By Christopher Miskimon
As Germany conquered neighboring nations in Europe, it made use of whatever military equipment and vehicles were used or manufactured in the occupied territories. Tanks were especially in demand as the Germans had not entirely mobilized their own industry to increase production. Over the course of the war tanks captured from active enemies were also put into service, sometimes in an organized way but more often on an ad hoc basis by the small units which captured them. Modern tanks would be used on the battlefield while the Germans employed obsolete models against partisans and in rear-area security roles. The Germans kept the factories in the occupied nations open, producing chassis that were converted to anti-tank or self-propelled guns.
This book provides an interesting survey of how the Third Reich collected and employed captured tanks, known as Beutepanzers, or “war-booty tanks.” The author is an acknowledged authority on World War II armor and uses his usual depth of knowledge and research to present a concise but detailed work on the topic.
Beutepanzers of World War II: Captured tanks and AFVs in German Service (Steven J. Zaloga, Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2024, 80 pp., photos, bibliography, index, $20, SC)
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