This first release with Pen & Sword Books by Panzerwaffe Historian and rare Image Collector Paul Thomas examines through the use of his own personal photo collection the Wehrmacht's Leichte Panzer divisions and their Armoured Fighting Vehicle's (AFV)development, operational tactics, and usefrom their formation through to their first use in the Spanish Civil War, and all the way through to the end of the Second World War. These often out gunned and out armoured AFVs were nonetheless greatly loved by their crews both for their high manoeuvrability, and for their high road speeds over rugged terrain in all types of conditions. This skill made them particularly useful for long range reconnaissance or scouting patrols ahead of an advancing main battle force - a role which they carried out until the strategic situation made such use superfluous (1943-44). Another advantage was their light weight which meant that they could be easily transhipped by both sea and air transport methods, including by glider, and in turn they served all across Europe from the fields of France through to the flat plains of The Ukraine, and to as far afield as Norway, Denmark, North Africa, Tunisia, Greece, Crete, Yugoslavia, Italy and Sicily. Their roles covered the whole gamut of service life from training drivers, through to assisting in anti-partisan operations and carrying out frontline duties. Some of the models covered include vehicles like the Skoda Works Czechoslovakian manufactured and designed AFVs, which after that Country was occupied by the Reich were thought of so highly by the Panzerwaffe that they took them over and called them thePanzerkampfwagen 35 or 38(t).Other AFVs covered included the Panzerwaffe's earliest AFVs, thePanzerkampfwagen I and IIand all their many derivatives including their modification into highly efficient self-propelled artillery.