On page 21, a photo shows an abandoned R-35 light tank, a two-man, 10-ton vehicle of war built by Renault for the French army and used against the Germans during World War II. Beside it, the body of the tank commander lies sprawled, shot dead as he tried to escape the derelict hulk. A German soldier -- the one who shot him, perhaps? -- stands proudly by, like a happy fisherman with his catch.

It's one of many stark images in Tank Wrecks of the Western Front 1940-1945, a collection of photographs from the European war against Germany. The author, Anthony Tucker-Jones, also provides detailed text describing the development of tank warfare and the specifics of the tanks used by the German, French, British and American armies.

If you're interested in the particulars of tank warfare, and the details of each tank design that was used during the war, this book is very informative. Tucker-Jones provides plenty of narrative explaining how models such as the Sherman, Panzer and other tank designs were developed, and how they differed.

More interesting to me are the photos, and since this is part of Pen & Swords Images of War series, I suspect that is the point. The book includes pages and pages of black-and-white pictures, each showing a tank that has been hit by missiles, overturned, abandoned, set on fire or captured by other means. Along the way, Tucker-Jones provides information on the types of tanks and the features that separate them. He also provides anecdotes about a few operations that relied heavily on their use.

If you have even a passing interest in tank warfare, this book will teach you a lot. The photos show a rarely seen side of World War II -- the mighty war machines humbled and, in some cases, reduced to so much scrap or, in some instances, put to use by the enemy.

The book is a companion to Tank Wrecks of the Eastern Front 1941-1945, also by Tucker-Jones and published by Pen & Sword the previous year.