Patton's Panthers: The African-American 761st Tank Battalion In World War II

by Charles W. Sasser

On the battlefields of World War II, the men of the African American 761st Tank Battalion under General Patton broke through enemy lines with the same courage with which they broke down the racist limitations set upon them by others—proving themselves as tough, reliable, and determined to fight as any tank unit in combat.

Beginning in November 1944, the 761st Tank Battalion engaged the enemy for 183 straight days, spearheading many of General Patton's offensives at the Battle of the Bulge and in six European countries. No other unit fought for so long and so hard without respite. The 761st defeated more than 6,000 enemy soldiers, captured thirty towns, liberated Jews from concentration camps—and made history as the first African American armored unit to enter the war.

This is the true story of the Black Panthers, who proudly lived up to their motto (Come Out Fighting) and paved the way for African Americans in the U.S. military—while battling against the skepticism and racism of the very people they fought for.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, Military History, American History, War, Race

376 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

About the author

Charles W. Sasser has been a full-time freelance writer/journalist/photographer since 1979. He is a veteran of both the U.S. Navy (journalist) and U.S. Army (Special Forces, the Green Berets), a combat veteran and former combat correspondent wounded in action. He also served fourteen years as a police officer (in Miami, Florida, and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was a homicide detective). He has taught at universities, lectured nationwide, and traveled extensively throughout the world. He has published over 2,500 articles and short stories in magazines ranging from Guideposts, Parents and Christian Life to Soldier of Fortune, True West, and Writer's Digest. He is author, co-author or contributing author of more than 30 books and novels.

As an adventurer, Sasser has, at various times: solo-canoed across the Yukon; sailed the Caribbean; motorbiked across the continent; rode camels in the Egyptian desert; floated the Amazon River; dived for pirate treasure; rode horses across Alaska; motorcycled Europe; climbed Mount Rainier; ran with the bulls in Spain; chased wild mustangs...

He has been a professional rodeo clown and bronc rider; professional kickboxer; sky diver and SCUBA diver; college professor; newspaperman; archaeologist/anthropologist...

Sasser now lives on a ranch in Chouteau, Oklahoma with wife Donna where he is a writer, rancher, and businessman who trains horses and team ropes. He also has a private pilot's license and is an ultralite aircraft Certified Flight Instructor.

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The African-American 761st Tank Battalion under General Patton fought the war much better than what many skepticism and racism people thought they would let alone ANY black soldier. This is a True story of the Black Panthers.
The Author, Charles W. Sasser does a remarkable job in the use of language and what feelings the Black Soldier was going thru. Sasser uses humor and blunt details of the Black Soldier fighting the war. Many of the German soldiers and the German civilians were taken-back by the SCHWARZE SOLDATEN (black soldier). Who were these guys. Scary! Brutal? They would soon find out.
Yes, this is a good book and one of the first I've read about Schwarze Soldaten.

[Larry W · Rating 3 out of 5]

An account of war told in a way that focuses on personalities over stats and documentation. This is over done. A few maps, footnotes, and references to outside sources would have been a great plus. Overall a decent account of war and race.

[Iain]

This title dwells in the space between a unit history, personal accounts, and historical fiction. Whatever it is, I found it awkward and set it aside unfinished. Which pains me, as I'd like to learn more about the unit and the men who served in it.

[Larry Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting...

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great men, great story and great writer. Someone should make this into a mini series. Spielberg maybe?

[Paul Alva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

I wish I could give this book one hundred stars. Well written and wildly entertaining though war is very repulsive. This book should be required reading for high school students nationwide! May God Bless my black brothers and sisters always.

