Leaping Horseman Books

26/08/2025

Some bad news for US customers: due to import tariffs announced by the US government, Australia Post has suspended the shipping of all parcels to the States. Many countries around the globe have taken the same action.
We don't know when this situation will end. When it does, however, we will likely be forced to collect tariff costs from US customers at the point-of-sale.
We have several titles in stock at our US warehouse – Panzerkrieg Volume 2, Guderian's Foxes, etc. – so they can still be ordered and sent to US addresses, but other titles are a no-go for now.
We will keep you informed.

26/08/2025

An unknown Internet sleuth mistakenly identified a PPSh-wielding Hauptmann in the Barrikady Gun Factory as Traub. This "fake Traub" nonsense keeps appearing online, despite our best efforts to refute it. So, we decided to create this graphic highlighting the differences between the two men.

Mistaken identity An unknown Internet sleuth mistakenly identified a PPSh-wielding Hauptmann in the Barrikady Gun Factory as Traub. This “fake Traub” nonsense keeps appearing online, de…

21/08/2025

Hauptmann Wilhelm Traub
His glasses and paunch gave him a benign, headmasterly appearance that contrasted sharply with his medals and ribbon bar. Combat in the trenches on the Western Front and Russia as a young officer in the Great War had earned him both grades of the Iron Cross as well as several other decorations.

Hauptmann Wilhelm Traub His glasses and paunch gave him a benign, headmasterly appearance that contrasted sharply with his medals and ribbon bar. Combat in the trenches on the Western Front and Rus…

19/08/2025

Meet Oberleutnant Richard Grimm, the main protagonist in “Grimm Fate”. This cherub-faced disciplinarian led a company of combat engineers into battle on the Eastern Front. He was the only company commander from his entire division to endure six straight months of operations on the Eastern Front without being injured or killed.
(More pics and info in our blog post)

Meet Oberleutnant Richard Grimm, the main protagonist in “Grimm Fate”. This cherub-faced disciplinarian led a company of combat engineers into battle on the Eastern Front. He was the only company c…

12/08/2025

Different levels of interest exist in military history: general readers want easy reading that breezily describes a certain topic, while aficionados seek detailed tomes filled with facts, figures and analysis. We here at Leaping Horseman Books aim our books at the latter market. However, our next title will fit right in the middle of these two extremes.
"Grimm Fate" reveals the German experience on the Eastern Front through the eyes of one battalion. If you've read "Into Oblivion", you will already know Richard Grimm and the men of the 305th Pioneer Battalion. The material found for that book and the tragic, representative story of this formation needs to be shared with a wider audience. Dr. Peter Englund, the former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy – the body that determines the Nobel Prize for Literature – had this to say about "Into Oblivion":
"Being a professional historian myself, and having written a fair amount on war, I know how difficult it can be to fuse the individual perspective with the so called Big Picture. Most people opt for that big picture, understandably so, using the individuals as specks of light and colour that just flicker by in the grand narrative flow, and when it's well done the result is often excellent. But I think you have "squared the circle" in "Into Oblivion", where neither of these perspectives get lost, and at the same time you give the reader a balanced, precise, well-researched view of combat on the Eastern Front, hard to put down, and equally hard to forget. In short: a truly excellent job."
https://www.svenskaakademien.se/en/the-academy/chair-no-10-peter-englund
With the help of Dr. Englund, "Into Oblivion" was translated and published in Sweden.
We now want to get this book out to a much wider audience, so we streamlined it for a general audience. If you've not previously read anything about Stalingrad or the German experience in Russia, then we humbly suggest that this book is a great starting point. If you already own "Into Oblivion", we're certain you'd love this book as it's been rewritten in a fresher, faster-paced style. You all no doubt know someone – a friend, work colleague, father-in-law, weird uncle – who has a passing interesting in military topics. This is the book to gift to them.
More details will be announced soon.

