Home > Reviews > German > Oliver Publishing Group ONSLAUGHT – The German Invasion of Soviet Russia

ONSLAUGHT – The German Invasion of Soviet Russia

by Karl Berne


Reviewed by Alastair Bowie

Summary

Title:

ONSLAUGHT – The German Invasion of Soviet Russia

ISBN:

978-0-9806593-3-7

Media and Contents:

Soft Cover A4 portrait style Pictorial guide well supported by B&W photos, Colour and B&W plates and tabular information. 34 pages including the rear plate

Price:

TBA

Review Type:

First Read

Advantages:

Many previously unseen photos of Operation Barbarossa mainly from Soldiers Snapshots

Disadvantages:

Lack of colour, particularly the insignia plate

Recommendation:

Recommended

Publisher

The Oliver Publishing Group

 

FirstRead  

This book, the second from the Oliver Publishing Group in the Combat Camera series,  follows on from ‘Panzers in the Bocage’ and covers the early period of Operation Barbarossa, the Invasion of Soviet Russia.

The book is again essentially a collection of photos supported by a single colour plate and one monochrome plate. The source of these photos is cited as private collections taken by the actual soldiers themselves. The pictures are clear and presented in large format, usually 2-3 to a page allowing the reader to see the detail. The author has given a listing of the main German Armoured formations involved in Operation Barbarossa, but it provides little other information other than the captions which identify the units and equipment but not in all photos.

 

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The colour plates cover early Sturmgeschutz III Ausf. B and Panzer III FAusf. G and H models. These are shown with detail insets where appropriate to display markings. The author has speculated where details are not clear but this has been declared in the text. Where units could not be identified the author has also stated so.

This book will appeal to fans of German armour, modellers and historians alike. It shows a side of the German armour different from the usual heroic propaganda pictures and offers many interesting diorama possibilities. If I have a criticism of the book it is the colour plates, or more so the number of them. One single plate is less than what I would have expected for a title such as this, particularly when one plate of Divisional insignia is in black and white. I would like to see a few more colour plates included.

I still recommend the title due to the photos contained within.

Recommended

Thanks tor The Oliver Publishing Group for the sample.

Text and Images by Alastair Bowie
Page Created 24 January, 2010
Page Last Updated 24 January, 2010