Jagdpanzer: German Tracked Tank Destroyers 1943-1945 - SMI Library (Paperback)

The tracked tank destroyers were an important element of the Third Reich's military effort between 1943 and 1945. The Jagdpanzer made an appearance in July 1944, with designs following on from the more lightly armoured Panzerjager designs which took an anti-tank gun and mounted it on top of a tank chassis with supplementary armour fitted around the gun crew. Also a lot of experience was gained from the Sturmgeschutz series of assault guns for infantry support - although they were associated to the artillery, they were very often used in the anti-tank role. On the battlefield, the Germans sometimes had to retreat, or try to feign one. Their line of retreat would then preferably pass the location of their anti-tank units who would use their superior firepower to stop the enemy, perhaps even make possible a counter-attack. Therefore the ideal and only valid combat situation for Jagdpanzer units was in the planned ambush, and the skill of the commander of such units lay in correctly choosing and preparing such places long before needed. This book contains invaluable information for the enthusiast and modeller, including many black and white photos never seen before, and highly detailed colour profiles of the Jagdpanzer variants.