Tank Men

Hachette Military Collection

by Robert Kershaw

'I thought Tank Men was a triumph ...it is a really fine piece of work' - Richard Holmes'Some of the eye witness accounts Kershaw has collected for this comprehensive review of tank warfare have the power to chill the reader to the bone. This is warfare at the sharp end' --NOTTINGHAM EVENING POSTThe First World War saw the birth of an extraordinary fighting machine that has fascinated three the tank. In Tank Men, ex-soldier and military historian Robert Kershaw brings to life the grime, the grease and the fury of a tank battle through the voices of ordinary men and women who lived and fought in those fearsome machines. Drawing on vivid, newly researched personal testimony from the crucial battles of the First and Second World Wars, this is military history at its very best.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military History, Military Fiction, War, Ebooks

552 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Born in 1950 and a graduate of Reading University, Robert Kershaw joined the Parachute Regiment in 1973.

He served numerous regimental appointments until selected to command the 10th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (10 PARA). He attended the German Staff College (Fuhrungsakademie) spending a further two years with the Bundeswehr as an infantry, airborne and arctic warfare instructor. He speaks fluent German and has extensive experience with NATO, multinational operations and all aspects of operations and training.

His active service includes several tours in Northern Ireland, the First Gulf War and Bosnia. He has exercised in many parts of the world and served in the Middle East and Africa. His final army appointment was with the Intelligence Division at HQ NATO in Brussels Belgium.

On leaving the Army in 2006 he became a full-time author of military history as well as a consultant military analyst. He has written a paper on the military impact of HIV AIDS for Cranfield University and more recently was the historical editor for ParaData, an on-line archive for the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces.

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A candid and visceral look at tank warfare from WWI to WWII. The author weaves first hand accounts of veterans both living and dead to paint a picture one is not often familiar with when reading other accounts of war. An unblinking eye is turned towards the horrible deaths and wounds suffered by the men when they were hit. Moments of startling chivalry also have their place in this book as do horrible atrocities. An interesting view of the Allies choice of 'Mass over quality' in terms of their tanks and their protection and armaments. When briefed before invading Normandy crews were told their tanks were excellent and good compared to their German counter parts, despite the fact that Allied Intelligence was quite familiar of the short comings every Allied tank had when faced by Panthers or Tigers. Again political and economic expediency ruled the day, rather than consideration of mens lives.

[Laurance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am seeing a lot of 4 and 5 stars, praising how much the book is a marvel and excellent read and how the author has put a lot of effort into it and how true it is... and I feel that maybe I missed something.

The book fails at its title, it isn't the human story of tanks at war but British and German tankmen in the Second World War with a sprinkling of American, Italian, Soviet and Frenchmen and touching slightly on the First World War and Interwar periods.

He also uses a whole lot of memoirs and post war sources, and while these are obviously good in some respects, they can be flawed by the human's ability to miscall details as well as change through politics, ideas, narrow focus and a whole host of other things. A good example is when an American tanker talks of how a German panther was using a flamethrower, no panther ever was equipped with such a weapon.

Kershaw unfortunately gets stuck in a whole lot of popular culture references in regards to tanks of the Second World War (that have been thoroughly debunked numerous times). His talk of Germans being surprised by T-28s in Spain is an outright falsefood. Or how the Condor Legion had 20mm anti-tank guns, which they didn't, only 3.7cm PaKs. His constant repeats of how Allied tanks were poor and training was poor is often exaggerated or even debunked by the text in his book from the passages he uses from interviews, diaries and memoirs. His constant praise of a superior Wehrmacht is of much concern, especially as this has been challenged and successfully beaten in the academic world and is purely a product of post-war rehabilitation propaganda.

The fact that he seems to use Belton Cooper's opinions of the Sherman as a undeniable source is painful. Kershaw's complaint that the Pershing was held back is false and it arrived at the front at the earliest possible moment. Also the Sherman was highly advanced in many areas over anything the Germans had and the Soviets loved it so much they constantly asked for it and even deployed it in their Guard units (the first Soviet tanks to enter Berlin were Shermans).

