Amber Books Ltd., UK

Panzergrenadier Divisions: 1939-45

by  Chris Bishop Illustrations by Alcaniz Freson's S.A.

Reviewed By  Howie Belkin, IPMS# 16

MSRP: $34.95 ISBN: 13: 978-1905704293 US Distributor: Casemate Publishers (www.casematepublishing.com). Casemate Publishers has been releasing one after another fantastic Amber Books' editions of The Essential Vehicle Identification Guide series. They all are illustrated with detailed, same scale profile color artwork "of vehicles and their markings with exhaustive captions and specifications." Panzergrenadier Divisions, 1939-45 is the definitive study of Germany's motorized, combined arms armored infantry divisions, their equipment and organization "organized chronologically by division and formation date…" describing each Panzergrenadier division's types and numbers of tanks and other vehicles, listing commanders, and unit structure. Each division's section "…is further broken down by campaign, …orders of battle, a brief divisional history of the campaign and any specific unit markings. The Essential Vehicle Identification Guide: Panzergrenadier Divisions, 1939-45 is an all in one reference for modelers and historians alike. German industry was never able to provide the Panzergrenadiers with as many all terrain half-tracks as General Heinz Guderian envisaged, so they were given priority and as many as 90 per cent of the infantry traveled by truck. The combined arms blitzkrieg tactics required that the infantry keep pace with advancing armor, protecting them from enemy infantry. They were so integral to the early war years' successes that the Panzergrenadiers "…wore the same pink …uniform piping, as the tank crews." Motorized units "…wore the standard white piping of the infantry." What better author to so competently accomplish this ambitious undertaking than Chris Bishop, one of the most recognized and accomplished international military modeling historians of our time! He has been published longer than I can remember, and if anyone's reference is looked upon reverently, it would be Mr. Bishop's! Anything you want to know about camouflage and markings in order to build any particular German vehicle belonging to any Panzergrenadier unit at any time or in any battle during WWII is here. As a value added bonus, Luftwaffe Fallschirmjager Divisions, and Parachute Corp and Armies are also included. Appendices list Sdkfz and Kfz definitions as well as a page of motorized symbols used on charts, maps and painted onto vehicles themselves. I'm pretty thrifty and pale when pulling out my wallet, but this retail price is less than the cost of two softcover Concord or Osprey books and packs hundreds of color profiles between its hardcovers. This book is highly recommended and could stand as a basic overall reference book on Panzergrenadier Divisions. Another armor volume in this series is Waffen SS Divisions 1939-45 and there are more to come, perhaps some Allied editions? How I would like to see The Essential Vehicle Identification Guide to British and Commonwealth Units in NW Europe, and another for North Africa through to Italy and another for U.S Armored and Tank Destroyer Units from Tunisia to Transylvania (if you want to be a little different)! I hope Casemate puts a cap on the price. At this price it is still a good investment but if it crept up to Schiffers' hardcover prices it would slow sales to a trickle. So get them now while they're an excellent value for your money. Available in better hobbyshops, bookstores, book clubs or go to www.casematepublishing.com or call (610)-853-9131. Get together with a chapter member who belongs to the History or Military Book Clubs and join under his wing so you both get free books and discounted prices to these and other Casemate books. Many thanks to Casemate Publishing for the review copy. Wait a minute, I don't think I've criticized anything. Here's something: their promo material states that the color profiles are all same scale for comparison. They're larger than 1/72 and smaller than 1/48 and I can't find anywhere where it calls out the scale used. A few 3/4 views rather than all side views would have provided a little variety and opportunity to show another side of the story and more stowage. So you're forced to cull that information from the B&W photos.

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