PANZER RECONNAISSANCE

1-236420

Draws on first-hand accounts and rare and previously unseen photographs in this comprehensive and fully-illustrated study of the Panzer reconnaissance troops, the crucial eyes and ears of the German armoured forces of World War II.

Equipped with a mixture of armoured cars and motorcycles, the motorized reconnaissance battalions (Aufklarungs-Abteilungen) often operated far ahead of battlefront to survey the terrain, observe enemy positions, and identify enemy forces - key information required ahead of any armoured assault. In the second half of the war, with Germany on the strategic defensive, armoured reconnaissance troops found themselves increasingly drawn into combat operations, and even holding sectors of the line. At the same time, more modern equipment was introduced with motorcycles phased out and purpose-built armoured personnel carriers (Schutzenpanzerwagen) introduced.