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21st Panzer Division - Rommel's Afrika Korps Spearhead

$24.95

Spearhead - Book 1
By Chris Ellis
Published in 2001 by Ian Allen Publishing, UK
Softcover, 96 Pages
Size - 25cm * 19cm

Formed in North Africa in August 1941 from the 5th Leichte Division, 21st Panzer fought in all the major battles of the desert war, including the Afrika Korps' advance to El Alamein, the fighting retreat to Tunisia, and operations against the American forces at Kasserine, until it was destroyed around Tunis in 1943.

Reconstituted in France, 21st Panzer went on to fight in Normandy after D-Day until it was again almost completely annihilated in the battle of the Falaise Gap. Again reformed, 21st Panzer would end its days on the Eastern Front, where it surrendered to the Russians at Cottbus, southeast of Berlin, in April 1945. This varied and chequered history involves some of the fiercest fighting of World War 2 and makes 21st Panzer the ideal subject to start Ian Allan Publishing's new Spearhead series.

Spearhead looks at the cutting edge of war, units capable of operating completely independently in the forefront of battle. The series examines the unit's:

Origins and history

Organisation, order of battle and how this changed

Battle history, theatre by theatre

Insignia and Markings

Top people biographies of commanders and personalities

Each book ends with an assessment of unit effectiveness – as seen by itself, its opponents and the wider viewpoint of history – and a full reterence section including:

Critical bibliography

Relevant museums or exhibits

Website links

Re-enactment groups

Memorials

About the author

Chris Ellis has been writing about weapons and military history for 40 years for many publishers; his collaboration with Peter Chamberlain produced the classic British and American Tanks of World War ll. More recent titles include monographs on the German Flak/Pak 88mm and the Schmeisser.

Fully Illustrated with 75 black/white photos, 11 colour photos and12 maps.