So I have the opportunity to get some reference books and I’m looking for y’all’s recommendations on what books that are must-haves in your opinions. I need some ideas since I haven’t really delved into references all that much. The kinds of books I’m looking for, as the title suggest, is on German WWII armor and infantry. I’m looking for more of an illustrated type book, as I’m looking more for pictures as opposed to a lot of history and writing. TIA!
Colin 
For me one of the best books I ever bought on German Infantry in WW2 was by Andrea Press, it’s called Deutsche Soldaten. Brilliant pictures of original infantry equipment and solid explanations.
Schiffer publishing make some good books. I have one on german camouflage uniforms.
agreed
I picked up two books from Barnes & Nobel.
“Images Of War” has several publications, focusing on a myriad of WW2 Gertman AFVs as well as battles.
Deutsche Soldaten was recommended to me two years ago when I asked a very similar question. It is out of print and expensive, even for used copies.
Instead, I purchased German Infantryman Operations Manual: The German soldier 1939-45 (all models) (Haynes Manuals). It is muddled, poorly written, and did not answer most of my questions.
After reading the previous book, I accidentally discovered German Combat Equipment 1939-45 (Men at Arms Series, 234) (Men-at-Arms, 234) from Osprey Publishing on my book shelf. Apparently, I was interested in this subject 20 years ago! This cheap, short, little book, only 48 pages, is far more useful than the previous one.
I am currently considering purchasing Fighting Men of World War II Axis Forces: Uniforms, Equipment & Weapons. At 384 pages it is more comprehensive than the previous two books
World War II German ground vehicles is a very broad subject. Not only did the Germans utilize domestic vehicles, they impressed into service a wide variety of captured equipment. The topic is so expansive, no one book comes close to covering all of it. Books that try mostly offer a small picture or two of each vehicle, followed by a rather short descriptive paragraph.
In my opinion, in 2024, the Wikipedia is a much better starting point for German vehicle acclimation. Beginning with a page such as German tanks in World War II, start reading and follow the links. The information thus provided will provide a better foundation than any single book on the same subject.
Once you decide to focus on a specific unit or vehicle, that is the time to seek out a definitive book and begin building a research library.
My method of research may not work for you. While vehicle articles in the Wikipedia are usually pretty good, bias and errors are common. I definitely understand the satisfaction of a good book.
The Complete Guide to German Armored Vehicles: Panzers, Jagdpanzers, Assault Guns, Antiaircraft, Self-Propelled Artillery, Armored Wheeled and Semi-Tracked Vehicles, and More is still in print. I do not own the book but it gets mostly good reviews and has the virtue of being available.
I buy books from David regularly; I also get to pre-order a lot of stuff as well being a frequent buyer. Great prices and free shipping. I’ve met him a couple of times at shows.
For a quick German uniform reference, I like German Army Uniforms of World War II: In Color Photographs from Wade. Krawczyk.
It is still at a fair price on second hand market. Not too deep but it has representative photos of the most common uniforms using real ones
For armour, I recommend the Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two, a comprehensive reference of (almost) all German armoured vehicles with a brief data and photos.
Quite old and with some mistakes, but in general I think it is still useful, and again available from second hand at decent prices
I’ve been studying the subject for 50+ years so I’ve got quite a library. If I had to pick out some outstanding general histories of uniform and vehicles, I’d recommend Brian L. Davis’ “German Army Uniforms and Insignia 1933-1945”, Military Book Society 1971, yes it’s old, but IMHO still one of the best for coverage, very scholarly and Brian has been advisor on numerous films etc. As an adjunct, a more recent one is Stephen Bull’s “German Army Uniforms of World War II”, Osprey, which has more colour photographs and Andrew Mollo’s German Uniforms of World War 2, McDonalds, which covers all the services including Party and Civil Services (Police, Fire Brigade etc), which has a double page spread of uniform schematics at the back. For pictures of reconstructions of German servicemen wearing actual uniform, “German Soldiers of World War Two” Jean de Lagarde, Histoire and Collections takes some beating. For the Waffen SS, Volume 6 and 7 of Andrew Mollo’s “Uniforms of the SS” gives chapter and verse, but needs amplification and colour pictures from Gordon Williamson’s “Waffen SS Handbook”, Sutton Publishing, Andrew Steven and Peter Amodio’s "Waffen SS Uniforms in Colour Photographs, Europa Militaria (careful with this one, cross check other sources), Robin Lumsden’s “SS Regalia” and "SS - Himmler’s Black Order 1923-1945 and Wadw Krawczyk and Peter V Lukas “Waffen SS Uniforms and Insignia”, Crowood Press. Chris McNab’s “Hitlers Elite”, Osprey is another good, available overview. For camouflage uniforms, try “Camouflage Uniforms of the Waffen SS” by Michael D. Beaver with J.F. Borsarello (Schiffer). For tanks, a good overview is still Chamberlain and Doyle’s “Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two”, which despite the title covers armoured cars, armoured artillery and half tracks too. FM von Senger u Etterlin’s "“German Tanks of World War II”, is a scholarly work, written by an actual user(!), but to be frank some of the scale drawings are a bit duff by modern standards. Arms and Armour Press did a series of books in the 1970s covering “German Armoured Cars of WW2” (Peter Chamberlain and John Milsom), Half tracked Vehicles, German Military Transport (both Milsom again) and still my turn to reference “German Artillery of World War Two” by Ian Hogg. Once you decide on which vehicles are your favourites, there are innumerable specialised titles from any number of publishers, new titles are usually advertised and reviewed on Armorama.
@Damraska, @brekinapez, I agree about David Doyle books. I’ve ordered from him as well. Embarrassingly, I I found that I have many books from him over the years but only made his acquaintance about a year ago. That about a show and good guy. He started out working in the hobby shop and restoring vehicles, and has an eye for good detail.
In fact, I’m going to order his book on the guide to German military that you posted above.
Not only does it review the vehicles and their typical statistics and data, it also has a page or two about the penetration ability of different German ammunition. I always find that fascinating to peruse.
What Varanusk & Matt, said! It’s a fantastic book. Mine is falling apart 
it’s been used so much over the years.
For model related work as one stop shopping the old Achtung Panzer series of #1 to #7 has proved overall best. Concise and to the point the books aren’t perfect but they are fantastic starting points.
I haven’t seen #7 but I’d expect same level of excellence. Number #1 had a license issue that’s why #3 was print minus license issue content.