His way of dismissing or overlooking the flaws, disasters and poor performance of the German military but highlighting and berating that of the Allies is a tactic of a biased historian attempting to influence the reader to see a point of view that isn't in line with the facts. He basically ignores all the strengths of the defensive side and how the terrain of Normandy heavily favoured the Germans and essentially attempts to put the heavy casualties down to poor Allied command and training, which is nothing but made up rubbish.

Kershaw's book does hold some merits. The diary and letter entries are a great in look into how the soldiers felt (even if they are picked to maximize the effect the author wants). Some of his points about the lack of readiness of the Allies and the uncoordinated nature of their war plans have merit (but definitely not to the degree he puts across).

Overall the book is a medium one, nothing great but not wholly bad. It is a shame that Kershaw has garnered a reputation for a easy to read Popular Historian and yet he fails to take his responsibility seriously and uses it to push very one sided point of views across without presenting the evidence in a correct manner.

If you read this book, please make sure you take the time and effort at cross referencing the material and not taking everything at face value.

[Kuszma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Íme a bizonyság, hogy egy igazán jó második világháborús szakkönyv jóval több, mint pusztán jó világháborús szakkönyv. Kershaw-énál alaposabb, mélyrehatóbb elemzést a gyász és a félelem feldolgozásáról, az emocionális kiüresedésről és a harctéri idegkimerülésről még sosem olvastam – ami azt illeti, ezeknek a folyamatoknak a leírását a hadtörténészek gyakran feltűnően kerülik, mintha a csatában nem is emberek, hanem távirányított robotok tüsténkednének. Mindezt úgy, hogy közben hiánytalanul hozza a kötelezőt: a harckocsik keletkezéstörténetét, a tankcsaták dinamikájának bemutatását, az ember és gép együttműködésének bonyolult kifejlődését, és nem utolsó sorban meghinti az egészet annak a borzalomnak a leírásával, hogy mit tud tenni egy lepattanó repeszdarab vagy egy felforrt tank az emberi testtel*. Kershaw-ról lesüt, hogy látott már tankot, mi több: talán repesztett is vele, és ez a szakértelem csak úgy hömpölyög minden sorából. Ajánlom mindazoknak, akiknek minden vágya egy páncélosban végigturistáskodni a világot. Ettől hátha elmegy a kedvük tőle.

(Én meg mindig elhatározom, hogy nem olvasok több második világháborús könyvet, mert minek az, és egyébként is: annyi minden mást is kéne. De ha egyszer ennyire pöpec angolszász szerzők foglalkoznak a témával! Meg aztán: tényleg kikapcsol. Remélem, ez nem valami betegség.)

* Ami azt illeti, sokat. A könyvben leírtakhoz képest a Fűrész sorozat teljes univerzuma legfeljebb Best of Minimax DVD-nek tűnik. Úgyhogy gyenge idegzetűek óvakodjanak.

[Simon Mee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tank Men is a book damned by the information age and the proliferation of detailed research pieces. It reads well but is patchy in its coverage, as Kershaw clearly worked with what English language sources were available to hand. It also unjustifiably excludes other tracked vehicles such as tank destroyers, unless a source served in them at some part (such as Otto Carius).

My tank is better than your tank

Tank Men is ostensibly about tankers – but Kershaw does spend some time describing the tanks themselves. This is reasonable as the quality of tanks certainly impacted experiences but the problem is when Kershaw gets into comparisons.

The discussion of “best tank” is a cursed topic. It can be sliced down in a number of different ways such as what a tank was designed for; the actual role it served in; what other systems did it normally work with; and what was the nature of its opposition.

Kershaw isn’t ignorant of these points, but he broadly judges German tanks from 1943 (particularly the Panther and Tiger) as “better”, with a whole section titled “mass vs technology”, whereas for the Allies, particularly the Western ones:

Decisions had been taken that interpreted quantity as being a quality in its own right.

Weirdly, Kershaw sometimes gets there are issues with the German tanks, then brushes over them. For example, with this description of the weaknesses of the Tiger tank:

The only criticisms were weight and width limitations and its small range of action.

