Against the Panzers: United States Infantry Versus German Tanks, 1944-1945: A History of Eight Battles Told Through Diaries, Unit Histories [Hardcover]

Allyn R. Vannoy (Author), Jay Karamales (Author), T. N. Dupuy (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"the authors are meticulous in vividly re-creating how individual soldiers impact the battles. ...dramatic and forceful" -- Military Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078640129X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786401291
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,123,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Detailed tactical actionthat rewards close reading., August 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Against the Panzers: United States Infantry Versus German Tanks, 1944-1945: A History of Eight Battles Told Through Diaries, Unit Histories (Hardcover)

Professional soldiers may get more out of this than the general reader, but close attention to the descriptions of the squad and platoon actions are rewarding. The importance of pre-planning, of coordinating different weapons systems, and of aggressive "upfront" leadership all come through. Another reviewer comments on the maps; yes, sometimes the text references locations the reader can't find, but they may be due to an inability of the authors to reconcile conflicting testimony between the participants and the official records. Given how few maps show up in military history books these days, I'd give the publisher a lot of credit for their efforts here. The style varies somewhat from section to section, but not so much as to detract from the value of the book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, lots of good detail, February 23, 2000

By 

David Brown (McLean, Va) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against the Panzers: United States Infantry Versus German Tanks, 1944-1945: A History of Eight Battles Told Through Diaries, Unit Histories (Hardcover)

This is not a book for the person looking for an easy reading, entertaining tale of US companies in action against German armor units. Rather, a number of various actions are analyzed in exhaustive detail. The maps can be very helpful at times (in one case tracing the path of a Bazooka-armed GI stalking a panzer) and not so useful in other cases. However, many maps are provided unlike other books of this type. I'd say that the target audience for this book is the serious military reader who wants more detail than the casual war story reader. Engineers, artillery, and anti-tank gun activities get covered pretty well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Detail - Poor Writing, June 10, 2003

By 

K. E. Wilson (Glendora, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Against the Panzers: United States Infantry Versus German Tanks, 1944-1945: A History of Eight Battles Told Through Diaries, Unit Histories (Hardcover)

This is obviously well researched and has plenty of detail - too much, in fact. Be prepared to be bombarded with unit numbers right off the bat. Not light reading, this is only for the serious researcher used to taking copious notes while reading...