Samsonov, Peter/Groult, Edouard A. (Illustr.) Hetzer vs SU-76M. Hungary 1945

During World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union soon realised that their light tanks were outdated. Their small guns were no longer useful against the enemy's armoured vehicles, but the chassis allowed a larger gun to be installed at the expense of a rotating turret. Germany and the Soviet Union were keen to use existing technologies and approached this challenge differently. While the Germans converted their PzKpfw 38(t) tank into an anti-tank destroyer, first the open-topped Marder III and then the fully enclosed Jagdpanzer 38(t), nicknamed the Hetzer, the Soviet designers converted the T-70 light tank into an infantry support gun could engage enemy tanks and whose open-top fighting compartment allowed communication with accompanying infantry. In this study, leading armour expert Peter Samsonov's insightful analysis is supported by specially commissioned artwork and maps, as well as carefully selected archive and contemporary photographs, revealing the origins, development and combat performance of these two types at war. Both were used in the tank battles of early 1945, when Soviet forces were advancing deep into Hungary and the Axis armies on the Eastern Front launched a last counter-offensive, codenamed Operation Spring Awakening.