German Artillery At War 1939-45 Vol.1 - Concord

It's not without cause that artillery is called "king of the battlefield", for it's the primary cause of casualties in conventional battles. This new book authored by Frank De Sisto tells the story of German artillery in WWII, and as the title suggests, it focuses on combat usage of these weapons. The book commences with a brief introduction of the whole gamut of artillery systems used, with each entry given a concise but useful description.

This volume's coverage is broad, and it includes the three main categories of field artillery, antitank artillery and anti-aircraft artillery. This means readers will find between the covers a collection of black and white photos that is diverse - it includes such systems as the 2cm FlaK30, 2cm Flakvierling 38, 3.7cm FlaK36/37, 3.7cm PaK35/36, 8.8cm FlaK18/36, 5cm PaK38, 8.8cm PaK43/41, 7.5cm I.IG18, 10.5cm I.FH18, 15cm s.FH18 and 21cm Mrs18. It's obvious from this list that the book is packed with excellent details and photos of Germany's wartime artillery arsenal. Captured artillery pieces are also included. Photos have been well chosen and they show guns in operational conditions from all theaters of the war and in different weather conditions. In Concord's typical format, there are 16 colour plates by Laurent Lecocq that show a variety of weapons in full colour.

The recent availability of a number of German artillery model kits makes this book an attractive proposition, for it's brimming with inspirational ideas. Or for those who simply require a concise study of German artillery pieces and accompanying set of richly detailed photos.