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Romanian Armored Forces in WW2, Kagero

This new book by Kagero tries to fill a gap regarding the performance of the often forgotten Romanian Armored Forces during WW2.

Many military modellers were waiting for such a book to be published. Ιt may well be the first attempt looking at the history of Romanian Armored Forces during the Second World War.

The quality of the print and cover is very good, on matt white paper, with an easy to read font. The color and b&w pages are also very nicely printed, also in high quality. The book is nicely and sewn bound with a full color gloss cover. The cover extends in folded halves - sleeves, very useful as bookmarks and for adding strength to the book. Although not a hard-cover, the book is technically excellent - the best quality paperback available with the current printing methods.

We get a detailed description of the military actions carried by the Romanian Ground Forces in collaboration with Axis Forces during WWII and, after 23rd August 1944, in collaboration with the Soviets against the Axis. For the factual and photographic part, the book is a valuable addition to any modeling and historic library.

One of the most valuable assets of this book is the compilation in a single place of the pictures showing Romanian Armored vehicles during WWII. They are very rare and one has to spend a lot of time in an attempt to find references about the Romanian combat and support vehicles. The Romanians didn't have the propaganda services the Germans and Russian had. Many of the historical photos originate in Bundesarchiv and the rest of them are hard to find. So the collection of action photos and profiles/art of this book is quite comprehensive.

The color profiles are excellent. The Romanian Armored Forces had an overall green (Romanian khaki or Romanian Green) as the main scheme and the national insignia weren't always displayed. In the case of the vehicles transferred from the German units, the Romanians did not even bother to apply the Romanian khaki - they just went on and sometimes applied the national markings. It is very difficult to tell, for instance, a German Pz.Kpfw. IV from a Romanian Pz.Kpfw. IV unless you have a picture that shows clearly the King Michael's Cross or the Romanian Tri-colored Roundel for the period before 23 August 1944 or the white encircled star from that date to the end of the war. So the information in this book is quite helpful.

Chapter VI is dedicated to the Stalingrad and the annihilation of the 1^st Romanian Armored Division, with interesting historical facts and good action photos (including some aircraft!)

There are some interesting maps among the pictures. Some are very good, others are just sketches. The operational maps are among the more detailed. This is the most important part of the book. There are numbers, statistics and information about the Romanian Armored Forces that otherwise are hard to find.

The first Annex is about the insignias and the second is dedicated to the description of the imported armor and, again, the modeler will find here the information he needs. The third annex is a ranks table.

In conclusion…

The title was necessary and highly anticipated by the Romanian modeling community and by other modellers, interested in "exotic" markings and vehicles. The book fills a historical and modeling gap and does it very well indeed. If you are interested in original pictures, operational history, and Romanian Armored Forces from 1938 to 1945, this book is for you. Highly recommended!

You can order this book online by visiting the Kagero website/e-shop here

Contents

Preface

Chapter I - The Birth Of The Romanian Armed Forces;

Chapter II - 1938. Drums Of War In Europe

Chapter III - 1939. World War II Begins

Chapter IV - Romania Falls Under The German Influence

Chapter V - Birth And Attrition

Chapter VI - 1942. From Attack To Defense. Stalingrad.

Chapter VII - 1943. Reorganization After The Disaster

Chapter VIII - 1944. Between The Sword And The Wall

Chapter IX - 1945. Fight Until The End And Annihilation