Book Review of
Arracourt 1944
Triumph of American Armor
Author: Mike Guardia
Casemate Illustrated
Men-Battles-Weapons Series
ISBN: 988-1-63624-032-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
Men-Battles-Weapons Series
ISBN: 988-1-63624-032-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
HISTORY:
The battle of Arracourt helped pave the way for the final Allied assault into Germany and showed how tactical ingenuity and adaptive leadership can overcome an enemy’s superior size or technological strength.
September 1944: with the Allies closing in on the Rhine, Adolf Hitler ordered a counter-attack on General Patton’s Third Army in France. Near the small town of Arracourt, France, elements of the U.S. 4TH Armored Division met the grizzled veterans of the 5th Panzer Army in Combat.
Atop their M4 Shermans, American tank crews squared off against the technologically superior Mark V Panther tanks of the Wehrmacht. Yet, through a combination of superior tactics, Leadership, teamwork and small-unit initiative, the outnumbered American forces won a decisive victory against the 5th Panzer Army.
Indeed, of the 262 tanks and mobile assault guns fielded by the German forces, 200 were damaged or destroyed by Allied fire. The Americans, by contrast, lost only 48 tanks . Following the collapse of the German counter-attack at Arracourt, General Patton’s Third Army found itself within striking distance of the Third Reich’s borderlands.
The Battle of Arracourt was the largest tank battle fought by the U.S. Army until the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944. It has since become a case study of how tactical ingenuity and adaptive leadership can overcome an enemy’s numerical or technological superiority.
THE BOOK:
Casemate is based in Pennsylvania. They are predominantly a distributor of other brands of books and they also publish a few of their own, like this book.
The book is soft-cover. The cover has fold over flaps on it.
The cover art shows 3 black and white wartime photos of Sherman tanks at Arracourt during the battle there. In the center there is a color side-view profile of a German Panther tank. It is in a camouflage of tan, green and red-brown with a very worn white turret number 400.
The back cover shows a black and white photo of a M7 Self-Propelled Howitzer with troops aboard it, an American soldier examining a knocked out German half-track and some American soldiers on the march.
At the bottom of the back cover there is a color illustration of the side-view of an American 6 x 6 “Greyhound” armored car. It is overall olive-drab with white serial number U.S.A. 8045517 and a large white star on its sides.
The book is of 127 pages in 6 ¾” x 10” page format.
There are 129 black and white wartime photos and a map inside, along with 6 color side-view illustrations.
For the Allied side there are:
2 photos of U.S. M3 half-tracks, 2 photos of a M7 Howitzer motor carriage, 4 photos of M8 “Greyhound” armored cars, 2 photos of M18 “Hellcats”, a portrait photo of General George S. Patton, a photo of a Sherman with the white slogan ‘Thunderbolt VI” on it’s side, another Sherman with a white slogan “First in Bastogne” on the side, an anti-tank gun, 2 photos of soldiers with a wood boat, U.S. tank crewman in turret hatch using a field telephone, a U.S. bridge on pontoons, jeeps, half-track towing a howitzer, P-47 “Thunderbolt” fighter and an L4-H aircraft.
For the German side there are:
30 photos of Panthers, 2 photos of Pz.Kpf. IV’s, 2 photos of Stug. III’s with a photo of one destroyed, 4 photos of Sd.Kfz. 251 half-tracks, a portrait photo of General Johannes Blaskowitz, a German horse-drawn wagon, German artillery, a 25cm cannon, a destroyed German airfield, a portrait photo of General Hasso von Manteuffel, a 8.8cm gun, 2 photos of captured German soldiers, 2 photos of German officers and a portrait photo of Colonel Von Seckendorff Commander of the 13th Panzer Brigade.
There is also a photo of French partisan and a photo of French boys viewing knocked-out German Panthers.
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
The 6 color side-view profiles show:
A U.S. M3 Series half-track that is overall olive-drab with white serial no. U.S.A. over 40251365
A U.S. M3 armored car (already described on the cover art)
A U.S. M-18 tank
A German Panther tank (already described on the cover art)
A German Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track that is in a base of earth-yellow with green and red-brown wave pattern camouflage, showing no marks
A German Flakpanzer IV "wirbelwind" tank that is overall earth-yellow with a heavy coating of winter white wash and no markings
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review copy. All Casemate titles can be viewed on their website at:
The battle of Arracourt helped pave the way for the final Allied assault into Germany and showed how tactical ingenuity and adaptive leadership can overcome an enemy’s superior size or technological strength.
