Panzer III vs Somua S 35: Belgium 1940 (Duel Book 63)

interesante libro de la segunda guerra mundial en especifico la batalla de Francia.

This title compares the Panzer III F, the best medium tank on the German side in May 1940, against its closest counterpart among the French, the SOMUA S 35. The basic statistics strongly favored the S-35, with its thicker armor and more powerful 47 mm gun. The S-35 could easily penetrate the Panzer III's frontal armor at battle ranges, whereas the Panzer III had to maneuver for a flank shot with its inadequate 37mm gun. The two tanks were comparable in speed. Even in radio communication - a weakness among other French tanks - there was little to choose; both types were equipped with receivers on most tanks, while only platoon/company command tanks had transmitters. The main weakness of the S-35 was, in the author's words, "wretched ergonomic design of the turret." The tank commander had to aim and fire the gun, aided only partly by a loader who had to duck to avoid taking an expelled cartridge in the face when the gun was fired.This analysis is penetrating and informative, especially the sections on design and development and the combatants. Did you know there was an assault gun version of the S-35 planned with a 75-mm gun, roughly comparable to the German Sturmgeschutz III? Or that the French DLM (light mechanized division) was better at tank/infantry cooperation than a panzer division, both in organization and practice, at this stage of the war? It leaves the reader room for speculation about how armored warfare might have developed on the western front had the astonishingly sudden Allied disaster of May-June, 1940 been averted.This title gives a decent summary of the fighting in the so-called "Gembloux Gap" of eastern Belgium, where the French successfully delayed the German advance, an accomplishment tarnished somewhat since the main German effort was really a few miles south in the Ardennes. As the author notes, both sides could claim victory. The French fought firmly; there was none of the "tank panic" in eastern Belgium as happened near Sedan. The author fails, however, to give the kind of minute-by-minute detailed analysis of a face-to-face engagement between the opponents that is normally the best feature of the "duel" series. In places the Gembloux fighting descends into a dull recitation of events with little of the detail and insight so richly provided earlier in the text.Still, this is well-illustrated, well-diagrammed, and informative with insights not available in other sources; a short and readable page-turner for tank addicts.

Once again Osprey Publishing comes thru. Despite the small size, the books contains enough information to satisfy the reader. I also goes a long way in explaining the reasons why the French armored forces failed to stem the Germans despite having technically superior tanks. However, poor ergonomics and a lack of time to develop or modify tactical doctrine were the greatest failings of the French. A great companion piece to the book Panzer IV vs Char Bis! And has me looking forward to the Panzer II vs. 7TP and the Panzer IV vs. Sherman coming next year.

I confess that I know next to nothing about French tanks of the 1940 campaign. I am somewhat familiar with the early Panzer III design. Mr. Zaloga's book enlightened me a great deal on the French subject and improved my knowledge on the Pz. III. The author covers the strengths and weaknesses of both designs and how they were used. The descriptions of both designs are very clear and fitting for this size of publication. I look forward to learning more about 1940 French tank designs and their uses.

Osprey's Duel #63, Panzer III vs Somua S35 by Steven Zaloga, promises to be an excellent title on armored matchups in the early WWII period. It comes with all the Osprey color plates and period photos we come to expect from them.Author Zaloga Begins with the design and development of each machine as well as the doctrinal assumptions each vehicle was built under. He then moves on to the technical specifications of each vehicle as well as crew layout and tasks. It's pretty obvious that the Somua is the better tank in terms of armor and firepower, but the Panzer III is designed with a three-man turret with the commander having no task but to observe and order actions by his subordinate. The Somua commander in the one-and-one-half turret loses the ability to command once the action starts because he's also loader and gunner.The book then looks at the combatants by profiling Heinrich Eberbach, commander of PzRgt 35 of 4th Panzer Div. and Jean Touzet Du Vigier, commander of 2e Cuirassiers. The book lays out the different units, panzer vs French mechanized cavalry as well as their composition and doctrine.The author then gets to the "meat of the action" by starting with a brief description of the strategic situation and then moves to first contact, several days of battle, French retreats and German advances. Zaloga then looks at the results and makes his conclusions. The author points out that both units accomplished their missions. The French mechanized cavalry was expected to screen the powerful armies coming up behind them while the German in Army Group B were to attack the Low Countries to lure the Allies northward into Belgium so Army Group A coming through the Ardennes could advance and cut the Allies off from France behind them.There's precious little Panzer III vs Somua S35 action in this book. It's there but pretty brief. Even so, the author gives a good idea of these initial combats between German and French machines. It's a good book on French vs German armor but I have to remove a star for the dearth of combat between the featured antagonists. A solid four stars.

another great book in this series, zaloga knows his stuff and the illustrations are really good. i wish he would make one of 38t vs bt- or 38t vs hotchkiss or renault r-35.

