To support its mobile concept of modern warfare, Germany introduced a wide range of tracked and wheeled armored vehicles. One wheeled family of vehicles introduced in 1936 included 4x4 armored cars known as the, which translates as Light Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle. Powered by a Horch engine, these vehicles were based on a Horch 801 heavy car chassis to which an armored body was added. Early in WWII it performed well enough as a reconnaissance vehicle for panzer divisions, although its off-road capability let it down. Dragon Armor is introducing a model from the Leichter Panzerspahwagen family - the Sd. Kfz. 222. It is armed with a 2cm KwK.30 L/55 cannon and MG34 machine gun in an open-top turret. A crew of three operated the Sd. Kfz. 222.

Thanks to a superb level of detail, Dragon Armor's 1/72 scale model of the Sd. Kfz. 222 is impressive in appearance. This sentiment is underscored when the viewer picks up the little model, for it has been especially weighted. This internal ballast certainly gives it a more realistic and satisfying feel. Dragon Armor's fully assembled Sd. Kfz. 222 possesses all the detail expected of such a model. For example, the mesh screen covering the open-topped turret resorts to a photo-etched part to ensure it's true to scale. The gun muzzle, too, is realistically hollowed out. The vehicle is finished in an accurate shade of 'panzer gray' camouflage paint, depicting a vehicle serving in the Polish Campaign of 1939. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 2-1/2-inches
Width: 1-1/4-inches

Release Date: June 2011

Historical Account: "Opening Salvoes" - The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War (Polish: Kampania wrześniowa or Wojna obronna 1939 roku) in Poland and the Poland Campaign (German: Polenfeldzug) in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe. The invasion began on September 1st, 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and ended October 6th, 1939, with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland.

The morning after the Gleiwitz incident, German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west. As the Germans advanced, Polish forces withdrew from their forward bases of operation close to the Polish-German border to more established lines of defense to the east. After the mid-September Polish defeat in the Battle of the Bzura, the Germans gained an undisputed advantage. Polish forces then withdrew to the southeast where they prepared for a long defense of the Romanian Bridgehead and awaited expected support and relief from France and the United Kingdom. The two countries had pacts with Poland and had declared war on Germany on September 3rd, though in the end their aid to Poland in the September campaign was very limited.

The Soviet Red Army's invasion of the Kresy on September 17th, in accordance with a secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, rendered the Polish plan of defence obsolete. Facing a second front, the Polish government concluded the defense of the Romanian Bridgehead was no longer feasible and ordered an emergency evacuation of all troops to neutral Romania. On October 6th, following the Polish defeat at the Battle of Kock, German and Soviet Union forces gained full control over Poland. The success of the invasion marked the end of the Second Polish Republic, though Poland never formally surrendered.

On October 8th, Germany directly annexed western Poland and the former Free City of Danzig and placed the remaining block of territory under administration of the newly established General Government. The Soviet Union immediately started a campaign of Sovietization of the newly acquired areas. This included staged elections, the results of which were used to legitimize the Soviet Union's annexation of eastern Poland. In the aftermath of the invasion, a collective of underground resistance organizations formed the Polish Underground State within the territory of the former Polish state. Many of the military exiles that managed to escape Poland subsequently joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West, an armed force loyal to the Polish government in exile.