Jacek Zabielski – författare

The Kfz. 13/14 represented a significant step forward for the German army in the realm of armoured scout cars following the devastation of First World War. Initially intended for training purposes, despite their limitations, including inadequate armament, armour, and off-road capabilities, they played a pivotal role in shaping the tactics and strategies of German armoured warfare doctrine. The early scout cars also provided essential training opportunities for crews, helping to develop the skills necessary for operating more advanced armoured vehicles in future conflicts, as well as provided valuable insights into the design of armoured fighting vehicles to the German industry. Despite their contributions to the early development of armoured warfare tactics, Kfz. 13/14 vehicles were already outdated by the outbreak of Second World War and gradually phased out in favour of more modern and capable designs. Nonetheless, their legacy as pioneering platforms in the evolution of armoured reconnaissance vehicles remained significant within the annals of military history. The aim of this book is to tell the lesser-known history of vehicles commonly referred to as "Bathtubs", which despite their unassuming appearance, shaped the generations of German soldiers serving in motorized reconnaissance formations, who after 1939 found themselves at the forefront of armoured formations spreading terror throughout Poland, Low Countries and France.

Often overshadowed by larger, more iconic tanks of the Second World War, the LT vz. 35—later reclassified by the Germans as the Pz.Kpfw. 35(t)—was a surprisingly effective and influential machine. Designed by the Škoda company, this Czechoslovak light tank combined mobility, mechanical innovation, and dependable performance to become a key armoured asset during the early Blitzkrieg campaigns in Poland and France. Though it lacked heavy armour and firepower compared to later war machines, its adaptability and reliability in varied terrains earned it respect on the battlefield.This monograph offers a comprehensive look at the LT vz. 35’s development, combat deployment, and technical evolution. From its origins as a symbol of interwar Czechoslovak military ingenuity to its widespread use by German, Slovak, Bulgarian, and Romanian forces, it sheds new light on a vehicle that quietly helped shape early tank warfare. Combining technical detail, operational history, and rarely seen images, Panzer 35(t) is an essential read for anyone interested in armoured warfare, overlooked machines of the Second World War, or the legacy of Central European military engineering.

Long overshadowed by the famous armoured vehicles of the Second World War, the Kfz. 13 and Kfz. 14 were nonetheless the machines that laid the foundations of German armoured reconnaissance. Emerging in the aftermath of the First World War—at a time when Germany was forbidden to build tanks or modern AFVs—these light scout cars became an indispensable testbed for new tactics, new technologies, and a new generation of soldiers.Though lightly armed, thinly armoured, and limited off-road, the “Bathtubs,” as they were nicknamed, played a crucial role in rebuilding German mobile warfare from the ground up. They allowed reconnaissance units to train under realistic conditions, helped shape early mechanised doctrine, and gave German industry invaluable practical experience in designing future armoured fighting vehicles.By 1939 the Kfz. 13/14 were obsolete, yet their influence could be felt at every level of the rapidly expanding Wehrmacht. The crews who trained in them would later spearhead the lightning campaigns across Poland, the Low Countries, and France, applying lessons first learned behind the wheel of these modest scout cars.This book offers the first comprehensive history of the Kfz. 13/14, combining technical analysis, operational context, and rare imagery to illuminate a little-known but highly significant chapter in the evolution of German armoured warfare.

This fully illustrated account assesses the Soviet and German foot soldiers who fought in Operation Bagration, Stalin’s bid to drive the Axis forces from Soviet territory in World War II.In the summer of 1944, the Red Army launched Operation Bagration, aiming to liberate Belarus and cripple the Wehrmacht’s Eastern Front capability. In just five weeks, Soviet forces reached the gates of Warsaw, inflicting catastrophic losses on the Germans – over 300,000 men, a toll even greater than Stalingrad.In this study, Jacek Zabielski assesses the infantrymen fighting on both sides in the Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive, the battle for Minsk and the struggle for Vilnius. He highlights how, seeking to conduct high-tempo operations reminiscent of the German Blitzkrieg doctrine of 1939–41, the Red Army concentrated its forces to achieve decisive breakthroughs, pursuing the destruction of Axis forces despite enormous casualties. In contrast, the Wehrmacht was in rapid decline. Hitler’s increasing unwillingness to delegate decision-making to field commanders hampered German effectiveness, while years of relentless combat had depleted their ranks of experienced junior officers and NCOs.The war’s end was still many months away, but Operation Bagration made Soviet victory inevitable, setting the stage for the Red Army’s advance into East Prussia, the Baltic and South-eastern Europe.

This fully illustrated study pits Germany’s Panzer I against the Soviet T-26 in the Spanish Civil War.In 1936, as Spain descended into civil war, both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sent tanks to aid the opposing sides, keen to see how they fared in combat. Armed with twin machine guns, Germany’s Panzer I fought alongside Nationalist troops, while the 45mm-armed Soviet T-26 took the field with Republican forces, with captured examples soon equipping the Nationalists. In this book, Jacek Zabielski reveals the origins, development and combat history of these two types, which remained in front-line service in 1941 as Hitler’s forces invaded the Soviet Union.While both types were soon outclassed by better-armed and -armoured successors, the lessons learned in Spain would shape German and Soviet combined-arms doctrine on the Eastern Front during and after Operation Barbarossa. Featuring specially commissioned artwork, full-colour mapping and archive photographs alongside the authoritative text, this study reveals how the Panzer I and T-26 performed in battle, and their technical and tactical influence throughout World War II.