[Ryan Damour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Critique-Patton’s Panthers

The book that I decided to do a critique on was the book Patton’s Panthers by Charles W Sasser. This book was about the hardships and mistreatment's of the outstanding 761st African American Tank battalion, the only black US tank battalion, in World War II. The book followed many different individual experiences from the tank battalion’s soldiers during their time in the war. It starts out in the US and the training camp where the black people are heavily segregated and then goes to Germany where they are fighting and prove that they are just as good as any body.
The book really shows how you can overcome many things with the right motivation. In this book, the black people must overcome segregation and the hatred many of their white comrades show toward them. Their motivation is to prove to the world that they are just as good, if not better,than their white comrades. The book also shows what the segregation was like in the war and how even the most hateful white people give up segregation when they must rely on the black people to cover their backs in battle. At the front lines of a war when you are trying to stay alive every second of every day, you don’t really care about segregation. The writing of the author, Charles W. Sasser, was very good and detailed. He did a very good job of expressing the feelings of the soldiers in the war. One thing that I didn't like very much about his writing was that the way he did each chapter, every chapter talking about a new person and their experience of the time that the book was at. A reason that I didn't enjoy it that much was that it lacked closure of many interesting stories. He would start on story and then he would never get back to that story. You would be left wondering “So what ends up happening to this man?”. I believe that the author was trying to convey that message of how wrong segregation was and that it was definitely not required. He showed this because in the end the black people were one of the best tank battalions, and at the start of the book the US didn't want the black people fighting because they believed that they would be a liability to the white soldiers. This was easily proven wrong and proved that the black people were equal to the white people. I recommend this book to anyone who is curious to learn more about World War II or just wants some intense graphic

[Samuel Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patton’s Panthers

Patton’s Panthers, by Charles W. Sasser, narrates a story about black people valiantly fighting for America in World War Two. As they fight a brutal and horrific war, they realize that the battle is not just to save America, but to combat “skepticism and racism” from the people they were fighting for. Many black people sacrificed themselves to win World War 2 from the Germans as well as respect and their rights from the white people.
Throughout the story, one theme that really stands out with blinking lights is that people have to keep moving forward with their lives, even when they face obstacles in life. Many black soldiers in the 761st battalion lost their comrades during the battle, but they continued to come out fighting. A lot of people these days let the simplest struggles stop them from moving ahead. Just like the black soldiers in this book, people must learn how to push themselves to keep going. The author’s thoughts regarding equality to all ethics make good sense. Everyone should be treated the same way. Black soldiers were treated like “aliens” and had to do the worst jobs in the army because they had colored skin. However, in the end, the black soldiers had carried the team into “victory”. The white people had a change of thought toward the black people. In the last few of sentences of the book, when Staff Sergeant Johnnie Stevens, a black soldier that was discharged honorably, could not ride a bus because he was black, a white sergeant stepped up for him, saying that Johnnie Stevens fought as valiantly as the white soldiers and deserved to be in the front of the bus. The book shows a lot of segregation to people who had colored skin. African-Americans had to stay in the back of the bus, do the worst jobs, and had terrible living conditions compared to white people. Although many years passed by, the world is still struggling with segregation, but only with different kinds of segregation. The poor are often looked down, the handicapped are neglected, and so on. The society should open its mind to realize that everybody deserves to be treated in the same way. After all, we all live in the same world.
Overall, this book is really interesting and easy to read. I would recommend this book to anybody.

[Scott L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent book!

A very readable short chapter story of the history of the 761st Tank Battalion (Patton's Panthers) contribution in the European Theater of World War II. This is a story that not many people know about, because of many different circumstances and their not being a Divisional Unit, the 761st did not until recently get the credit that they deserved for their many contributions. This is their story as told through their eyes by Sasser. He has done a great job at using first-source material along with research to describe the many obstacles that the battalion faced, the many battles they fought, and how they won the respect and admiration of the many units that they fought alongside. Interwoven within the story of the unit is a love story between the unit commander, Colonel Bates, and the Army nurse, Taffy, that he eventually married. The senseless brutality of war is well represented here, along with the almost criminal waste of resources and men. This is an exceptional book that I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn about how a unit overcame incredible odds to become one of the best tank units in World War II.

