‘If the tanks succeed, then victory follows.’General Heinz Guderian, 1937When Germany attacked Poland on 1 September 1939, nothing like it had ever been seen before. Heralded by the insidious whine of Stuka divebombers, seven divisions of Panzers rolled across the border supported by motorized infantry.While tanks were punching gaping holes through Polish lines and racing on at speed towards Warsaw, fleeing refugees were machine-gunned mercilessly by the Luftwaffe and lines of communication were torn to ribbons as mayhem spread. This was Blitzkrieg (or ‘lightning war’), the art of mechanized warfare.After seeing the success of the British tanks in the First World War, the Germans decided that the future of warfare lay in the Panzerkampfwagen, the armoured fighting vehicle, later simply known as the Panzer.Army of Steel: Tank Warfare 1939-45 explores the development of the Panzer concept, and the building and deployment of the Corps through the eyes of those who fought in it, and of those who fought against it. It tells the story of the singular breed of men who formed the spearhead of the world’s most ruthless and efficient military machine, and how they ultimately came to be defeated.
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