19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great Volume From Zaloga, March 28, 2005
This review is from: US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944-45 (Battle Orders) (Paperback)
Steven J. Zaloga's volume on US Tank Battalions and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO in 1944-45 in Osprey's Battle Order series is filled to the brim with useful data and incisive comment. Zaloga's previous volume in this series covered US armored divisions and this volume covers the remaining spectrum of separate tank battalions and tank destroyer (TD) battalions. Despite the wealth of information already available on this subject, Zaloga still manages to unearth rare and interesting details, presenting them in highly lucid fashion.
Zaloga begins the volume with an extensive discussion of the combat missions of the separate tank battalions and the TD battalions. Essentially, both units were plagued by doctrinal problems and faulty command decisions from the start. The separate tank battalions were formed to provide direct support to infantry units but the US Army decided not to invest in a heavy infantry tank (like the British Churchill) that could stand up to anti-tank fire. Zaloga notes that the US Army did successfully debut a heavy-armor assault tank version of the Sherman late in the war, but that few were produced. The TD battalions were plagued by a faulty doctrine that just never worked, and the units were usually used for supporting infantry units. Zaloga also pulls no punches in pointing the finger at Major General Leslie McNair, Army Ground Forces commander, as responsible for a string of costly mistakes. McNair opposed attaching separate tank battalions on a permanent basis to infantry divisions, favored retaining light tanks after it was clear that they couldn't compete on the battlefield and championed towed over self-propelled TD units.
Zaloga's incisive narrative is supported by six excellent maps that depict armor in various missions: tanks in the first wave on Omaha Beach; tanks landing in Operation Dragoon; bocage-busting in Operation Cobra; attack on a fortified area - Fort Driant; armor in defense in the Ardennes; armor in river-crossing - Roer River. The author also provides four full-page organization charts for the tank battalion, light tank battalion, towed and SP TD battalions. In an appendix, Zaloga provides a capsule summary of each tank and TD battalion that served in the ETO.
The author also touches on a number of obscure but interesting topics, such as the searchlight-equipped "Leaflet tanks" - although six battalions were deployed in Europe, the weapon was so secret that even army-level commanders were unaware of their existence. However, the Leaflet tanks were used to protect the Meuse River crossings during the Battle of the Bulge. Zaloga also mentions the M22 airborne tank and the 28th Tank Battalion - the only US armored airborne battalion in the Second World War. Additionally, Zaloga discusses how tank and TD units were used in the indirect fire role. As usual, Zaloga highlights technical issues that are often ignored by other authors and he also does a fine job analyzing the impact of doctrinal decisions in combat. An excellent volume.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
US Tank Destroyers, December 30, 2011
This review is from: US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944-45 (Battle Orders) (Paperback)
Another excellent Opsrey Book written by one of the best authors around and knowlegdebale on the subject Steve Zalgoa [who has written countless others]. This book covers the the US Tank Destroyers used by the US during WW2.
It has tons of text,photo's, and drawings,graphs....it feeds the hunger for many information junkies...this is a must buy!
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Clear and to the point, December 2, 2010
This review is from: US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944-45 (Battle Orders) (Paperback)
This book provides a good overview of how the US Army's tank and tank destroyer battalions were organised and deployed during World War II. I bought it mainly as I was interested in a concise summary of the Army's tank destroyer doctrine and wasn't disappointed - for some reason this is a topic which most writers cover in exhaustive detail, but with this book Zaloga gets straight to the point and his explanation of what the Army hoped to achieve and what the actual results were is excellent. The general theme throughout the book is one of combat units being forced to 'muddle through' after the Army's headquarters dropped the ball with its doctrine, and Zaloga clearly demonstrates how things were eventually made to work for the tank battalions while the tank destroyer units generally ended up being used in roles to which they were ill-suited. The book is amply illustrated with well-chosen photos and the tables and diagrams depicting the organisation of the different types of battalions are comprehensive and easy to follow. The bibliography is also excellent, though it seems to be aimed towards people with a serious interest in this topic rather than more general readers.
The book's only serious weakness is that the examples of how tank battalions were used in combat are too strongly focused on what seem to be relatively unusual situations (amphibious landings, major river crossings, attacking major fortifications, etc), rather than more common situations such as capturing a town or advancing through wooded country. While not as big a problem given the book's focus, it would also have been interesting if the logistical arrangements required to keep these semi-independent units operational had been discussed in greater depth (particularly as the Zaloga describes how the infantry divisions to which they were normally attached often had little understanding of armoured warfare). In the scheme of things these are minor issues, however, and the book is well worth its price.
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