Tank Force: Allied Armor in World War II

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Weapons Book #15

by Kenneth John Macksey

Tank Allied Armor in World War II.

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

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

British author and historian who specialized in military history and military biography, particularly of the Second World War. Macksey was commissioned in the Royal Armoured Corps and served during the Second World War (earning the Military Cross under the command of Percy Hobart). Macksey later wrote the (authoritative) biography of Hobart.Macksey gained a permanent commission in 1946, was transferred to the Royal Tank Regiment in 1947, reached the rank of major in 1957 and retired from the Army in 1968.

Amongst many other books, Macksey wrote two volumes of alternate history, one, entitled Invasion, dealt with a successful invasion of England by Germany in 1940 and the other describing a NATO–Warsaw Pact clash in the late 1980s. The latter book was done under contract to the Canadian Forces and focuses on the Canadian role in such a conflict. He was an editor and contributor to Greenhill's Alternate Decisions series since 1995.

In Macksey's Guderian – Panzer General, he refuted the view of historian Sir Basil Liddell-Hart regarding Hart's influence on the development of German Tank Theory in the years leading up to 1939.

Reviews

[Vimal Indrasoma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise review of the development of mainly British armour and its deployment in the Desert War and Post-D-day operations. American and French armour is very briefly covered, with only a few lines on Russian tanks and the Eastern Front.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book- but I will totally agree that it has deep flaws. In 1970, noted Military Historian Kenneth Macksey sat down to write a quick (160 pages) history of Allied thought and practice with Armour in WWII. It's the middle of the Cold War- so the Russians- the real heavy water carriers of Armoured Warfare are going to get short shrift- partially in envy of the Torrent of Tanks then expected dialy in the Fulda Gap from the Warsaw Pact- and partially from a sheer paucity of available documents that a Historan could peruse. So Macksey settles down to a survey of British and American theory and practice- as weighed against the Germans- as "Masters of the Arts' first. There's a lot to cover- the experiences of battle versus the theories- and Macksey does about as well as one can in the essential style of this series of popular histories, with lots of Maps, line drawings and b/w pics of all kinds. We race from Poland- to France- and then the Desert Warfare of the early war. Then we struggle with the allied Requirements of Expeditionary Warfare- you can really only fight with what you can carry anywhere- so Allied Tanks were going to be lighter than the Land-hugging Germans could try. By the time we meet the Russians at the Oder and Conquer the Pacific- the reader would have whiplash if Macksey wasn't such a good weaver of narratives. Flawed- but fun.

What Macksey DOES get right is how experimental it all was from the start of the tank Concept in 1917. I'm in my 50s- tanks have been around since my birth. But for ALL the prime actors in this - tanks and armoured wheeled warfare itself was only 20 years old- total- in 1937. ALL of it was really experimental. Should there really be a whole chapter on Mikhail Tukhachevsky and his "deep battle" ideas in Russia in the 20s-30s? Of course- but he was purged and killed along with a whole generation of Soviet Tank experts just before the War- so his ideas were not current and germane- until Zhukov/Rokossovsky updated them and brought them back as their own/Stalins' briliance. But we do spend the whole book watching the allies learn and change gear/tactics/doctrine ON THE FLY in WWII- until we get the Combined Arms concepts still in use today. Macksey shows you the brits moving supporting Tanks into infantry Divisions- and adding infantry and mobile guns to armoured divisions. The Americans experiment with 2-3 combat commands- trying to give field commander the most optionality for force packages in different terrain types. Macksey is always showing us decisions made at the last minute- and adjustments being made all the time. We tend to think of these Commanders applying their training- but almost all of these guys from America to Germany to Russia had all grown up in my father's world of activity paced to animal power. all of them- Guderian to Patton to Slim to Zhukov were really inventing armoured warfare as they lived it- not applying long held beliefs and years of training. It really helps you think of the way WWII unfolded in real time- not as an event locked in the history books.

This book has the direct style and lack of graphic passages that make it ideal for the Junior reader over about 10 years of age. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this is a real boon. These book are just the type of smaller popular history one can pass to a Sci-Fi/RPG/warhammer player who wants to make WWII less forbidding as a game setting. This book in particular is great for precisely the same reason I have discussed above- it shows the reader how on the fly all this development was- both of gear- and of doctrine. The Modeler is not that well served with picture selection for Diorama ideas, but Military Enthusiast does get a good sense of the flow of Allied Armoured history- even if they need more details elsewhere. As I have said- this is a flawed classic- but the kind of book that has one looking through the bibliography for future reads...

[Robert Hepple · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published in 1970, 'Tank Force - Allied armour in the Second World War' tries to tell the story of the development and evolution of tanks by France, Great Britain and the USA during WW2. It does so by looking at the state of pre-war technology, before concentrating on the impact of improving technology on the campaigns in France in 1940, North Africa in 1940-1943 and Europe late in the war. A large part of the book concentrates on North Africa, rightly or wrongly. This is supported by 97 photos of varying quality reproduction and and indifferent captioning. Bland and lacking in the right focus.

[Alex MacKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good overview of (mainly) British armoured development, theories & tactics from the pre-war period to the end of WWII. Primary focus is upon the desert campaigns in North Africa, with only a few chapters dealing with Northwest Europe.
I enjoyed this book, and am a fan of the the author.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖊 My review: An excellent history book.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
📕 Media form: Read from my private library.
✿●▬●✿●✿●▬●✿

[Steve LaForest]

Date read slightly approx.

[John E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these short studies of World War II. They offer bite-sized examinations by eminent, usually British, historians of the battles, operation, personalities, and weapons of the war. Loaded with pictures, line drawings, and maps they offer the novice a treat on a single aspect of the war. This is the second I've read by Macksey and it is an excellent introduction to the development of armor equipment and tactics from the end of World War I through World War II. If you can find any of these books they are well worth the price.