Sledgehammers; Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II

Bedford, PA: The Aberjona Press, 2004. Second printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Very good. Tom Houlihan (Cartographer). vi, [2], 262, [2] pages. Prologue by Tiger Ace Otto Carius. Epilogue by Tiger Killers Viktor Iskrov and Ray Holt. Includes Acknowledgments, A Guide to Tactical Unit Symbols, Rank Equivalences, Prologue: Through the Eyes of a Tiger Ace. Also includes an Introduction to Heavy Tank Battalions, Heavy Tank Battalion Overview, Growing Pains and Adaptation, On the Strategic Defensive, The Last Year of the War, The Final Battles, Assessment and Conclusion, Epilogue: Through the Eyes of Tiger Killers, and Appendix: Comparative Analysis of Heavy Tank Doctrines. Also includes Notes and Bibliography, as well as 35 black and white maps, and several black and white photographs of tanks. Very slightly cocked. Christopher Wilbank served in the United States Army as an armor officer assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. He was a veteran of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, in which he served as a Scout Platoon Leader in the 3rd armored Division. He completed tactical assignments with the 1st Armored Division and the 3rd Infantry Division. He was a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies. Otto Carius (27 May 1922 - 24 January 2015) was a German tank commander in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He is considered a "panzer ace", credited with destroying more than 150 enemy tanks and 1 plane; most of his "kills" were on the Eastern Front. The Tiger and King Tiger tanks gained legendary status during World War II. Numerous tank commanders attained phenomenal tallies of kills and accomplished extraordinary feats during combat in these tanks, building the legend to near mythic proportions after the war. During WWII, the Germans created eleven Army and three Waffen-SS heavy tank battalions. These heavy tank battalions were employed in nearly every part of Europe against almost every enemy of Germany. As vast in breadth and scope as the employment of Tiger battalions themselves, Sledgehammers provides historical examples and analysis of heavy tank battalions actions in North Africa, Normandy, Italy, the Ardennes Offensive, and numerous battles on the Eastern Front including Operation ZITADELLE/the Battle of Kursk, Operation BAGRATION, the battle of the Cherkassy Pocket, late war attacks to relieve Budapest, and many other more minor engagements. Although a great deal has already been published about Tiger tanks technical details and some of the units which used them, until now, very little has been written concerning the organization and tactical employment of these tanks throughout the German armed forces and across the theaters in which they were employed. Sledgehammers provides an in-depth look at heavy tank battalions organizations and tactics, including the tactical doctrine by which these elite units were supposed to fight and how they were actually employed on the battlefield by their commanders and crews. Even given the Tiger s reputation, many readers will be amazed by the fearsome casualties inflicted by the crews of many of these behemoth armored vehicles. It is safe to say that no other armored vehicle of the war wreaked as much havoc among enemy formations as Tigers. Many will, however, also find it equally stunning to learn of the Tigers many technical and tactical vulnerabilities. Through the systematic use of extremely detailed primary source and other impeccably reliable research, Sledgehammers demolishes several major myths about Tigers in World War II. Meticulously researched and written with the perspective and respect for Tigers' crews that only a professional tanker can bring to the subject, Sledgehammers synthesizes information to provide new and definitive insights into the strengths and flaws of World War II s most feared and legendary tanks.