Description

Iron Cross is the UK’s only magazine of German military history from the First World War to the end of the Second World War.  Covering all aspects of German military history including the Imperial German forces of the Great War, the Weimar period and the Nazi period.  Iron Cross prides itself on the highest quality production with stunning content in the unique and ground-breaking features, often revealing untold stories and publishing photographs that have never been seen before.

In this issue:

• BRITISH STEEL – IRON CROSS; A look at the fascinating story of the use of captured British tanks by the German army, ‘Beutetanks’, during the First World War and how they fared against their former ‘owners’.
• THE SPITFIRE IS MORIBUND; When the Focke-Wulf 190 came into service in 1941, the RAF’s Spitfires were outclassed – the British being very keen to get their hands on an example along with the engine that powered it. An examination of the unlikely tales as to how that was achieved.
• PAINTING WITH CHAMPAGNE; In an exclusive feature, the career of Hans Liska and his famous war artistry is examined. With the cooperation of his family, previously unknown details and unique photographs, along with some fine examples of his stunning work are included.
• CHARGING THE MYTH; The use of cavalry by the German and British armies during 1914 has been the subject of much historical debate across the decades. But what was the truth about the opposing cavalry forces when they met during the early months of the First World War?
• DIRLEWANGER’S BUTCHERS; The men of the ‘Dirlewanger Unit’ was composed largely of convicts, social outcasts, sexual deviants and even Concentration Camp inmates serving under duress. They were responsible for some of the worst excesses of the war and this article examines how this odious unit came into being.
• VON MÜCKE’S RISE AND FALL; When a German naval officer became a national hero during the First World War, his glory was short-lived. Not favoured by his superiors, Helmuth von Mücke went on have a brief dalliance with the Nazis, but then fell-foul of them and then with the new political order in post-war Germany.
• PANZER TAKTIK; Despite being outnumbered, the Panzer force of the Second World War often achieved outstanding success in the face of overwhelming odds. Such successes were due to superior and well-rehearsed tactics. Ultimately, of course, the Allied weight of numbers and combined resources could not be beaten.
• WAITING FOR SEALION; Had Germany launched its proposed invasion of Britain in 1940, ‘Operation Sealion’, it would have done so with limited resources to get its armies across the English Channel. However, a Luftwaffe officer came up with an ingenious partial solution to the problem which involved ferries built from pontoons. Some of these remarkable craft, the Sibel Ferries, were powered by deck-mounted aircraft engines and propellers. Others were fitted with multiple 88mm artillery pieces.
• BADGES, DECORATIONS & AWARDS; In the regular series, alook at the German Panzerabzeichen, or tank badge, of the Second World War.
• BATTLEGROUNDS REVISITED; A new occasional series, taking readers back to battlefields and sites of the First and Second World War. In this issue, is a look at the Luftwaffe airfield at Triqueville in Normandy.
• UNLOCKING HISTORY; An exaination of the story behind two German photographs dating from the First World War and revealing the story behind one – but leaving open the mystery of the other!
• COLLECTING MILITARIA; In a ground-breaking feature the resident awards expert looks at the sometimes astonishing history behind the Iron Cross of the First World War.
• PHOTOS FROM THE FRONT; The colourised feature photograph is a fine study of a Luftwaffe ‘ace’ standing by the tail of his victory-marked Focke-Wulf 190.
• WAR POSTERS; A presentation of an unusual and seasonal poster from the First World War, urging the good folk of Hamburg to be generous in donating gifts for servicemen at the front.