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Camouflage & Markings of German Armor in Italy - From Anzio Landing to the Alps, January 1944 - May 1945 (Paperback)
Loot Price: R785
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Camouflage & Markings of German Armor in Italy - From Anzio Landing to the Alps, January 1944 - May 1945 (Paperback)
Series: Armor Color Gallery
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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Compared to the fighting in Northwest Europe or the epic battles in
the Soviet Union, the battles for the possession of the Italian
peninsula seem to seem to pale in insignificance. The Allies
regarded it as a side-show and the men that fought there were often
referred to as the 'D-Day Dodgers'. The Germans must have regarded
it similarly judging by what forces they sent to Italy.
Nevertheless, while the terrain in the Italian peninsula was often
unsuitable for the offensive use of armour, it was entirely
suitable for armour in a defensive role. As the Allied troops were
soon to learn, often a lone tank (quite often a Tiger) or assault
gun, strategically placed, could hold up an entire advance for
hours, if not days in some cases. Moreover by the time the Allies
had reached the Gustav Line around Cassino, German resistance had
hardened. From here, the Liri valley offering what appeared to be
an easy route northwards to Rome, was in fact the opposite and the
strong defense put up by the German troops there proved a major
stumbling block to Allied plans. This prompted the Allies to seek a
way around this, one that involved landing troops at Anzio-Nettuno
in January 1944. Here the Germans were quick to respond and soon
contained the Allies to a narrow beachhead and one that they were
unable to break out of until June that year. This deployment
involved a wider range of armour than the Allies previously had to
deal with. Not only was this it first time that Tigers had been
employed on mainland Italy, but it was the first time the Elefant
heavy tank destroyer went into action against the Allies. The
Sturmpanzer 43 or Brummbar, an infantry support self-propelled gun,
also made its appearance on this occasion. As the Germans continued
their retreat up the Italian peninsula, vehicles such as
Sturmgeschutz IVs, Jagdpanzer IVs and Hetzers were added to their
inventory. The Germans became more dependent on Italian armor,
bringing into service some of the higher performance Semovente
assault guns. Concurrent with this was the deployment some of their
obsolete types with police units in the rear areas, often in
anti-partisan operations. These included the PzKpfw III Ausf. N
with its 75 mm L/24 gun, the Italian AB41 armored car and P 26/40
tank, along with some Russian T-34/76 tanks. This proliferation of
vehicle typesalso saw a move away from the overall Dunkelgelb
finish that seemed to be predominant in the earlier engagements in
Italy. This saw the use of Olivgrun, Rotbrun or both in a variety
of patterns, something that had started to happen at Cassino.
Italian armor taken into service usually retained its factory
scheme of Dunkelgelb, Olivgrun and Rotbrun, but some units
repainted them with a scheme of their own.
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