Somehow this book seems incomplete...

An accurate narrative of the first tank versus tank battle and a well presented technological picture of the panzer III and Somua S35.

As always Zaloga delivers in this duel book covering early German model Panzer IIIs vs the French’s best available tank the S35. As always he pays important attention to the details often ignored by other authors, such as the visibility from the turret for the commander, which had great effect on his understanding of the battlefield and ability to command his tank, as well as the effects of one man turrets present on French vehicles vs the far more efficient and practical 3 man turrets of their adversaries. Overall a good coverage of the 2 vehicles and their respective tank arms, only thing somewhat lacking is in depth battle reports of a encounter between the 2 types, which is something Zaloga uses in all other duel series books I’ve read. However the combat coverage is still better than that of Higgins duel books. Also if not, this is a far better duel book on the Panzer III than Gordon Rottman’s attempt with the Panzer III vs M3 Medium

A well-researched book to this author's usual high standard. The book was supplied in "as new" condition which was a nice bonus. Not much literature on the early Pz.III and especially the S 35 so good to see a book on them, though I would prefer each vehicle to have a book to itself, but they are more evenly matched than some of the protagonists in the "Duel" series. First time i have seen the French "one-and-a-half man turret" explained in print. Hard to criticise the book as there is a lot crammed into it including armour penetration figures. This one gets my recommendation!

Livro interessante por deixar claro que a superioridade alemã na França em 1940 se deveu não por terem tanques melhores, mas sim táticas mais evoluídas, rádios funcionais e de se valerem da velocidade. Os tanques franceses eram superiores aos alemães em termos de blindagem e de armamento. Temos um bom resumo da campanha francesa, e do comportamento de ambos os lados.Boa seleção de fotos, algumas delas bem detalhadas. Livro bem encadernado, folhas de excelente qualidade. Excelente relação custo-benefício. Recomendo.

Steven Zaloga est un auteur spécialiste des blindés US et ex-Soviétique. Il a déjà publié de nombreux ouvrages qui font références .La série Osprey "VS" est très bien faite, car il compare chaque fois deux adversaires de même catégorie en donnant les points forts et les points faibles en plus il décrit une bataille dans laquelle les deux chars se sont opposés.Série à recommander!

Die Reihe stellt wie der Titel „Duell“ vermuten lässt Waffensysteme gegenüber. Die sich mehr oder minder tatsächlich im Gefecht gegenüberstanden.Nach einem kurzen historischen Überblick sowie der jeweiligen Entwicklungsgeschichte.Folgt ein vergleiche der Panzer der sich nicht nur auf die drei Hauptkriterien Feuerkraft, Panzerschutz und Beweglichkeit beschränkt, sondern auch Punkte wie Aufgaben und Platzierung der Besatzung oder auch die Gestaltung der Richtschützenoptik betrachtet.Im Anschluss wird am Beispiel zweier Verbände auf die Rahmen Bedingungen vor dem aufeinander Treffen im Westfeldzug eingegangen.Im dritten Abschnitt folgt eine Darstellung des Feldzuges aus vorwiegend Deutscher Sicht bis schließlich beiden Verbände (PzRgt 35 und 2e Cuirassiers) aufeinander treffen.Abschließend noch eine kurze Analyse plus ein paar Statistiken.Fazit: Für ein Broschüre (80 Seiten) und für Englischsprachige Militärliteratur untypisch.Ein gut durchdachtes Werk das einen Vorstellung vermittelt wie es der Wehrmacht gelingen konnte mit einer an Feuerkraft und Panzerschutz (von 2500 deutschen Panzern wahren nur 398 Panzer III bzw. 280 Panzer IV) deutlich Unterlegen Panzerwaffe ihr französisches gegenüber zu schlagen. Nicht zuletzt freilich durch einen gern übersehen gewaltigen Blutzoll unter den Besatzungen.