Author(s): Will Fey

Second World War

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Panzer ace Willi Fey survived the war having earned the Deutsche Kreuz in Gold for his actions in Normandy and fought in the final battles for Berlin. This cheap reprint of the Fedorowicz classic is a translation of Feys original German text Panzerkampf im Bild first published by Munin Verlag. As a fund of personal accounts from Waffen SS tank commanders it provides unrivalled reference material, from the hot spots of the Russian front and the battles for Charkov in early 1943 to an account of Jagdtigers in action in the final days of the war.. Fey had transferred to the Waffen-SS from the Heer and was posted to Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 102. The Tiger crews enjoyed great success in Normandy and France as a static defensive vehicle, a role it was forced to perform due to Allied air superiority. The static defense also took away mechanical unreliability from the tanks and conserving valuable fuel without taking away the advantage in firepower. The actions for which Fey won his German cross in Gold are recounted in detail here and are typical of the type of material presented by individual SS tank commanders in the book.