Now these “criticisms” actually seem to be pretty serious issues! But they might not have been! As I stated, it depends on designed role vs actual role, complementary systems and opposition faced. Breeziness in style covers over a lot of details.

It’s similar with the quantity vs quality “decision” – it was actually vastly more complicated than that with elements of quality being part of the decision making. I’m not saying the Western Allies made the right calls every time, or even most of the time, but with primary sources exponentially more available since publication of Tank Men in 2008, Kershaw’s broad brush judgements don’t hold up well. It’s not that Kershaw is “wrong”, more that his conclusions are open to so many exceptions and qualifications that they’re practically hollow. It’s worth noting his comment:

The moment tanks and infantry broke cover to advance there were tremendous losses.

…might be the general statement that is closest to the truth.

What a bunch of good boys

So what about the men? Kershaw’s bibliography appears solid on the face of it, with plenty of tanker memoirs. They’re interesting historical artefacts and contribute to the conversation. However, I’m concerned as to Kershaw’s carefulness when evaluating certain aspects. Take the below:

Unlike the spectre-like influence wielded by the Soviet commissar, the Nazi party did not gain entrance to the German fighting compartment.

Think about the likely publication dates for the sources. Would it be a good idea for a German soldier or family to publish post war memoirs or a letter collection that opened with “Heil Hitler I was a good Nazi!”?

I’m concerned that Kershaw, while portraying it as a fairly brutal war, understates the political will and criminality involved, particularly on the German side. More detailed research, as done in Retreat from Moscow or at least summarised in The Wehrmacht's Last Stand provide better context. Nazi memorabilia didn’t festoon the inner workings of each German tank, but there’s way too much “Good German” in Kershaw’s narrative – bravely fighting for their homeland or comrades above all else, with the outright Nazis safely pushed off to the SS units.

Tank Men isn’t a shockingly bad book, but it is a long way out of date and doesn’t properly consider the reliability of the recollections of those that served. Avoid it as a source.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book based upon first hand accounts from all ranks and nations involved in Europe, Africa and Russia in WW1 and 2.
Stupidity and short sightedness creating unnecessary death and suffering of a generation of young men (and some women in the case of Russia), as is unfortunately the way with such things.
A few enlightened crying in the wilderness against an antiquated culture (UK) and the misguided views of strong characters allowed to dominate based upon personal reasoning (US).The Russian female tank commanders were new to me, along with quite a few other factual items.
Beautifully written, comprehensive and one of those books that you don't want to put down, despite the horrific content in some parts.

[Jimy Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, the perspective from all sides and all minds is moving. As the title entails, the human side to the story, remarkably written in a very captive way that has you wanting to know more and more at the turn of each page. At first I found it difficult to enjoy but a couple of chapters in I couldn't put it down.

[Tomasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good oral history of early tanks and, yes, tank men - so good, even the spelling errors didn't spoil the reading pleasure for me (and there's plenty of those, so, be warned).

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the perspective of the PBI (‘the poor bloody infantry’) the tank men in their apparently invulnerable behemoths must seem like they have it made. All right, not as good as the fly boys, who spend a couple of hours swanning around in the air and then get to go home for a decent meal and good night’s sleep, but at least the tankers don’t have to worry about being mown down by machine gun fire or losing a foot to an anti-personnel mine.

But what Robert Kershaw does in this wonderful introduction to tank warfare is exactly what it says on the cover: the human story of tanks at war. He intersperses this with the engineering and military developments of tank warfare, telling how the new weapon was developed in response to the stalemate of the World War I trenches and was then unleashed in blitzkrieg in the Second World War, but the heart of the story is the human experience of the tank men in all its discomfort, noise and sheer exhaustion. All right, the poor bloody infantry might have to march all day, but come nightfall they could sleep. Driving a tank, particularly the Soviet tanks of World War II that, in typical Russian fashion, gave no thought to human comfort and little to survivability, was almost as exhausting as marching all day, but come nightfall, the crew had to dismount and, like the cavalrymen of previous wars, see to the comfort and maintenance of their precious, not to say temperamental, mount before getting any rest and food themselves. For the driver and loader, this might mean no sleep until 2am, followed by another pre-dawn reveille.

