Schiffer, Atglen, 1st ed., 1995. 172 pp., frontis., + many photo-ills., + maps & plans. D.j., marbled e.p.’s ; 26 x 18cm. FINE. German Artillery possessed greater variety and magnitude in World War II than ever before - with over 1,000 light and about 340 heavy artillery units, as well as the light and heavy field howitzer units, assault gun units, brigades and batteries, observation units, railroad batteries, mountain artillery units, light gun units and launcher regiments. The German Artillery included 655,000 men in 1943, or 22 per cent of all the soldiers who went into action. Thirty-nine German gun types and forty captured gun types from ten different European countries were utilized by these units. The German Artillery took on special significance in the spring of 1943 when the fighting strength of the exhausted infantry began to decrease and armoured vehicles became less and less effective in their battle against overwhelming Soviet power. During this period, the Artillery again and again provided the backbone of the German resistance and defence. An examination of the operations, action and everyday life of the German artillery – a frequently overlooked aspect of Wehrmacht history.