September 1944: with the Allies closing in on the Rhine, Adolf Hitler ordered a counter-attack on General Patton’s Third Army in France. Near the small town of Arracourt, France, elements of the U.S. 4TH Armored Division met the grizzled veterans of the 5th Panzer Army in Combat.
Atop their M4 Shermans, American tank crews squared off against the technologically superior Mark V Panther tanks of the Wehrmacht. Yet, through a combination of superior tactics, Leadership, teamwork and small-unit initiative, the outnumbered American forces won a decisive victory against the 5th Panzer Army.
Indeed, of the 262 tanks and mobile assault guns fielded by the German forces, 200 were damaged or destroyed by Allied fire. The Americans, by contrast, lost only 48 tanks . Following the collapse of the German counter-attack at Arracourt, General Patton’s Third Army found itself within striking distance of the Third Reich’s borderlands.
The Battle of Arracourt was the largest tank battle fought by the U.S. Army until the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944. It has since become a case study of how tactical ingenuity and adaptive leadership can overcome an enemy’s numerical or technological superiority.
THE BOOK:
Casemate is based in Pennsylvania. They are predominantly a distributor of other brands of books and they also publish a few of their own, like this book.
The book is soft-cover. The cover has fold over flaps on it.
The cover art shows 3 black and white wartime photos of Sherman tanks at Arracourt during the battle there. In the center there is a color side-view profile of a German Panther tank. It is in a camouflage of tan, green and red-brown with a very worn white turret number 400.
The back cover shows a black and white photo of a M7 Self-Propelled Howitzer with troops aboard it, an American soldier examining a knocked out German half-track and some American soldiers on the march.
At the bottom of the back cover there is a color illustration of the side-view of an American 6 x 6 “Greyhound” armored car. It is overall olive-drab with white serial number U.S.A. 8045517 and a large white star on its sides.
The book is of 127 pages in 6 ¾” x 10” page format.
There are 129 black and white wartime photos and a map inside, along with 6 color side-view illustrations.
For the Allied side there are:
2 photos of U.S. M3 half-tracks, 2 photos of a M7 Howitzer motor carriage, 4 photos of M8 “Greyhound” armored cars, 2 photos of M18 “Hellcats”, a portrait photo of General George S. Patton, a photo of a Sherman with the white slogan ‘Thunderbolt VI” on it’s side, another Sherman with a white slogan “First in Bastogne” on the side, an anti-tank gun, 2 photos of soldiers with a wood boat, U.S. tank crewman in turret hatch using a field telephone, a U.S. bridge on pontoons, jeeps, half-track towing a howitzer, P-47 “Thunderbolt” fighter and an L4-H aircraft.
For the German side there are:
30 photos of Panthers, 2 photos of Pz.Kpf. IV’s, 2 photos of Stug. III’s with a photo of one destroyed, 4 photos of Sd.Kfz. 251 half-tracks, a portrait photo of General Johannes Blaskowitz, a German horse-drawn wagon, German artillery, a 25cm cannon, a destroyed German airfield, a portrait photo of General Hasso von Manteuffel, a 8.8cm gun, 2 photos of captured German soldiers, 2 photos of German officers and a portrait photo of Colonel Von Seckendorff Commander of the 13th Panzer Brigade.
There is also a photo of French partisan and a photo of French boys viewing knocked-out German Panthers.
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
The 6 color side-view profiles show:
A U.S. M3 Series half-track that is overall olive-drab with white serial no. U.S.A. over 40251365
A U.S. M3 armored car (already described on the cover art)
A U.S. M-18 tank
A German Panther tank (already described on the cover art)
A German Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track that is in a base of earth-yellow with green and red-brown wave pattern camouflage, showing no marks
A German Flakpanzer IV "wirbelwind" tank that is overall earth-yellow with a heavy coating of winter white wash and no markings
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review copy. All Casemate titles can be viewed on their website at:
Highly recommended.