Then there was the fear of what British tankers called ‘a brew-up’: being trapped in a tank on fire. At least submariners just drowned. The crew of a brewed-up thank sometimes had to be extracted afterwards with a spoon.

Tanks are more survivable and certainly more comfortable now. Kershaw largely ends the story at the end of World War II, with a small nod towards the Gulf War in which he served as a correspondent, but the story he tells is compelling and fascinating. Highly recommended.

[Michael Flanagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has done a great job in delivering both a book on the history of Tank development and those who fought and lived in them during world war II.

[Jean-Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Kershaw's book was a pleasant surprise for me. I don't hesitate to give it five stars and warmly recommend it to anyone interested in armored warfare. His approach, centering on the human experience, is powerful, well researched and well presented. It is an eye-opener on the terrible conditions tank crews operated under during the Great War and, mostly, World War Two.

It is surprising, to say the least, that such a book wasn't published earlier.

The author main focus is on British crewmen, understandably so I'd say, for I can imagine that, being British (a former military man himself), it is likely he had access to a greater volume of witnesses and sources than for other countries. Nevertheless, Kershaw does leave a good place to German and Russians tankers (including a few female ones) and, to a lesser degree, French and Americans. Italians are also represented in the North African part. Canadians are only briefly mentioned. The author deals exclusively with the European theater of war (in the common, wider acceptance of the term, including North Africa).

The only downside I can think of is that endnotes have no callout in the text, which renders them somewhat irrelevant unless you take the time to review them during reading.

It is an excellent complement to a previous reading, Armored Fist, for it deals with very much the same time periods and theaters, with a slight shift in perspective.

Highly recommended.

[Robert M. Roth MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting history of tank warfare

This is a very readable history of tank warfare from its inception in the First World War to its evolution through the Second. Accompanying the narrative is a description of the development of the tank technology by the major Axis and Allied powers. The Germans lead in the technological development whereas the Allies favored mass production over quality.

The narrative is heavily interspersed with personal stories by the soldiers who survived the tank battles. While one does not truly get the sense of daily combat in a tank, there are plenty of nuggets interspersed to get a very good perception. The vignettes add to the readability and avoids a dry,dullreader experience.

As a downside, there is scant attention paid to the American tankers and there is no mention of the use of tanks in the Pacific. The focus of the book is the use of tanks in Europe and Russia.

[Phool Chand Jangir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about the evolution of tank warefare. It sheds light on the process of how the tank became the integral part of the modern day army and came as harbinger for the earst while cavalry which consisted of horses. On the advent of tanks in the warfare the trenches were breeched and the stalemate was obliterated. The tank warfare was a complete paradigme shift in the military history. This book consist of the first hand account of those who took part in the world wars and it is illustrated thoroughly. You would love the book if you pay rapt attention to the detail that it mentions but if you are not intrested in world war 2 than it would be a incoherent read.

[Peter Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific book that absolutely flew by. This book, as the title suggests, isn't a top trumps list of tanks but a gritty anthology of the terrifying world of the tank man. The accounts come from all sides - British, German, French, American, Italian and Russian and all give heartfelt, gut wrenching (sometimes all too literally) accounts of life inside a tank - the fear, the boredom and the chunks of hot shrapnel flying around killing their comrades. A rare five stars from me.

[Rev James T Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The real war.

It brings the reality of the real war without the glamour to those of us who were babies during the Second World War in particular. Also the slowness in design and modification.
Such a complement to the loyalty and determination and bravery of all those who fought for us. We won’t forget.

[Luciano Astudillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un libro no sobre los tanques, sino sobre la experiencia de los tanquistas. Lo que lo hace sumamente potente. Llegas a entender el horror que suponía estar encerrado en esa máquina de acero que podía ser tu salvadora y, a la vez, tu sarcófago encendido en fuego. No creí que lloraría alguna vez leyendo ensayos historiográficos, estaba equivocado.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of tank stories

This was a solid collection of the highs and lows of tank warfare up through WWII. I appreciated the perspectives from the different sides and theaters of the conflicts. A compelling read.

[Adamo Colombo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incrível experiência das guarnições de carros de combate da Segunda Guerra.

