This is a really well produced wartime history of a particular British army regiment's experiences in World War II.
Not only is it very well researched (James Holland does not let us down here at all) but it is also very well resourced for the reader too with plenty of pictures, from maps of the actual action taken by reconnaissance aircraft on D-Day and useful diagrams of the Sherman tanks the Sherwood Rangers were deployed with plus a host of useful (never dull) appendices.
The book briefly charts the regiment's move in quick succession from traditional cavalry, to artillery and then tanks, from the desert campaigns to D-Day and then sticks with the men and machines from France to Germany at the end of the war.
This journey from the Normandy beaches to Germany's surrender is one fraught with loss. Never mind being in a tank thinking that you are as safe as houses. You were certainly not. The attrition rate was quite terrible, and its emotional cost even noted by that most phlegmatic of generations themselves in their writings at the time and in their interviews with Holland.
Holland does a great job also of demystifying the Sherman tank itself which has seen much criticism over the years with huge debates taking place on the internet for example. Many men fell not just because of inadequate armour, inadequate escape hatches, misfires and tactics but more equally men also died being cut down when abandoning a tank or when out of it for some reason. So you get a much more balanced view of the Sherman's performance.
One thing I still wrack my brains over though was Allied tank policy in WWII. The Sherman was a 'medium' tank - certainly not in the same league in potency as German Panthers and Tiger MBTs. Also, Holland puts contemporary tank tactics in context too - from pacific Tarawa to Germany - learning how to get infantry and tanks to work together effectively on offensives was something that was recognised even though it seems that the Allies were still learning to do it properly throughout WWII. Another source of weakness and arguably, casualties. Tank warfare was still relatively new, and It was a steep learning curve littered with dead men and burnt out tanks.
I do wonder how the Sherwood Rangers would have faired with a few more better armoured Churchill tanks at their disposal maybe at the hands of Panzerfausts usually coming from the sides? But as noted, these are tactical issues as well as ones of materiel and Holland is to be applauded for his even handedness.
Tactics and weapons aside, Holland is also to be applauded for getting as much as he could from his surviving interviewees. Nothing here is left to the imagination - from the joys of a hot bath, exhaustion beyond exhaustion to the sickening experience of recovering immolated men out of knocked out tanks for burial - it's all here dealt with respectfully and with gentle candour.
The mid to last chapters dealing with the hopeless life wasting German 'defence' of their land are truly brutal and dark indeed even though there is a light on the horizon.
So instead of feeling victorious, you are left with the same palpable sense of relief and loss that remaining Sherwood Foresters must have felt in 1945 when the German forces surrendered. This to me is the minor miracle of the book that Holland pulls off - no jingoism here at all. It is a very humane and humble ending that reflects I think the true horror and mixed morality of war - men at their best in the midst of doing their worst.
You are literally left thinking 'Never again'.
Stunning - and highly recommended.
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