Military Model Scene

Title: Panzer IV
Author: Thomas Anderson
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4728-2968-9

This 304-page hardcover book is another in the series of super books by author Thomas Anderson. He is one of the best experts I know of on the armoured vehicles used by the German military in WW2 and this new one, covering in detail the one panzer which remained in production right through the war is no exception.
The story of the Panzer IV is presented in a logical, chronological sequence. It starts with the background of its' design and development during the 1930s, including the new engine needed to power what was a medium tank, but still one of the more powerful ones of the early war period. The earliest variants had an internal for the main gun, but experience soon led to the change to an external, armoured gun mantlet, the design which is better known. We also get the explanation of the organisation of the early Panzertruppe, between 1936 and 1938. Then the chapters move through the timeline of the war. Starting in 1939 it takes us through the story of the Pz IV during Fall Weiss, the invasion of Poland, and includes a list of panzer types involved in the operation, including 1151 Pz IIs compared to just 194 Pz IVs. That leads naturally into 1940 and Fall Gelb, the invasion of France. Against the heavier French tanks there are more lessons learned and these are followed up in chapter 5, After the Fall of France. This includes details of the bridgelayers on the Pz IV chassis, which though the small numbers proved useful, they were built on older, refurbished chassis which suffered from mechanical failures and the bridges couldn't cope with newer, heavier tanks. The next 3 chapters all fall into 1941, looking at The Balkans, North Africa and Barbarossa. In 1942 we get to the Langrohr, the change to the long barrelled 75mm gun after the short 75mm support weapon of the earlier variants. Again, the detail developments made as a result of service experience, with extracts from reports, production figures and much more. These lead us into the final sections, covering 1943 and the Technical Progress of 1944. Everything is rounded off with an Afterword, which summarises the wartime story of the Pz IV.
With data tables, extracts from reports used throughout the book to support the story, there are hundreds of archive images, most of which I've not seen before, and these are all accompanied by helpful, informative captions on the service history of the Pz IV gun tanks. I particularly liked the way the development of the tank, and the organisation of the panzer units, are explained by the progress of time and operational service. It works very well. I am a great fan of these books by Thomas Anderson and this one is no exception. If you are a modeller or panzer historian, this is certainly a book I would recommend for you to have on your reference shelf.
Thanks to Osprey Publishing for our review copy.

Robin