At the start of World War II, the German Panzerwaffe successfully integrated tanks, motorized infantry and artillery into the potent combat force that overwhelmed Poland and then Western Europe in the Blitzkrieg campaigns. Over the course of the conflict, the motorized infantry that was so key to the Panzerwaffe developed from pre-war, truck-borne rifle regiments into armoured personnel carrier-mounted Panzer grenadier units that increasingly bore the brunt of the overwhelming onslaught from the East. This comprehensive, highly illustrated volume by Thomas Anderson uses original German archival material, interviews with surviving veterans and previously unpublished images to reveal the full history of the Panzergrenadier. Book jacket.