Tanks of Hitler’s Eastern Allies 1941–45

Osprey New Vanguard #199

by Steven J. Zaloga, Henry Morshead (Illustrator)

The titanic armor battles of the Russian Front are widely known, but the role of Germany's eastern allies is not as well known. Two of these countries, Romania and Hungary, manufactured their own tanks as well as purchasing tanks from Germany. These ranged from older, obsolete types such as the PzKpfw 35(t) all the way up to the latest and best German vehicles including the Tiger I and Hetzer. These tanks played a frequent role in the battles in southern Russia and Ukraine and were especially prominent in the disaster at Stalingrad where the Red Army specifically chose the weaker Romanian and Hungarian salients for their critical envelopment operation. This New Vanguard will provide a broad survey of the various and colorful tanks used. Besides covering the largest of these Axis tank forces, this book will cover the many smaller and lesser known forces including the Italian contingent in Russia, the Finnish armored force, and the small but interesting armored forces of the Russian Vlasov (RONA), Croatian, Bulgarian and Slovakian armies. This subject is seeing increasing interest in the modeling world; for example Tamiya recently announced a PzKpfw 35 (t) (suitable for Romanian, Slovak armies) a Finnish StuG III, and a Finnish BT-42.

Genres: Military History

48 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2013

About the author

Steven Zaloga is an author and defense analyst known worldwide for his articles and publications on military technology.  He has written over a hundred books on military technology and military history, including “Armored Thunderbolt: The US Army Sherman in World War II”, one of the most highly regarded histories of the Sherman Tank.  His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He was a special correspondent for Jane’s Intelligence Review and is on the executive board of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/producer for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series Firepower.  He holds a BA in history from Union College and an MA in history from Columbia University.

Mr. Zaloga is also a noted scale armor modeler and is a host/moderator of the World War II Allied Discussion group at Missing-Lynx.com, a modelling website. He is a frequent contributor to the UK-based modeling magazine Military Modelling. He is a member of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society.

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice overview of the armored forces of Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Croatia, Finland, and the small amount of Russians who fought under the Germans. The color plates are excellent and there are some neat photos but there isnt much in the way of text or information. This isnt the authors fault as the Soviet Union seized most of the countries records and photos as they fought their way to Germany and have yet to release them. Good intro though, as in the end it leaves you wanting more, even if there may not be more to be had at this time.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very concise. Considering the page constraint, it provides a good overview.

[Ruppert Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great forgotten stories of WWII was the participation of Hitler's allies in Eastern Europe. Hungary, Romania, Italy, and a number of rump, client states (such as Croatia, Slovakia), and numerous foreign Waffen SS units, fought valiantly against the USSR, and made up around 40% of the Axis forces on the Eastern Front.

This is the story of the armored forces of these allies, much of it woefully obsolete, and that which wasn't there just wasn't enough.

An interesting study for anyone interested in the Eastern Front or armored warfare.