Osprey Men at Arms #347 The US Army in WWII (2) - The Mediterranean

John Prigent

MEN-AT-ARMS 347, THE US ARMY IN WORLD WAR II (2), THE MEDITERRANEAN, by Mark R Henry.  Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-085-4.  48 pages, colour plates, photographs. 

This is the second volume on the US Army and deals with clothing and equipment used in the whole Mediterranean theatre.  Tunisia, Sicily, Italy and Southern France are all here with cold weather clothing, mountain troops' and airborne uniforms described.  Sections on crew-served weapons, softskin vehicles, and halftracks lead to a brief campaign history of the major operations from Torch to Dragoon.  Plenty of clear wartime photographs show the uniforms as actually worn and Mike Chappell's excellent plates back them up exceedingly well.  Although the text doesn't describe them, the warm-weather uniforms worn in Morocco, Algeria, Italy and France are shown and tanker's uniforms are included in the plates too.

 Verdict: get this one if you want to model tanks in the Mediterranean theatre and get the accompanying figures dressed properly!  Recommended.