The Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland (OZAK, Operation Zone Adriatic Littoral) was created by the Germans after the Italian armistice of 8th September 1943. It was a large area that included the north-eastern border regions of Italy and parts of present Slovenia and Croatia. Although it was a secondary war theatre, separated from the main battlefronts until the last phases of the conflict, the strategic importance of the region and the presence of a strong resistance movement forced the Germans to maintain a considerable military presence in the area, with a fairly large amount of tank units or units supported by armoured vehicles. This books deals with the history and the organisation of the tank and armoured units that operated in the OZAK from the beginning of the German occupation to the end of the war. The text (bilingual Italian-English) is completed by 200 photographs, most of them never published before. Introduction 1. The context: the origins of the Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland (OZAK) 2. The creation of the Panzer-Sicherungs-Kompanien / Panzer-Einsatz-Kompanie 3. The employment of the armoured units in the OZAK after the 8th September 1943 4. Digression: the 2. Pz.Sich.Kp. (later 1. Kp./Pz.Abt. 208) and the Pz.Eins.Kp. Ligurien in north-western Italy 5. The anti-partisan operations in the OZAK in the Autumn 1943 6. The evolution of the armoured units in the OZAK in the first half of 1944 7. The creation of Panzer-Abteilung 208 8. The evolution of the armoured units in the OZAK in the second half of 1944 9. Tank units in the OZAK during the final part of the war Explanatory note on the tank identification in the original documents Camouflage patterns and unit symbols Units’ organisation charts The Pz.Abt. 208 (later I. Abt./Pz.Rgt. FHH) on the eastern front in 1945 Photographic section References to other published photographs Documents: two “Meldungen” from 1st December 1943 The main Italian armoured vehicles and their German denomination Glossary of German terms used in the text List of geographical places mentioned in the text with their present Slovenian/Croatian name Table of Comparative Ranks Sources Dislocation of Panzer units mentioned in the text Map of the OZAK   The 200 photographs (most of them never published before) often show original and little-known subjects. This is a list of vehicles that are pictured in the book: German - produced vehicles: Marder III, Flamm-Panzer III, Pz.Kpfwg. IV L/24 e L/48, Pz.Kpfwg. III Ausf. N, StuG III, VK 1601, Pz.Kpfwg. 38 (t), Steyr ADGZ Italian - produced vehicles: L 3, L 6/40, Semovente L 40 da 47/32, M 14/41, Semovente M 42 da 75/34, P 40, AB 41, Lince, Lancia 1ZM, camionetta AS 43, autocarro Fiat 665 NM Scudato, other armoured trucks Vehicles from other nations: T-34, Hotchkiss H-38, Tatra OA vz 30, BA-64 They are shown while used by Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, Ordnungspolizei or collaborationist Italian and Slovenian units.   Wehrmacht: Panzer-Flamm-Zug / Panzer-Regiment 36 2. Panzer-Sicherungs-Kompanie 3. Panzer-Sicherungs-Kompanie Panzer-Einsatz-Kompanie 35 Panzer-Einsatz-Kompanie Ligurien I. Abteilung / Panzer Regiment 1 Panzer-Abteilung 208 Panzer-Abteilung 212 Panzer-Abteilung Adria Aufklärungs-Abteilung 44 Aufklärungs-Abteilung 171 Aufklärungs-Abteilung 236 Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 46 Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 171 Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 194 Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 236 Panzer-Grenadier (Lehr) Regiment 901 Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 21 Panzer-Zug 24 Panzer-Zug 73 Waffen-SS Panzer-Kompanie Karstjäger 1. Kompanie / SS-Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 1 "LSSAH" SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 1 "LSSAH" SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 16 "RFSS" Ordnungspolizei Sturmgeschütz-Zug / SS-Polizei-Regiment 19 5. (verstärkte) Polizei-Panzer-Kompanie 13. (verstärkte) Polizei-Panzer-Kompanie 14. (verstärkte) Polizei-Panzer-Kompanie Gendarmerie-Reserve-Kompanie (motorisierte) Alpenland 3 I. Bataillon / SS-Polizei-Regiment Bozen III. Bataillon / SS-Polizei-Regiment 15 Italian units Gruppo corazzato San Giusto Battaglione Fulmine (Divisione X. Mas) Slovenian units Domobranci   Map of the OZAK Edizioni della Laguna Website: http://www.babbaiabba.com NOTE: the volume is currently not available at the publisher's All material on this site is copyright Stefano Di Giusto / Edizioni della Laguna home DOWNLOAD   INTRODUCTION (pfd 50Kbyte)   Pag 88- pdf 81Kbyte   Pag 100 - pdf 89Kbyte   Pag 111 - pdf 80Kbyte   Pag 125 - pdf 60Kbyte   Pag 134 - pdf 63Kbyte   Pag 139 - pdf 76Kbyte   Pag 140 - pdf 83Kbyte   Pag 147 - pdf 97Kbyte   Pag 165 - pdf 78Kbyte