[Adam Hooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible

Transfixed from start to end with tears in ny eyes and a lump in ny throat. Thank youfor this tour de force

[Garry Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent history of armoured warfare.

[Malcolm Edward Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Tells of the day to day life of the crews and the brave men who had to use poor equipment.

[mickey mutti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a great read, close up view

Of how it was inside the tanks, and the trust and dependency of tank crews. Again a great read recommend this highly

[Mateo Toledo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entretenido.

[Jby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book concentrates on the lives of tank cews in WWI and II. Kershaw is very critical of western allied design/production decisions (mass sherman production despite the appearance of the Tiger and Panther) and training (great stories on tank training in rural England) and stresses german superiority in these fields.
Of course he cannot completely escape having to retell the history of WWII, but he manages to stick to the topic. I liked his "neutral" approach towards describing german soldiers. No " the grey wraiths" or "the legions of darkness" nonsense like in some recent WWII histories. Since this is a fairly specialist book, I would have liked the book to be a bit more technical, technological advances within certain tank types are not discussed in detail although they must have been relevant to the crews. Tank destroyer crews don´t appear in any detail in this book, which I thought was strange. I also would have liked this history of tank men to continue well into modern wars.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A soldier's-eye view of fighting inside tanks in the World Wars, with an emphasis on the second of the two.

This book draws heavily on anecdotal interviews with veterans, with a leavening of written accounts and general historical information. Because of the focus, the text has a visceral edge to it. There are many passages that, for want of a better word, are horrible and really bring home the dirt, fear, sound, smell and terror of combat inside a metal box. I've read veteran accounts of WW1 trenches, and this might actually top them.

A very strong book overall, with only a small complaint that it only briefly and occasionally goes to the Russian front, and does not look at the Pacific at all (would be interesting to read an account of the tanks in the jungle).

Recommended for fans of this sort of thing, but even others will learn something here.

Rated R18 for extreme battle violence, gore, occasional language and scary scenes. 4/5

[Dan Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read on military history. Tank Men tells the story of those who fought and died in armoured vehicles in World War 2. Covering every aspect of the mechanised war, from tank design to tactics, the book is never dry, always insightful and gripping, painting a vivid picture of the horrors of the men who went to war often ill-prepared for a modern conflict.

Tank Men covers a lot of ground, starting with pre war arms race through to the Normandy Invasion and the Battle for Berlin, the author uses the voices of the Tank Men themselves to tell the story, using interviews and diary extracts to illustrate the often harrowing experiences of war from inside a tank that could be destroyed at any moment, with little chance of escaping unharmed.

The book stands as a fitting monument to an aspect of warfare which is often neglected and the men who fought it.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book draws on eye witness accounts to tell the story of what it was like to fight in a tank in the First and Second World Wars. The emphasis is on the Men rather than the Tanks, and there is actually very little information about the tanks themselves, save for a few references to the size of their guns and the thickness of their armour.

That said, if you are looking for a book that tells you what it was like to serve in a tank at this time, this is a very informative read. There are some fascinating and often horrific descriptions from the men who lived and fought in these machines.

[John Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Great insights into the human aspect of tank warfare- some accounts are very harrowing- with interesting views from the German and Soviet sides. The difference in each sides approach/philosophy to tank design in relation to crew and technology is startling.
Patton and Monty's views on tank/gun requirements are frankly shocking given the dispartity in the quality of Allied versus German armour by 1943.
Highly recommended.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a air few books on armoured combat but this one is far and away the best and one of my top reads of all times. Covers life in a tank from WW1 through to the end of WW2. More than any other of these books, even those written by veterans, it really puts you inside the tank. Well done Robert Kershaw!

[Tom Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that explores the nature of tank warfare. A visceral collection of first hand accounts of soldiers experiences through the first and second world wars. Kershaw pulls no punches in these accounts, there are many lessons on the psychological effects of prolonged combat.

[Wesley Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humbling and at times hard hitting book that should be read by anyone interested in tanks or the Second World War.

Reading stories and experiences from the men who were there has really opened my eyes to the grim, human and complex nature of World War 2 Tank warfare.