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From Normandy to Germany in a Tank

£25.00 GBP
What was tank warfare like for an ordinary conscripted British soldier in the Second World War? Arthur Ibbotson was a Grenadier Guardsman whose training and battles from Normandy Germany (1943-45)

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Description

By Michael Robert Ibbotson

Hardback

What was tank warfare like for an ordinary conscripted British soldier in the Second World War? Arthur Ibbotson was a Grenadier Guardsman whose training and battles from Normandy Germany (1943-45) help provide and answer.

He trained using the 30-ton M4 Sherman tank but after being flown into Normandy, he instead joined the crew of a 15-ton M5 Honey reconnaissance tank. Despite its diminutive size and small gun, he drove daily into enemy territory, coming close to death on five occasions.

His first combat involved capturing 100+ POWs, described here in detail for the first time. This was followed immediately by Operation Market Garden, where his tank periodically led 50,000 men of 30 Corps. He defended the supply route against German attacks and dealt with friendly fire from the US 101st, neither topic often covered in histories of the battle. Unlike common portrayal of market garden as a disaster, Arthur regarded it as a victory, a perspective discussed in detail. Later, the Battle of the Bulge required a relocation back to Belgium, an often-overlooked British action.

Before crossing into Germany. he was issued with an ultra-modern M24 reconnaissance tank. While learning the vagaries of this technological wonder, he encountered more near-death situations, including a hit from Panzerfaust and the death of a close friend that was killed by a mine over which Arthur had jus driven. Explaining why he had gone through so much ; he liberated a concentration camp days before the war's end and spent his final service returning the country to peace.

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From Normandy to Germany in a Tank Book [variant_option4]
Pen & Sword

From Normandy to Germany in a Tank

£25.00 GBP

By Michael Robert Ibbotson

Hardback

What was tank warfare like for an ordinary conscripted British soldier in the Second World War? Arthur Ibbotson was a Grenadier Guardsman whose training and battles from Normandy Germany (1943-45) help provide and answer.

He trained using the 30-ton M4 Sherman tank but after being flown into Normandy, he instead joined the crew of a 15-ton M5 Honey reconnaissance tank. Despite its diminutive size and small gun, he drove daily into enemy territory, coming close to death on five occasions.

His first combat involved capturing 100+ POWs, described here in detail for the first time. This was followed immediately by Operation Market Garden, where his tank periodically led 50,000 men of 30 Corps. He defended the supply route against German attacks and dealt with friendly fire from the US 101st, neither topic often covered in histories of the battle. Unlike common portrayal of market garden as a disaster, Arthur regarded it as a victory, a perspective discussed in detail. Later, the Battle of the Bulge required a relocation back to Belgium, an often-overlooked British action.

Before crossing into Germany. he was issued with an ultra-modern M24 reconnaissance tank. While learning the vagaries of this technological wonder, he encountered more near-death situations, including a hit from Panzerfaust and the death of a close friend that was killed by a mine over which Arthur had jus driven. Explaining why he had gone through so much ; he liberated a concentration camp days before the war's end and spent his final service returning the country to peace.

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