Into the Breach: The Life and Times of the 740th Tank Battalion in World War II, Revised Edition

by Paul L. Pearson

December 1944. When the Daredevil Tankers of the 740th Tank Battalion moved into the breach against Kampfgruppe Peiper in the ice and snow of the Belgian Ardennes, the ferociousness of their attack sent the elite panzers of Hitler's 1st SS Panzer Division reeling. In bastard tanks pieced together from the scrapheap only the night before, the 740th plunged awkwardly into the war, spearheading lead elements of the 30th "Old Hickory" Division. It was the first good news to come out of the Battle of the Bulge. The 740th tankers rumbled on to crack the famed Siegfried Line twice, in some of the most bitter fighting of the war.

Genres: History

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 30, 2007

Reviews

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veterans usually aren't great stylists, yes, and Pearson pads the 740th combat record a bit much with Ardennes 101, but the flesh on the bones is as gritty as it comes, with the independent tankers shuffling from one hot spot to the next, barely catching a breather for maintenance.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tank Warfare

Armored combat told from the viewpoint of mainly the grunts, the actual men on the pointy end of the stick! Also learned a lot of about the training that the Citizen-soldiers went through before being thrown into combat. Fog of War certainly describes well the experiences of the Daredevil Tankers! Seems like they were shuffled around a lot in a rather chaotic fashion and treated like pickup substitutes where ever the need was greatest. Great fighters which is why they were called on so much and thrown into the fire!

[Steven Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at little reported actions during WWII, especially at how the Battle of the Bulge ended. My biggest criticism is that the author's family, with little experience in writing history, infused the story with many redundancies and repeated material.

Still it is a valuable report of the war, life in mechanized warfare, and the viewpoints of soldiers struggling against the German war machine late in 1944 and 1945.

[Britain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great topic. Great information for the most part.

It read weird at times. Lots of unnecessary unhelpful repetition. I don't know if that happened between the initial and revised editions. Plus, some things could have been expounded upon more it felt like.

I appreciated the lay approach to writing one's own history as opposed to the usual professors or other historians.

This book has special meaning since my wife's grandfather served in the 740th and we're on our way to Belgium.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far it has been a little haphazard in how it relates the story, otherwise it has been a very decent read. I gave it four stars and feel that is deserved... to the author, thank you I do not think we or I have really been given how are fathers and grandfathers did in WWII....

[rick ladd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

Very informative. The assignment and reassignment of the tank units surprised me. I had no idea they were moved around so extensively. It had to be difficult to keep up with.

[Lorraine Medved · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Battle of the Buldge

A well written book the was fun and sad to read, most enjoyable and very accurate in details of the battles that these tankers had to endure

[Lori V. Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Into the Breach

Very well written and holds your interest. Gives good insight into the daily struggles the tankers faced. Good read, would recommend.