Different levels of interest exist in military history: general readers want easy reading that breezily describes a certain topic, while aficionados seek detailed tomes filled with facts, figures a…

18/03/2025

Positive review of "Panzerkrieg Volume 2" in the French magazine VaeVictis No. 179. Here's a rough translation:
- - -
"Let's start with a book from a publisher that is admittedly somewhat obscure, but whose publications we have already praised. Panzerkrieg, German Armoured Operations at Stalingrad, Volume 2, Panzer-Regiment.2 is published by the Australian Leaping Horseman. Why bring up a book on such a specialist subject? Quite simply because the title is misleading. Unlike the first volume, devoted to the armoured battalions of the motorised divisions engaged at Stalingrad, this handsome volume of 634 pages, 600 photos, 100 maps, etc., is not limited to this campaign alone. On the contrary, it details the history of Panzer-Regiment.2 from Poland, as part of the 1.Panzerdivision of Guderian's corps, right up to its destruction in the Kessel of Stalingrad. It should be noted that the ‘big chunk’ here corresponds to its employment during Operation Barbarossa, this time within the 16.Pz.Div., covering more than 150 pages. Add another 50 pages on the fighting in the winter of 1941-1942, which saw the division's tanks scattered over hundreds of kilometres, and the account sheds light on a little-known part of the German-Soviet war, often reduced to the crisis west of Moscow. Ironically, the encirclement and destruction of the regiment at Stalingrad occupies a similar space. The author, Jason Mark, draws as always on a wealth of sources, starting with archives (German and Soviet), perfectly captioned photos, letters, etc., to paint a portrait of a German tank regiment in the first ‘offensive’ phase of the war that is as rich as it has ever been. Its precision and rigour, for example with regard to the enemy, often perfectly identified and cited - maps of Soviet origin are used - make this work indispensable to all those interested in German armoured troops in the USSR. The 16.Pz.Div. and the Pz.Rgt.2 included some famous officers, such as the one-armed General Hans Hube or the ‘Panzergraf’ - ‘armoured count’ - the nickname of Hyazinth von Strachwitz, an excellent tactician. The only drawback is that the focus on the strictly military dimension leaves out aspects of the presence of German troops in the USSR that are now well known and less than stellar. These reservations in no way detract from the remarkable quality of this book. You can order it from the publisher's website www.leapinghorseman.com."
Thanks to Philippe Naud.

28/02/2025

Due to demand – not overwhelming, but enough to warrant action – we've created a bundle of all back-issues of Kampfzone (1 to 10), so you can get up-to-date with one click.
https://www.leapinghorseman.com.au/product/kampfzone-issues-1-to-10/
We're also considering a pick-your-own service: for example, pay for five issues (with a discount) and tell us which specific issues you want. If this is of interest, let us know in the comments or drop us an email.
PS. All our prices are in AUD (Aussie dollars), which is quite weak at the moment, so it's a good time to buy.

12/02/2025

Update on Panzerkrieg Volume 2. After several delays (LA fires seemed to slow down arrivals through LA port, plus wintry weather in the mid-West), the shipment finally arrived at our US warehouse in MO just over a week ago. Individual orders are being packed and shipped each day, but there is a huge backlog to get through, so please bear with us. Your order has not been forgotten and will reach you soon.
Here in Sydney, we have almost sent out all individual orders to Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Canada, UK and Europe. Just a few more left to do, but they will be sent by the end of this week.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
https://www.leapinghorseman.com.au/product/panzerkrieg-volume-2/

26/01/2025

Can any of our Spanish or French friends identify this crossing point on your shared border? A caption on another photo suggests it is in Basque country on the edge of the Pyrenees. Would love to be able to properly ID the location so that the photo has a detailed caption (for use in Kampfzone Issue 11).

04/01/2025

The wait is almost over! We received two advance copies of Panzerkrieg Volume 2 just before Christmas and it looks incredible! The printer has done a great job. To see many years of hard work in physical form is extremely gratifying.

The palettes of books are expected to land at our office here in Sydney next week, and at our US warehouse in a couple of weeks.

If you've already ordered and paid, you should've received an email from us. When your copy is despatched, you will receive another email stating that your order is complete.

For those that have not yet ordered, please note that the pre-publication period will end when we take delivery of the book. That means the 10% pre-publication discount will disappear and it will only be available at its regular price. Click below if you'd like to get it at the lower price:
https://www.leapinghorseman.com.au/product/panzerkrieg-volume-2/

05/11/2024

Is this decorative architectural style indicative of a specific region in Russia? Caption indicates this is a "Kinderheim" (children's home), so it's most likely taken in a town. Photo from July 1942 in the Don region, taken by a 24.Pz.Div. soldier.
The goal is to find the location.

05/11/2024

Anyone able to decipher this Cyrillic text? I can see "ОСТ" behind the wheel and "ЬМА" at the end. It looks like one word. Photo was taken in the Don bend in July 1942. Thanks.