Series:	Armor at War Series
Title:	US Tank Battles in North Africa and Italy 1943-45 (7061)
Author:	Steve J. Zaloga
Publisher:	Concord Publications Company
ISBN:	962-361-084-X
Page Count:	72 Pages - 186 black and white photographs, 16 color drawing plates

Introduction

This new book by Steven J. Zaloga (Concord Publications) is divided into nine sections. The Introduction section is text that talks about each section (except for the color plates) beginning with the 1942 Operation Torch invasion. A brief history of each operation / campaign is given to the reader. It is informative and interesting.

Operation Torch: North African Invasion

This is the first photographic section of the book. It consists of 10 black and white photographs. Several interesting photographs of the M3 Scout Car and M3 “Lee” Medium tanks are featured. Two photos of French tanks are also included (R-35’s and a FT-17). One interesting photo is of the M6 37mm Gun Motor Carriage in a cactus patch in Tunisia. The M6 is using the cactus patch and local mud as camouflage. I am not sure why this photo is in this section of the book since the caption states that it was photographed in Tunisia in 1943. Also, most of these photos where taken in 1942 but the book title says the range is from 1943-1945.

The Kasserine Pass-Faid Battles

The second photographic section of the book deals with the Kasserine Pass-Faid battles. There are 16 photographs of American, Italian, and German equipment. A couple of the photographs are of Germans using captured US Halftracks. An interesting photograph is of a captured M3 Halftrack next to a German Sd.Kfz.263 Armored Car. There are also several shots of captured Italian M14/41 tanks and knocked out German tanks.

The Tunisian Campaign

The third photographic section deals with the Tunisian campaign. There are 34 photographs included in this section. Several good pictures of destroyed German vehicles are included. One famous photographs shows United States GI’s inspecting two destroyed Tiger I’s. They were disabled by mines and couldn’t be recovered so the German crews set off internal explosions that ripped off the turrets. Also, there are several good shots of the M3A1 “Stuart” Light Tank, M5 “Stuart” Light Tank, and the M10 Gun Motor Carriage.

Operation Husky: Sicily

The fourth photographic section has 27 photographs of the battle for Sicily. There are several good photographs of the French R-35 used by the Italians at Gela and Rosolini against the Americans and Canadians. Also, my favorite photograph in the book is also in this chapter (it is also the cover shot of the book too). It shows a burnt out Tiger I setting on a road and a DUKW passing by it going the opposite way. I believe this could be used as an inspiration to diorama builders. Also, there are several photographs of Halftracks and scout cars that have the thick yellow circle around the five pointed star.

Operation Avalanche: Salerno

The fifth photographic section has 22 photographs of Operation Avalanche. One cool photograph in this section shows a T2 tank recovery vehicle pulling out a German “Crab” panzerturm from its position next to road near Mt. Lungo. This would be another good idea for any diorama builders.

Color Plates

There are 16 colored plates that show colors and markings of American, German, and Italian vehicles used throughout the North African and Italian campaigns. The plates include captions about the vehicles and what colors were used to paint the vehicles. The plates consist of the following vehicles: