"Yeide often writes about individual vehicles, crews, and soldiers.... [T]he emphasis on such low-level material is invigorating, and the pages will certainly hold the attention of readers who want to know how the TDs fought their battles.... [I]t's likely that most readers will be thoroughly pleased with the balance of material Yeide has chosen to include, and The Tank Killers is certain to be a popular item."

--  Stone & Stone

Altogether then, this book ought to be welcome by those of us who enjoy a good read and who have an interest in the history of the vehicles we like to model.  . . . Highly recommended.”

--  Frank V. Curly Stooge De Sisto
missing-lynx.com

Ever wondered why the M10/18 Tank Destroyers were designed they way they were? Or how they were intended to be used? Well, in this book you will find the answers. Harry Yeide has produced an excellent history of what has been described as The most successful failure in American military history .

-- Historic Military Vehicle Forum

If you have been looking for a good book on United States Army tank destroyers, and missed the earlier hardback edition, then this is it. The book includes some useful appendices; these include brief profiles of all the Tank Destroyer battalions and plenty of valuable references.

-- The Royal Tank Regiment Journal

In this book, the author recounts the dramatic and sometimes overlooked story of the men in the American Tank Destroyer Battalion. Drawing on official reports and documents, and first hand accounts, the author presents the entire story of the Battalion, from its formation in 1941 through to the final victory in 1945.

-- Britain at War Magazine

Here is the official scoop:

  “The Tank Killers” is the story of the American Tank Destroyer Force in North Africa, Italy, and the European Theater during World War II. The tank destroyer (TD) was a bold-if some would say flawed-answer to the challenge posed by the seemingly unstoppable German blitzkrieg. The TD was conceived to be light and fast enough to outmaneuver panzer forces and go where tanks could not. At the same time, the TD would wield the firepower needed to kill any German tank on the battlefield. Indeed, American doctrine stipulated that TDs would fight tanks, while American tanks would concentrate on achieving and exploiting breakthroughs of enemy lines.

    “The Tank Killers” follows the men who fought in the TDs from the formation of the force in 1941 through the victory over the Third Reich in 1945. It is a story of American flexibility and pragmatism in military affairs. Tank destroyers were among the very first units to land in North Africa in 1942. Their first vehicles were ad hoc affairs: Halftracks and weapons carriers with guns no better than those on tanks and thin armor affording the crews considerably less protection. Almost immediately, the crews realized that their doctrine was incomplete. They began adapting to circumstances, along with their partners in the infantry and armored divisions. By the time that North Africa was in Allied hands, the TD had become a valued tank fighter, assault gun, and artillery piece. The reconnaissance teams in TD battalions, meanwhile, had established a record for daring operations that they would continue for the rest of the war.

  The story continues with the invasion of Italy and finally that of Fortress Europe on 6 June 1944. By now, the brass had decreed that half the force would convert to towed guns, a decision that dogged the affected crews through the end of the war. The TD men encountered increasingly lethal enemies, ever more dangerous panzers that were often vulnerable only to their guns while American tank crews watched in frustration as their rounds bounced harmlessly off the thick German armor. They fought under incredibly diverse conditions that demanded constant modification of tactics. Their equipment became ever more deadly. By VE day, the tank destroyer battalions had achieved impressive records, generally with kill/loss rates heavily in their favor. Yet the Army after the war concluded that the concept of a separate TD arm was so fundamentally flawed that not a single battalion existed after November 1946.

    “The Tank Killers” draws heavily on the records of the tank destroyer battalions and the units with which they fought. Veterans of the force add their personal stories.

6 x 9

256 pages

16 b/w illustrations

maps

1-932033-26-2

Casemate

10/18/2004

Harry Yeide adds:

    I love this book. You will be surprised how like the Wild West the first combat was for the TD men in North Africa. You will watch how the TD crews perfected their deadly craft until they were professional panzer killers, afraid of nothing the Third Reich could hurl at them. I think most readers will be surprised to learn not only about the intricacies of tank killing, but also about the roles played by the battalion reconnaissance men--who started out resembling the "Rat Patrol" of TV fame and later did just about everything from raids behind enemy lines to directing artillery barrages to clearing deadly mines. Talk about some good stories!