Armor Attacks: The Tank Platoon - An Interactive Exercise in Small-Unit Tactics and Leadership [Paperback]

John F. Antal (Author), General Richard E. Cavazos (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1991

You're in charge of the battle outcome as an M1 Abrams tank platoon leader in this exciting, interactive work.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

During the 1960's, programmed instruction was voguish in commercial and institutional as well as educational circles. Antal, a major in the US Army, makes a martial equivalent of this technique the centerpiece of a gimmicky text that's as much manual as novel. Following detailed briefings on the Abrams tank and allied matters, the author introduces young Second Lieutenant Sam Jaeger. Posted to the Middle East, where America is engaged in desert warfare with an unidentified foe, Jaeger is given command of an armor platoon that's a key element in a battalion opposed by a motorized rifle division. In due course, our hero's outfit is assigned to attack hostile forces whose position is uncertain, and Jaeger must draft operational orders for his troops. At this point, Antal's narrative begins to fragment, taking on the character of a decision tree. At various stages, readers must exercise one of the several options open to the rookie officer and proceed to the sections disclosing the outcomes of their joint decision. Those who pick the correct passages through the author's tactical thicket are rewarded by the intelligence that their choices as proxies helped Jaeger win the day and earn a battlefield promotion to captain, plus a Silver Star. By contrast, failure to show initiative and to heed a superior's intent results not only in suppositious death or capture but also an invitation to try again. As Antal makes abundantly clear in his twisty, hard-boiled plotlines, armed conflict can prove terribly unforgiving of mistakes. A professionally correct bang-you're-dead exercise whose appeal seems limited to armchair strategists, gaming buffs, and, possibly, the Soldier of Fortune crowd. The didactic drill includes realistic maps, diagrams, tables, and line drawings throughout. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: Presidio Press; 1st edition (June 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891413839
• ISBN-13: 978-0891413837
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,182,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any junior officer, January 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Armor Attacks: The Tank Platoon - An Interactive Exercise in Small-Unit Tactics and Leadership (Paperback)

John Antal's book takes the reader into a fictional world of modern mechanized warfare, that is based on real life lessons learned at the U.S.Army's National training Center. In his fictional portrail of armor warfare, Antal presents the reader with a litany of problems and solutions that many a field commander has actually seen in fighting the great game at NTC. As the reader is lead through the narrative of the story ,he is asked to make key judgments based on the 'guidlines' of modern military strategy as presented by operations manual FM-100-5. Each of the problems were problems that commanders in the field faced at NTC, and the 'correct' solutions that the he tries to lead you to make, are those that actually worked in the field. Antal does not try to impart any new knowledge, however, he does present lessons learned in a new and exciting manner. He draws the reader into the novel, and allows them to discover the correct answers for themselves. This is a remarkably effective method of teaching lifes lessons. I for one read this book over two years ago and its lesson stand out as well as any I have learned in my 9 year career in the Army.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and Entertaining...but a bit short!, July 4, 2002

By 

B. Joseph Santos (Los Angeles,CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Armor Attacks: The Tank Platoon - An Interactive Exercise in Small-Unit Tactics and Leadership (Paperback)

This is the third Antal book I've enjoyed, after reading (or rather, interacting with) Infantry Combat and reading "Proud Legions."

This book was written just before the Gulf War, so I found it interesting that Antal picked the Middle East as the theater of war for a fictional future conflict with an unidentified enemy.

The book plays out much like the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" series that I enjoyed as a grade-schooler, where you have to make choices that lead to branching stories.

In this particular adventure, you are 2LT Jaeger, a young tank platoon commander in charge of 4 M1 Abrams tanks. You are the junior platoon leader in the company, and are initially assigned a reserve role in your first mission.

As the other elements of your company come under fire, you are asked to make decisions which can either save the day or kill you and all under your command. Certainly I enjoy this more from the comfort of my living room reading chair, rather than the turret of a tank in combat! If, however, you do end up making a fatal mistake, Antal writes in some helpful advice on what you did wrong, and invites you to try again.

Having already familiarized myself with Antal's work when reading "Infantry Combat", I passed through the book fairly easily, and was somewhat disappointed at its brevity. There were only two basic missions, unlike "Infantry Combat," which was a little more involved and took you through an entire campaign consisting of several branching possibilities that still led to victory.

All in all, though, it was a fun read, and I recommend it to those who enjoy being armchair generals, like me.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb War Game Book!, December 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Armor Attacks: The Tank Platoon - An Interactive Exercise in Small-Unit Tactics and Leadership (Paperback)

John F. Antal's clean prose has a psychological edge to it that proves that the lack of narrative action in other wargames neglects a very important dimension in tactical decisionmaking. Case in point: your lookout frantically radios back to you for permission to withdraw, because he believes he will die if he stays at his current position. If you grant him permission, you will lose sight of your attackers, but if you order him to stay put, his death could undermine your troops's trust in your judgement-which could lead to fatal delays in their execution of your future orders. Although many of the text entries are long, Antal's efficient, yet effective, battle descriptions are dangerously immersive. Consequently, the decision points are surprising, because they seem to appear suddenly like a hand grenade bouncing unexploded at your feet. Indeed, skilled, immediate, on-the-spot judgement calls are crucial to staying alive and might leave you gasping for those peaceful t-junctions to ponder over in other gamebooks.