Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II [Hardcover]

Steven Zaloga (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2008

* Hundreds of photos, including many never published before

* Riveting accounts of armored warfare in World War II

* Compares the Sherman to other tanks, including the Panther and Tiger

* Author is a world-renowned expert on the Sherman tank and American armor

Some tank crews referred to the American M4 Sherman tank as a "death trap." Others, like Gen. George Patton, believed that the Sherman helped win World War II. So which was it: death trap or war winner? Armor expert Steven Zaloga answers that question by recounting the Sherman's combat history. Focusing on Northwest Europe (but also including a chapter on the Pacific), Zaloga follows the Sherman into action on D-Day, among the Normandy hedgerows, during Patton's race across France, in the great tank battle at Arracourt in September 1944, at the Battle of the Bulge, across the Rhine, and in the Ruhr pocket in 1945.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Steven Zaloga knows his subject, and is a prolific author of technical histories. His comprehensive knowledge makes this book one of those rare should not be missed volumes that come along from time to time. He addresses the problem of whether the Sherman was a war winner or a deathtrap by covering the development of US tank policy from its origins in the First World War through its rapid development in the early part of the Second World War and uneven success as the war progressed to its conclusion. While covering tank development he provides snapshots of the key institutions and individuals involved in the process, as well as the evolution of tank and anti-tank doctrine. Finally, the actual evolution and use of the Sherman in all theatres is covered. The hundreds of photographs supplement the concise prose perfectly the author has expertly selected them to illustrate all the many, many points he makes as he progresses to his conclusion.

The arguments Zaloga makes are notable not only for their persuasiveness, but for the broad perspective he employs. He is well aware that many readers of his book will be knowledgeable regarding various technical aspects of the Sherman. Consequently, he goes beyond the data to explain why certain factors resulted in the problems or virtues that are often well known, if not well understood. For example, the propensity of early Shermans to burn when hit by anti-tank fire is often attributed to the tank s gasoline driven engine. Zaloga explains the real problem ammunition stowage thoroughly, and then goes on to describe the various measures that were taken to minimize the risk of fire, which ultimately did reduce the problem substantially. He also notes that all tanks risked fire when penetrated, even the gasoline driven German ones such as the Pz IV, providing statistics that back his arguments up well.

This is a minor example and focuses on one narrow technical aspect of the Sherman. A better example of the breadth of Zaloga s approach might be the way in which he addresses the development of US operational doctrine during the war. He notes that the US Army Air Force was extensively resourced as part of a deliberate policy to ensure air superiority by US ground forces, and that German complaints about their inability to operate effectively because of constant interference by jabos (fighter bombers) fails to grasp that the US Army deliberately set out to make their life difficult in this way. This argument is probably not all that revolutionary, but I was surprised by one little fact that he brought out to indicate just how significantly aviation was resourced as compared to tanks by the US Army approximately six times as much was spent on aircraft as on tanks (36 Billion as compared to 6 Billion). Insights such as this are throughout the book, making it a very interesting read for even those reasonably well versed in the history of the Second World War. --Doug McLean, The Wargamer, January 29, 2009

From the Publisher

400 b/w photos

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; First Edition edition (October 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811704246
• ISBN-13: 978-0811704243
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Zaloga is a senior analyst for Teal Group Corp., an aerospace consulting firm. His professional specialization is the commercial and technological aspects of the international trade in missiles, precision guided munitions, and unmanned aerial vehicles. He also serves as an adjunct staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think-tank.

Mr. Zaloga has published numerous books and articles on military technology and military history. His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He has been a special correspondent for "Jane's Intelligence Review" and is on the executive board of the "Journal of Slavic Military Studies". From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/director for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series "Firepower" that aired on The Discovery Channel in the US.

Mr. Zaloga was born in 1952 and received his BA in history from Union College, Schenectady, NY. He received an MA in history from Columbia University specializing in modern East European history, and did graduate research and language study at Uniwersitet Jagiellonski in Krakow, Poland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Organizational History, October 20, 2008

By 

Daniel Thorpe (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II (Hardcover)

This is a superb book on the Sherman Tank that - amazingly - covers much new ground. It accomplishes this by not focussing on technical development as RP Hunnicutt's Sherman "bible" (and most other Sherman books)do. Instead, it's a history of how the various organizations within the US Army created the Sherman, why they made the design decisions they did, how combat effective the Sherman was as a result, and how development proceeded (or didn't) as a result of that experience.

Unlike many writers of amour (sorry - armor!) books, Zaloga is not just a vehicle enthusiast. He's a real historian who has been conducting original research in various archives and other primary sources for three decades now. So, when he discusses the preference of Gen McNair and the Army Ground Forces for proven designs or the tendency of the Ordnance Department to waste time on pointless but interesting technical developments, he supports his argument with specific detail and extensive quotations from period correspondence.

When it comes to evaluating the Sherman's combat performance, Zaloga provides a lot of statistal data from the operational research that was conducted by the US and Britain during and shortly after the war. The facts will surprise even those who think they are Sherman experts.

Before purchasing the book I was concerned it would focus solely on US Army Shermans (as implied by the sub-title). In fact it includes a chapter on US Marine use in the Pacific as well as good coverage of British and Commonwealth Sherman developments and experiences. Contemporary Soviet and German armour developments and attitudes are also summarized. All this provides a very useful context for the Sherman story, and the book would be poorer without it.

