back of this particular Panther - which may be 'Ursula', a Panther featured in Oliver's book on several different occasions - as other pictures I found online show clearly. A grisly reminder of the true nature and costs of war.

Book Review: JagdPanther Tank Destroyer, Dennis Oliver

Another highly detailed and very specific Tank Craft title from the prolific Dennis Oliver, utilising his signature approach, with maps, timelines, unit histories, organisational schematics and so on. This particular publication covers one of my favourite German tanks, the Jagdpanther tank destroyer.

I remember buying some of these in 1/300, from Heroics & Ros, as a kid, and painting the tiny little blighters in the tri-colour ambush camouflage scheme. The 6mm scale is not one I've ever seen featured in these Tank Craft titles. There are three 1/35, one 1/48 and one 1/72 example in the Model Showcase section here. 

A fabulous 1/72 winter whitewashed Dragon Jagdpanther, by Jaroslaw Witkowksi, aka Gulumik.

This tank is featured in the Model Showcase chapter.

Another of Gulumik's 1/72 meisterwerks, above, appears in the Modelling Products chapter.

This is the old Esci kit, plus scratch-built detailing.

In keeping with both the stated aims of this series and the standards set so far, this book is a treasure trove of info and imagery. I have one relatively minor gripe on the latter front, however (and this is why I dock half a balkenkreuz); regarding the archival pictures, the vast majority show captured or destroyed Jagdpanthers. They're all very interesting photos. But it would have been great to see more either being built - there are a couple of great pictures of the MNH factory production line - or in active German service.

As usual with Oliver's contributions to this ever-expanding and very useful series, he's very time/theatre specific. On this occasion addressing the late-war Western Front, of 1944-45. Perhaps another volume will appear on the Eestern and Southern fronts? And perhaps that'll have more 'in action' photos and less wrecks?

Unfinished Jagdpanthers at the MNH factory, Hanover,  1945.*

I love this pic of Panthers in the rain. Note the brollys deployed by the crew!*

This abondoned Jagdpanther, Reichswald, March '45, appears a couple of times

The colour profiles, or Camouflage And Markings illustrations are, as usual, excellent. My only gripe regarding this last feature being that the green used in the three-colour schemes appears rather too bright. Anyway, all told, another great instalment in this excellent series.

* Neither of these specific photos are in this book.

Book Review: Tank Craft 13, Tiger I & Tiger II Tanks, 1945

This is my first Tank Craft series experience. I was fortunate to be sent a review copy by Pen & Sword, as the £14.99 price is quite dear. First impressions are great: plenty of contemporary photographs, several pages of very good colour plates, showing markings and camouflage, and loads of info on various brands of available kits, including several detailed and very impressive build examples.

One of the photos used in the book. [1]

The degree of detail such specialist publications go into is extraordinary. It's amazing how much interest in WWII there is, and how almost every nut and bolt of every individual Panzer can be traced and accounted for. Truly astonishing! The amount of resources available to us enthusiasts is terrific. And if this example is typical of Dennis Oliver's contributions to the field, he's a top drawer contributor to this embarrassment of riches.

Steve Shrimpton's Dragon-based 1/72 model particularly appeals to me. [2]

In addition to what I've already mentioned, there are all sorts of other aspects covered here: maps, timelines, individual unit organisations and histories, and so on. For a publication the size of a typical A4 glossy magazine, there's a massive amount of extremely interesting and useful info here. Very impressive! Oh dear... now I want more!

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I do happen to have a recently acquired Zvezda snap-fit Tiger II. I'm planning to build it as this:

... the King Tiger from the Bovington Tiger Collection. I'm sure having this book will help me when I get around to making it.

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NOTES:

[1] Interestingly almost all the photographs are of knocked out or abandoned Tigers, mostly taken by Allied photographers. This superb picture is quite heavily cropped in the book, to focus on the tank, rather than the rather picturesque setting.

[2] Most the models appear to be 1/35. The info on models, accessories and so on is superb, and very useful.