Bolt Action Germans, Allies and Chinese Armies

Publisher: Pen & Sword    Author: Paul Thomas

This book covers the complete range of light tanks in use by the German army during WW2. This includes technical specifications, combat use in theatre and variations all of which is lavishly illustrated throughout.

The book is a paperback, with 126 pages and is mostly images taken during the Second World War, all of which are captioned with useful information. What makes this interesting is the fact that many people don’t generally pay much attention to the light tanks utilized by the German forces, they tend to gravitate to larger vehicles such as the Panther and Tiger tanks. Yet the light tanks formed the backbone of the Blitzkrieg tactics used by the advancing German army in the early part of the war, especially during the invasions of Poland and France.

The book has been broken down into four chapters covering the Blitzkrieg, Balkans and Eastern front and the final chapter 1943-45. Each chapter has roughly 3-4 pages of very useful information prior to the gallery of images. A lot of the images haven’t been published previously or haven’t done so in recent years. As you’d expect from images taken under battlefield conditions that some have been technically taken better compared with others. So, don’t be surprised if some are grainy and not as sharp as you’d expect.

I found this book to be quite an interesting read. I would say that this book would be of interest to those thinking about building a German army for war-games such as Flames of War. It would also be very useful for modelers considering building a light tank kit.

I’ve found it very useful for finding some inspiration for my late German army for Flames of War. I decided to add some light tanks to my force after reading this book, it also prompted me to add a light tank to my growing Bolt Action army as well.

So, I’d definitely recommend this book for any gamer who is considering building a German army, whether you’re planning an early, mid or late war army. This will be especially relevant for those who have or are building an early or mid-war force.