German armoured operations on the Western Front in September 1944. Hitler
ordered the formation of separate armour brigades - ten in all - to act as a
standing ready-reaction force against Soviet penetrations. The armour brigades
consisted of a tank battalion, a mechanised infantry battalion and a company of
combat engineers for its fighting forces. With command interest from the highest
levels, the brigades were rapidly formed and lavishly equipped. Although
intended originally for employment on the Eastern Front, several of the brigades
- including Panzer-Brigade 105 - were sent to the west in order to combat the
increasingly desperate situation there. What transpired is the main subject of
this exciting new title by German author, Timm Hassler. Through painstaking
research and supported by nearly a thousand footnotes, Hassler has provided an
almost day-by-day account of this ill-fated brigade, which was essentially
decimated after a period of three weeks of combat and eventually consolidated
with the 9.Panzer-Division. Hassler is a true historical detective, who has been
able to weave an exciting narrative of this formation out of the slimmest of
primary material. As such, he provides a fascinating insight into what turned
out to be a major miscalculation on the part of the German armed forces and a
squandering of scarce resources that might have been better served
elsewhere.
