Book excerpt: This fully illustrated WWII history presents an in-depth look at the Nazi war machine’s most fearsome armored vehicles. From July 1943 to the Nazis’ final defeat in May 1945, the Panther battle tank and its variants were the mainstay of Germany’s armored forces. This superbly engineered fighting vehicle offered a lethal combination of firepower, mobility, and protection. As this classic Images of War series title reveals, the Panther saw nonstop fighting on the Eastern, Western, and Italian fronts. Using 250 rare and often unpublished wartime photographs with full captions and authoritative text, it provides a comprehensive coverage of elite Panther battalions in action. This volume traces the development of the Panther Tank and also covers supporting vehicles within the Panther battalions. These included armored recovery, Bergepanther, halftracks, Sd.kfz.2 Kettenrad, gun tractors and communications vehicles.