Finally, Zaloga's prose style is both vivid and clear, and the large format pages are used to include many, many large and well-reproduced photographs. The only minor criticism I could make is the lack of maps. However, since the purpose of the combat sections are to analyze the Sherman's effectiveness, not provide a campaign history, even this is forgivable. All-in-all, a wonderful book.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Steve Zaloga's best books yet, April 18, 2009

By 

H. K. Wooster - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II (Hardcover)

I met Steve at a military symposium in New York City in 1991 when I came down as an instructor from West Point to give a presentation on German World War II armaments production. Steve was in the audience and we shared ideas on the walk back to the train station.

I have read most of Steve's historical works and his understanding of the technology and issues surrounding World War II armored development is unmatched by few in the military history field. This book represents the first time someone has pulled together the entire story of the M4 Sherman tank's technology and production developments, doctrine, fielding,and combat experience in a single volume. It is a complex story that addresses the many personalities, opposing concepts, bitter debate, innovation and expedients surrounding the Sherman tank's compressed World War II service.

Steve handles that story masterfully, particularly the debate between LTG McNair's "battle need" (today what we call requirements-based procurement), MG Bruce's high-speed tank destroyer concept, and LTG Dever's more perceptive view that the "best enemy of the tank is another tank." Steve also explains the difficulty faced by the U.S. Army in meeting the demand for tanks to fight in environments around the world, be reliable, be simple to operate, and that could be produced in large numbers for the U.S. Army and all of its allies. The entire requirement was compressed into a three-year time span where technical intelligence of German Army developments lagged American production by months.

Steve, building on his previously published research, assembles supporting technical documentation of Sherman tank production, fielding, and deployed strength for the first time in one book. Steve is one of the few authors to accurately compare Allied and German tank losses in Normandy. Too many authors stand in awe of the Wehrmacht's Panzerwaffe and criticize Allied armored operations in Normandy and northern France, completely missing how devastating the campaign was to the German Army's tank strength. Allied tank losses were actually less than the Germans between June and September 1944. The reasons for the disparity are clearly spelled out in Steve's book.

The book is not without a few minor errors. These revolve around the American 90mm gun's capability compared to the German 88's and the British 17 lber. The chart that compares the M3 90mm versus the German KwK 36 and KwK 43 is invalid. The 90mm's standard M82 APCBC shell is compared to the 88mm tungsten-cored AP40 shot which has a higher velocity and was produced in extremely limited numbers (800 rounds in 1942 and 8,900 rounds in 1943. Of these only 5,570 were actually consumed by the end of 1943 and 1,600 rounds were returned for use in machine tools). Likewise the performance figures for the KwK 43's Pzgr 39/43 is for the higher performance tungsten-cored AP40 shot, only 5,750 were produced and fewer still were fired. (see Fritz Hahn's Waffen und Geheimwaffen des Deutschen Heeres 1933-1945) The correct comparison should have been the standard German Pzgr 39 APCBC shell, which for the KwK 36 gun penetrates 111mm at 500 meters while the KwK 43 gun penetrates 185mm.

Likewise the the comparison of the American 90mm with the British 17 lber understates the superiority of the American 90mm gun. First the American 90mm was a good all-purpose tank gun with an excellent high explosive round, a round used more frequently than armor piercing in combat. With post-war developments it was also used extensively in Korea and Viet Nam. Second, the 90mm M77 AP shot was capable of penetrating the Panther's front glacis out to 600 yards, the gun mantlet out to 1000 yards, and the front turret out to 1500 yards. This was demonstrated in the test shoot at Balleroy, France in July 1944 and Isigny in August 1944. The 17 lber could not penetrate the Panther's glacis with standard APCBC ammunition even at point-blank range of 200 yards. With tank versus tank engagement ranges in Western Europe averaging 800 meters the 90mm was gun was more than adequate. This was demonstrated in battles along the Roer in the Ardennes, and in Alsace wherever,the M-36 TD's were on hand.

Despite these minor discrepancies this is an outstanding book and one which should be on the shelf of those interested in understanding World War II armored combat developments.

Keith Wooster

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have not read this book, you don't know the Sherman!, November 7, 2008

By 

Doyle Grant "Eschew Obfuscation" (Central Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II (Hardcover)

This book excels by not just re-hashing the technical details of the M4 versus it's opponents, but by providing much invaluable 'soft' information that was every bit as important -- and perhaps more so -- than the technical details.

The author provides background information on how the Sherman was created and how the design changed - or did not change - over time. Shortcomings of both the Sherman and the Panther are covered in some depth. The author also touches on bureaucratic issues, metallurgy, training, crew experience, reliability (and the causes for reliability issues), availability of spares, ammunition, mission of the tank (tank versus tank, infantry support), the focus on the US Tank Destroyer concept, and many, many other relevant and interesting issues.

A large part of the book contrasts the Sherman against the German Panther. When you look at only the technical specifications, the Panther appears to be a vastly superior weapon to the Sherman. However, the book looks into detail at issues that exacerbated the Panther's problems, blunting it's technical edge, and the things that mitigated the Sherman's shortcomings, and made it 'work' better than the specifications would otherwise indicate.

While I consider myself very knowledgeable on WWII armor, I learned a great deal from this book. If you want to learn more about some of the 'soft' -- but very important -- issues that affect armor performance beyond the technical specifications, I feel that money spent on this book is money well spent.