Heinrich Kaufhold-Roll: 
"Die deutschen Radpanzer im Ersten Weltkrieg"
Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück. ISBN 3-7648-2468-9

There isn't exactly a glut of books covering the Armoured Cars of WW1, and it is especially difficult to find material on the different vehicles in service of the German Army. (One of the reasons, being that the big Reichskriegsarchiv, with much of the material on the Great War, was almost completely destroyed during the final weeks of WW2.) 

Well, now this book was published. It's some 128 pages thick, which doesn't seem that much, but it really covers a lot of ground, and does it in a very competent manner. The author has gone through a lot of separate archives, including those of the different manufacturers, like MAN, Mercedes Benz and Rheinmetall, to find material on these elusive vehicles.

Mind you, they were not that many: the Erhardt E/V, perhaps the most well known one, and subject of kits both by MGM and Reviresco, was only built in 13 copies, the Daimler MG Wagen only 3, and the formidable Büssig A5P - well there's a monster! - only in 1. More interesting, and completely forgotten now, were those Armoured Cars produced during the 20-ies - e.g. the Daimler DZVR and the Schupo-Sonderwagen - which can also be found here. In this book the technical development of each type is covered first. 

What makes this book a real must for any WW1 AFV modeler, is that it also covers those foreign Armoured Cars that were captured, and then used by the Germans. So beside the German types, the reader also finds descriptions of other important vehicles, like the Belgian Minerva, the Peugeot 1915/16, the Lancia MK-2, the strange Garford-Putilov and a number of others. The quality of the photographs are varied: some are very sharp indeed, other blurred - but then again, we are talking of some very rare vehicles. (I mean, I never even heard of the Jeffrey-Poplawko! But it' here!)

The author then discusses the armament and equipment of these vehicles, and, very important, their camouflage and marking. (Useful stuff, but perhaps a bit short.) If there is something that I really miss, it's drawings of these vehicles. There are some technical diagrams, original factory stuff, but that is it. I think that scale drawings really would have elevated the value of this fine book even further.

The final part, some 30 pages, concerns the usage of these Armoured Cars, both German and and those Captured and pressed into German service. All Fronts are covered, including the battles in Romania and Italy, and very important, also the fighting during the heavy unrest in Germany just after the war, and the wars against the Soviet Union in the Baltic States. Here the author has found some really good stuff, with British Austins, Italian Lancias and Russian Garford-Putilows sporting interesting German markings. They don't all have to bee marked drab green, you know! There is also a number of appendixes, including tables of Organization, a very interesting discussion of the different shades of "Feldgrau", and even some equipment lists of the different German types. 

Anyone interested in WW1 AFV:s should get this book. Highly recommended.