Table Of ContentTHE HISTORY OF THE PANZERWAFFE
VOLUME 1: 1939–42
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THE HISTORY OF THE
PANZERWAFFE
VOLUME 1: 1939–42
Thomas Anderson
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THE HISTORY OF THE
PANZERWAFFE
VOLUME 1: 1939–42
Thomas Anderson
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This electronic edition published 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Osprey Publishing,
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ISBN (print): 978-1-4728-0812-7
ISBN (ePub): 978-1-4728-1361-9
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Conceived and edited by Jasper Spencer-Smith.
Design and artwork: Nigel Pell.
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CONTENTS
Introduction 6
CHAPTER 1: Laying the foundations 16
CHAPTER 2: The first Panzerdivision 40
CHAPTER 3: From the LaS to the BW 66
CHAPTER 4: The Condor Legion 98
CHAPTER 5: 1938 – Annexation of Czechoslovakia 112
CHAPTER 6: Fall Weiss – The invasion of Poland 124
CHAPTER 7: Norway: Unternehmen Weserübung 154
CHAPTER 8: The Western Campaign 170
CHAPTER 9: Between the Campaigns 212
CHAPTER 10: Sonnenblume – A war of logistics? 228
CHAPTER 11: Unternehmen Marita – The unwanted
campaign 248
CHAPTER 12: Barbarossa – Offensive in the East 264
Index 300
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
The Panzer – tank – was the vehicle which spearheaded the rapid German
advance through Western Europe. Also the Panzer allowed the Afrika
Korps, commanded by Erwin Rommel, to rapidly advance through the
deserts of North Africa. The vehicles were deployed to lead the invasion of the
Balkans and in the forefront of the invasion of Russia, advancing to the edge of
Moscow. Panzers also led the attack on the Caucasus.
However, there is a danger of thinking that the stunning success of the
German war machine in the first years of the war was due to this vehicle: this
would be both wrong and imprecise. To completely understand the historical
development in its entirety, it is wise to go back in history.
In 1915, during the catastrophe of World War I, infantry warfare came
to a halt and opposing forces faced each other across a no-man’s land.
Modern weapons had entered the battlefield. New and accurate heavy
artillery allowed a steady and precise bombardment of the front line. Left:
Here, among the hundred thousands of soldiers cowering in trenches, German forces captured
barbed-wire and the machine gun dominated the battlefield. For the next some 40 British Mk IV
tanks on the Western
few years the battle was static; many times an advance was followed by an
Front. The tanks were
immediate retreat.
transported to the
To breach this stalemate a new weapon was developed and appeared on the Bayerische-Armee-
battlefront: The tank. Although the contribution it made to the Allied victory Kraftwagen Park 20 (BAKP
is commonly overestimated, it certainly marked the dawn of a new age in mobile 20) workshop at Charleroi,
Belgium, to be dismantled
warfare. By the end of the war an estimated 8,000 tanks had been produced.
and repaired for return
The war ended in November 1918 with the unconditional surrender
to the battlefront to fight
of the Reich. The German Empire had been defeated both economically against the British and
and militarily. After the war the balance of power in Europe completely French forces. (NARA)
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8 THE HISTORY OF THE PANZERWAFFE VOLUME 1: 1939–42
Above: changed; the monarchies of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia had
Mechanics at BAKP 20 been overthrown, and the Ottoman Empire had disintegrated. A new
dismantle and inspect
global player had entered the field: the United States of America.
the drive units of a British
A League of Nations was formed to prevent any armed international conflict
Mk IV tank. The vehicle in
the background has been and solve differences by diplomacy. A fragile peace followed until 1939.
painted in German-style However, after the end of the war further problems arose. The German
camouflage and carries Reich was held responsible for the war and the victors, mainly France,
the German Balkenkreuz.
demanded immense reparations. Furthermore, the Treaty of Versailles forced
The first combat using
the German Reich to disarm and abandon all overseas colonies. It is interesting
the Beutepanzerwagen
(Beute – looted [captured]) that the German delegation was not allowed to participate in these
was by Sturmpanzer- negotiations.
Kraftwagen-Abteilung in Quite naturally, the content of the treaty was controversial. The French
early 1918. (NARA)
and others were not content, and judged the volume of the reparations as
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Description:Osprey Publishing, 2015. — 304 p. — (General Military).This is the definitive history of the evolution of the feared German Panzerwaffe, from its earliest beginings to the height of its success. With rare and revealing combat reports and photographs sourced from previously unseen private and arc
