Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsGreat Social Commentary - Very Weak on Technical Accuracy
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2013
As with most histories covering the 761st Tank Battalion, this work serves as a stark social commentary on race relations in the United States in the pre-Civil Rights era. Unfortunately as a military history the book falls short on many levels. I'd hoped that a history written by a military veteran would reach a higher standard of scholarship, but instead I'm presented with the normal "war story" accounts fraught with technical inaccuracies, myths, and misconceptions common in many laymen's books covering World War II.
First, the 761st did not face Jagdtigers in November - December 1944. While the technical details about the Jagdtiger provided by the author are correct, further research on the vehicle would have shown that its combat debut didn't occur until January 1945 in Operation Nordwind in the hands of the veteran 653rd Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung. The Panzer Brigades facing the 761st would have likely been equipped with a cosmetically similar Panzer IV/70 (A) - a much smaller vehicle with the same general outline as the Jagdtiger. It mounted the German high-velocity 7.5cm gun found on the Panther tank, which was generally also quite lethal to a Sherman tank.
Sasser also continues to perpetuate the myth that the gasoline engine of the Sherman was what led to early vehicle fires rather than the dry stowage system. In fact, the Germans also used gasoline engines in their tanks as their engines had also been originally derived from aircraft engines. The only combatants to commonly use diesel-powered tanks were the Soviets, Italians, and Japanese.
Unfortunately I am yet to see a truly great book on the 761st Tank Battalion. Most are good to great social commentaries. Most highlight the sacrifices, bravery, and professionalism of the Battalion's members. Most also fail to pay any attention to technical accuracy - and this book solidly falls into that category.
