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Osprey Duel #149
Hetzer vs SU-76M: Hungary 1945
A noted authority examines the roles played by Germany's Hetzer tank destroyer and the Soviet SU-76M self-propelled gun during the battle for Hungary in 1945.
During World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union soon found that their light tanks were obsolete; while their small guns were no longer useful against the enemy's armoured vehicles, the chassis allowed for installation of a larger gun at the cost of a rotating turret. Keen to utilize existing technology, Germany and the Soviet Union approached this challenge differently. While the Germans turned their PzKpfw 38(t) tank into a tank destroyer, first the open-topped Marder III and then the fully enclosed Jagdpanzer 38(t), nicknamed the 'Hetzer', the Soviet designers turned the T-70 light tank into an infantry support gun capable of engaging enemy armour, its open-topped fighting compartment adding communication with accompanying infantry.
In this study, leading armour expert Peter Samsonov's insightful analysis is complemented by specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside carefully selected archive and present-day photographs, revealing the origins, development and combat performance of these two types at war. Both were widely employed amid the tank battles of early 1945, as Soviet forces reached deep into Hungary and the Axis armies mounted one last counter-offensive on the Eastern Front, Operation Spring Awakening.
[Text from Publisher's website]
During World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union soon found that their light tanks were obsolete; while their small guns were no longer useful against the enemy's armoured vehicles, the chassis allowed for installation of a larger gun at the cost of a rotating turret. Keen to utilize existing technology, Germany and the Soviet Union approached this challenge differently. While the Germans turned their PzKpfw 38(t) tank into a tank destroyer, first the open-topped Marder III and then the fully enclosed Jagdpanzer 38(t), nicknamed the 'Hetzer', the Soviet designers turned the T-70 light tank into an infantry support gun capable of engaging enemy armour, its open-topped fighting compartment adding communication with accompanying infantry.
In this study, leading armour expert Peter Samsonov's insightful analysis is complemented by specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside carefully selected archive and present-day photographs, revealing the origins, development and combat performance of these two types at war. Both were widely employed amid the tank battles of early 1945, as Soviet forces reached deep into Hungary and the Axis armies mounted one last counter-offensive on the Eastern Front, Operation Spring Awakening.
[Text from Publisher's website]
80 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 2025
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 3, 2026
Another highly informative well illustrated compact Osprey Duels Series treatment of one of the more critical but oft neglected operations on the Eastern Front.
For some unaccountable reason I have always been drawn to tanks without turrets... now sadly consigned to history, these executioners of AFVs with turrets carry a unique charm. Perhaps it has something to do with the improvisation and expediency but the opposing players simultaneously originated solutions to mobile anti-tank and general infantry support amid some of the worst battlefields of WW2. You could say less is more here but that is to underestimate the literal impact of these mini vehicles scurrying from cover to cover seeking their prey and avoiding high velocity vengeance from their counterpart across the way...
Osprey presents a slim but effective expo on the development and use of German and Soviet assault guns based on formerly obsolescent tanks. You will find many good photos and diagrams to support the text along with maps to help understand the climactic struggle these players had to endure.
I am usually a customer of print and ebooks from Amazon but on this occasion I got this book direct from Osprey. This was because I like to "own" my purchased ebook so as to highlight interesting (a multitude) sentences as reminders for the re-read. So I download and save as a pdf then open in Acrobat on my laptop to read and append... all the time the original is elsewhere on my c drive or re-downloadable on the Osprey webshop. Wonderful! I have yet to try to convert the pdf to suit my Kindle via Caliber...
I would very definitely recommend this book (and nearly all others in this series) and revisit the Osprey website for all future purchases.
For some unaccountable reason I have always been drawn to tanks without turrets... now sadly consigned to history, these executioners of AFVs with turrets carry a unique charm. Perhaps it has something to do with the improvisation and expediency but the opposing players simultaneously originated solutions to mobile anti-tank and general infantry support amid some of the worst battlefields of WW2. You could say less is more here but that is to underestimate the literal impact of these mini vehicles scurrying from cover to cover seeking their prey and avoiding high velocity vengeance from their counterpart across the way...
Osprey presents a slim but effective expo on the development and use of German and Soviet assault guns based on formerly obsolescent tanks. You will find many good photos and diagrams to support the text along with maps to help understand the climactic struggle these players had to endure.
I am usually a customer of print and ebooks from Amazon but on this occasion I got this book direct from Osprey. This was because I like to "own" my purchased ebook so as to highlight interesting (a multitude) sentences as reminders for the re-read. So I download and save as a pdf then open in Acrobat on my laptop to read and append... all the time the original is elsewhere on my c drive or re-downloadable on the Osprey webshop. Wonderful! I have yet to try to convert the pdf to suit my Kindle via Caliber...
I would very definitely recommend this book (and nearly all others in this series) and revisit the Osprey website for all future purchases.
January 4, 2026
Excellent well researched volume
The illustrations draw me in, but the analysis keeps me. I was surprised at Soviet effectiveness in using SU 76s. The Hertzers were desperate vehicles. The Germans took sloping armor very seriously. It is a great coverage of a neglected topic.
The illustrations draw me in, but the analysis keeps me. I was surprised at Soviet effectiveness in using SU 76s. The Hertzers were desperate vehicles. The Germans took sloping armor very seriously. It is a great coverage of a neglected topic.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews