Panzers In The Sand

Product Description

Few weapons of war have inspired as much awe & terror as German Panzers which shocked the world with their raw power as the Third Reichs blitzkrieg rolled across Europe in the early years of World War II. Equipped with these steel giants Panzer-Regiment 5 embodied the bold spirit of Germanys armoured force & fought with skill & courage in the African & European theatres. Panzer-Regiment 5 joined Erwin Rommel in North Africa & helped the Desert Fox win an impressive string of victories during 1941 but the regiments-and Rommels-most dazzling successes would come in 1942. After ending 1941 in defensive positions the Germans began the new year with an offensive that quickly captured Benghazi & then drove east toward the fortress of Tobruk. Destroying the Gazala Line Rommel & his Panzers took Tobruk in June & continued their push into Egypt before being halted by the British at El Alamein in October. By 1943 the African campaign had shifted west to Tunisia where Panzer-Regiment 5 battled British & American tanks & participated in Rommels last offensive at Medenine. Crippled by supply problems & Allied air superiority the Germans surrendered in May 1943. The remnants of Panzer-Regiment 5 were eventually reconstituted as Panzer-Abteilung 5 an assault gun unit & sent to the Eastern Front to contend with Soviet T-34s. Increasingly outnumbered the panzer men nevertheless fought bravely as German fortunes faded in 1944 & 1945. Featuring scores of photographs & vivid firsthand accounts from members of the unit the second of Panzers in the Sand picks up where the first left off & continues the combat history of Panzer-Regiment 5 & Panzer-Abteilung 5 from the sand & sun of North Africa to the bitter end near Berlin.