By the way - what did they overcome? They were one of the very few African-American combat tank units in a segregated United States Army. And they became one of the best units, belatedly winning the Presidental Unit Citation in 1998, fifty-three years after the war had ended.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rockin' good book. It tells the story of the all black 761st tank division. It's very well done--it traces the unit from formation through the 180 days it spent on the Western Front, fighting through six countries, multiple engagements, from the beaches of Normandy to the capture of Berlin.

Sasser explores the racism the soldiers faced, sometimes at home, sometimes in hospitals, sometimes even during combat. But it also tells the tales of their bravery and courage, and, sometimes, how their bravery changes the minds of people who viewed them as 'inferior' because of their ethnicity. YOu really come to care about many of the soldiers and know their famlies is backgrounds, and you grive when they die, are proud when they stand tall, hurt along with them when they are injured.

Because many of their superiors didn't think these men were able or valuable, they were often thrown in harm's way because they were considered expendable. However, because they WERE able and tough soldiers, they wound up being an unusually successful or valorous, highly decorated unit--Medal of Honor winner, Multiple Silver Stars, multiple Bronze Stars, many other awardes, and citations for excellence for the entire unit.

Admirable men. Incredible story. Well worth reading.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read, a good story, well written, with really short chapters for those on the go. This book is about the first all black tank division in World War II. The author created a story from interviews of those that were there depicting real life events of the 761st Tank Division which, under Patton, battled their away across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, Germany, and Austria. The 761st Tank Division, now deactivated, received a Presidential Unit Citation in 1998, the highest award a unit can receive. The book touches on the racism of the day however delves deeper into the unheralded bravery of those that spearheaded Patton's march across Europe within the belly of Sherman Tanks. The only bad things I can say about it is that I would have loved to have a map depicting their movements and the chapters often jump from one narrative to another. These are minor. Excellent book about a subject matter you haven't heard about.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The military forces of the United States were segregated during World War II with most black Americans being regulated to support units. The 761st Tank Battalion was a black unit led by mainly white officers Most white Americans felt that blacks were incapable of intelligent combat roles. The unit was finally assigned to General Patton's army were it actively took part in combat. This is the story of several of these soldiers and their commanding officer with quotes from Colonel Bate's second wife. One drawback from a historian's perspective is the lack of a bibliography of the sources drawn upon, otherwise a good read.

[Byrdman50010 Minor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at a vastly under exposed part of the American effort in World War II, in particular the contributions of the brave African Americans who served in segregated units to defeat racism and totalitarianism while suffering discrimination at the hands of their country. This book chronicles the experiences of the 761st Tank Battalion as they struggled to gain the right to put their lives on the line to fight against the country's enemies. Although the are a few small errors that will be spotted by WWII buffs the story of these men's struggle is what is important.

[Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slicker and more professional than Brothers In Arms, but the rather sensationalist presentation lacks some of the gravity and dignity that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was able to give the same subject matter. This is much more of a put-you-in-the-action kind of book, so I would recommend it if you thought Brothers was a little dry, or if you just want to know more about the 761st.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could have easily been a five star book, but Sasser spent too much time with meaningless dialoug and not enough time on character development. I hear they are making a movie out of this, I hope there is a director, writer, and producer who can wade through the chatter and get to the story. The most moving scene was the young Black soldier who took care of a White injured soldier while both were in the hospital. I cried, I hope they include that scene in the movie.

[Randy Sidberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about World War two but not exactly about racism. The book deals with racism because it tells the story of a black unit. The story is just as great as band of brothers and other stories of its era. If your into war books or love WW2; you should pick this book up.

Patton didn't think black soldiers could fight. However; he soon has no choice but to let blacks fight. Just like every other dumb idea that came from racism; he was wrong about black men fighting in war.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice coverage of the African American 761st Tank Battalion during World War II.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad these men never received the accolades they richly deserved. A very good book!

[Bill Jaffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent book on a relativity unknown unit