Review - Hermann Goring Panzer Division in Sicily Campaign Series

I am ever so slowly accumulating Germans for my Hermann Goering company for Flames of War and since I'm a bit obsessive about research on these things I have been gradually accumulating books on this division. Today my newest book arrived: Hermann Goring Panzer Division in Sicily Campaign Series by Claude Gillono and published by The Factory Publishing out of Australia. Let's just say that this is page for page one of the most expensive books I think I have ever purchased. The closest rival would be the Saga rulebook which weighed in at $40. This little book is 32 pages long, 36 if you count the covers, which to be honest, do have pertinent information. It works out to a dollar a page, a bit of sticker shock.

This is primarily a picture book and it has 2 photos on just about every page. There is a short introduction and history of the division in the front as well as a brief organization chart of the division as it appeared in Sicily. Which by the way is yet another source that confirms that the HG panzergrenadiers were at least partially equipped with the SdKfz 251/1. There are four pages of colors plates, five if you count the back cover. There is also a page that illustrates the nature of the clock face emblem used by the division to indicate a vehicle's unit (battalion and company) in addition to a variety of other emblems found on the color plates. Unfortunately the chart is on the inside of the back cover and is black and white and as I recall color was an important part of the clock symbol. However, I do have that information in another book (Hermann Goring from Regiment to Fallschirmpanzerkorps, by Roger Bneder and George Petersen, published by Schiffer Publishing).

Great photos, a bit disappointing in that the vast majority are of the StuG IIIs and StuH from the third battalion;  9th, 10th and 11th companies. The quality of some of the images is amazing and there are some unusual shots as well. Overall its a pretty good book, quality information, great pictures by very pricey to say the least.