Here we have the fourth, and latest, volume of the "Vanguard" series. The size and format is identical to the other three. The subject is one of the oddest units in military history; an Air Force armored division! Hermann Goring was not only head of the Luftwaffe, senior military officer of the Wehrmacht and Prussian Minister of the Interior, but the number two political figure in the Third Reich. Because of this, and because Hitler's political practice of "divide and rule," Goring was allowed to stroke his ego and expand his power base by building up his own private land army as a counterweight to the regular army and Himmler's SS. This private army consisted primarily of numerous low-grade infantry units called Luftwaffe field divisions made up of surplus Luftwaffe ground personnel. It also included a few elite paratrooper ("fallschirmjager") divisions, and this one panzer division. About half of this volume is a history of the "HG" division, which began life in 1933 as an elite Prussian police battalion, was converted to a Luftwaffe guard regiment in 1935, then a flak (antiaircraft) regiment in 1938, a rifle and flak brigade in 1942 and almost immediately to a panzer division. It had a unique table of organization making it, on paper, at least the equal of the SS panzer divisions. In early 1944 it was redesignated a parachute panzer division, though its organization was little changed. It was in no way air-transportable. Finally, in October, 1944, it was transformed into a parachute panzer corps by reinforcing it and splitting it into two parachute panzer divisions, each somewhat weaker than the original division. The rest of the book covers uniforms (a motley combination of Luftwaffe, Army and SS ingredients) and equipment (the best available). As with the other volumes of this series there are numerous black and white photos and eight excellent color plates - this time by Jeffrey Burn. Its price is also $5.95. The Vanguard series promises to be a very worthwhile collection of studies of elite or unusual units of the various belligerents of WWII. If the rest of the series lives up to the first four, they'll be worth waiting for.

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Panzer-Grenadier Division 'Grossdeutschland' - by Bruce Quarrie
U.S. 1st Infantry Division 1939-45 - by Philip Katcher
French Napoleonic Artillery - by Michael Head