Panzer 38(t)

The Panzer 38(t) was designed and Developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s. When Nazi Germany annexed that country in 1939, inherited this excellent light tank, that would prove to be so important to the Wehrmacht in the years 1939-41, being a 20% of the panzer force in those times of great victories. It was better armed than the other light panzers I & II in German service. Although when the T-34 appeared in large numbers in the Eastern Front, all German Light Panzers become obsolete. Panzer 38(t), by Steven J. Zaloga is an overview of this lesser known yet extremely important tank. To start, the author provides an introduction of its origins in Czechoslovakia, and how it ended up as one of the most important tanks in the German inventory in the early part of the war. He then discusses how it fared on the battle field, gives a fine technical discussion of the tank, and how it was used by Germany's allies and sold to neutrals during the war. He finally examines further developments of the tank as the war progressed, and post-war usage. Zaloga wisely limits the discussion to only the tank itself, rather than adding in the later tank destroyer derivatives, such as the Marder III and the Hetzer, which would deserve more ink space than this slim volume would allow. Overall, this is another outstanding effort by the author, providing a good overview and analysis of an important Axis tank from World War II.