Early in the Second World War in Western Europe the German victors
regularly photographed and posed with destroyed or abandoned Allied
armor. During their invasion of France the Germans left 4,500 smashed
French tanks in their wake, and these were a popular subject for their
photographs. Then, when the tide of the war turned against them in
1944-5, their wrecked and burnt-out Panzers were photographed by the
victorious Allies during the key battles for Normandy and the Ardennes.
These wartime photographers created an extraordinary record of the many
thousands of tank wrecks that littered the battlefields, and Anthony
Tucker-Jones has selected a fascinating visual guide to the fate of the
numerous types of tank employed by the American, British, French and
German armies throughout the conflict.
All the principal tanks are represented - Renaults, Matildas,
Churchills, Shermans, Panzer IVs, Panthers and Tigers along with many
others - so the book gives an insight into the rapid development of tank
design during the war. It also shows how vulnerable these armored
vehicles were - and how lethal they could be for their crews - when they
were hit by antitank guns and air attacks.
Tanks Wrecks of the Western Front will be absorbing reading and
reference for anyone who is interested in the history of armored
warfare, and it will be a useful visual guide for modelers.
