Panzer Pioniere [9781472873361]

Overview

This unique highly illustrated study tells the story of the equipment and combat tactics of the German military engineers of World War II.

Military engineers have been a key component of armies from antiquity onwards, and the arrival of the tank on the battlefield in the 20th century only heightened their importance. With the rise of the Nazis to power in the 1930s and the German rearmament that followed, armoured engineers – or Panzer-Pioniere – became a vital part of the newly formed Panzerwaffe.

At first, they were deployed, often under fire, to attack bunkers, border fortresses, clear anti-tank obstacles and build bridges. However, as the war progressed, developments in their tactics, weaponry and equipment to allow them to play a more decisive role on the battlefield.

Renowned armour expert Thomas Anderson draws on first-hand accounts, after-action reports and other original wartime documents, and rare and previously unseen photographs in this comprehensive and fully illustrated study of the equipment and combat tactics of the German Panzer-Pioniere.