TANK MEN
THE HUMAN STORY OF TANKS AT WAR
T
ank Men is a turreteye perspective of
what it was like to
fight from tanks,
from their sudden
appearance in 1916 to the end of
WWII. British, German, Russian,
French, American and Italian tank
crews describe the emotional
and physical consequences that
stemmed from the technological
tanks arms race that occurred
during this period.
The book describes what it is
like to be inside a tank at war:
a tight metal box, from which
little can be seen to lighten an
all-pervasive claustrophobia
heightened by the fear of
burning. Human senses are
dulled by restricted vision,
the reek of petroleum and oil,
deafening engine and track
noise, tasting a gritty residue
of dust and exhaust fumes. Hot
spots have to be avoided, as do
potentially dangerous moving
mechanical parts. Tank designers
were obsessed with maximising
technical gun, armour and
mobility improvements. Human
requirements and comforts
were compromised to favour combat
effectiveness.
Specific chapters cover a typical day
of tank combat during the various tank
campaigns of WWII. Others deal with the
Blitzkrieg campaigns in Poland, France and
Russia, as well as tank campaigns in the
Western Desert, Kursk and the Normandy
Bocage. Oral accounts are juxtaposed
against letter and diary observations to
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expose the grim reality of tank warfare.
This is a human story that describes
the emotional bonding that occurred
between crew members, from where
they were recruited and why they chose
to fight in tanks. Countless small stories
are told from a multi-national perspective,
describing the experiences of the primary
tank protagonists that fought the war. Fear
of burning is ever present. Soldiers had
just five to eight seconds available to flee a
burning tank, rearranged by the
wreckage of an incoming shell,
before the oxygen was sucked
out by the flames or it exploded.
The First World War experience
revealed that crew combat
endurance was fundamentally
limited by fumes, heat, enemy
artillery and the buffeting ride
with no suspension. By WWII,
Britain had lost her tank lead
and operated in the shadow of
German, Russian and American
developments throughout. The
Germans were the first to master
the man/machine interface,
electing to construct technically
excellent and highly effective
tanks. The Allies opposed
technical excellence with the
mass production of inferior
tank types, coldly and rationally
electing to accept the high loss
of life that comes from any
unequal battle of attrition.
Drawing upon vivid, newly
researched personal testimonies
from the crucial battles of the
WWI and WWII, Tank Men: The
Human Story of Tanks at War
illustrates the brutal and often
moving story of tank crews
during conflicts. ■
Tank Men: The Human Story of
Tanks at War
Robert Kershaw
Published by Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN 978-0340923474
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