Armored Attack 1944: U. S. Army Tank Combat in the European Theater from D-Day to the Battle of Bulge Hardcover – September 14, 2011

Armored warfare historian Steven Zaloga presents here a phenominal photographic illustrated history of U.S. armored forces in combat from D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge. This exhaustive 500 plus page book covers the WW-2 conflict from the Overlord [D-Day] invasion, to the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. The battle for Normandy, OIperation Cobra, The liberation of Paris, operation Dragoon, and the Siegfried line are just some of the area's of American tank warfare that takes center stage. This book is by no means a written history, so do not expect any lengthy text What this book does offer, is thousands of photographs, with the majority never seen before. The author takes you on a photographic journey through the trenches in the mud and snow, as seen only by the soldiers themselves. Not only are the American tanks and artillary. Jeeps and half-tracks profiled, but all the German Panzer's such as the Tigers, Panthers, King Tigers,Panzer IV's, and assorted artillary pieces are also profiled in great detail. If you can be satisfied with an archive of outstanding WW-2 armored photography, then this book is going to more than please you, but keep in mind, this is not a written history of WW-2 armored conflict. Nice historic photo compilation of military armored combat in the European theatre of operations, is what it is!

Steve has been an icon in the Armor field for a long time but my usual exposure to his work has been an article with a build of a model. This is the first of his books that I have read and loved it. Full coverage of all American armor used in 1944, not just Shermans. Most of the text is captions for the many (1000+) photos in the book and give detailed information regarding the unit and location. For the Military Historian you get a great history of what, and where US armor was involved. For the model builder, some great diorama ideas regarding US armor and knocked out or abandoned German armor.I did notice one picture was duplicated in the book but the captions, while different, did indicate the same unit and location. The only other thing I would have liked would have been some color profiles of some of the vehicles highlighted.Still a great book. Now I have to get the follow up volume for 1945. Steve, how about a similar series on the Commonwealth armor from the same timeframes?

Like another reviewer, I expected a more "definitive" work on US armored combat in Northwest Europe in 1944, with detailed descriptions of battles, maps, orders of battle, etc. My hopes were too high, such an "ultimate" work would probably comprise a dozen similarly sized volumes for 1944 alone. Mr. Zaloga says in the Introduction that he has "attempted to select the photos in this book to satisfy a variety of potential readers," demonstrating the sort of compromises he faced with this book.The captions are good for the most part, especially given the sparse information that many of the original captions probably had. If you're looking for specific identifications of every vehicle -- like "an early production large-hatch M4A1(76)W with T48 tracks and duckbills from 2nd Platoon, A Company, 741st Tank Battalion, seen at 8:24am ...." this is not the book for you.There's at least one production error in the book, captions for two photos on pages 494 and 495 were swapped, but it's an obvious mistake that won't confuse anyone.Ultimately, this is a great collection of photos -- probably the most comprehensive collection of US government photos that will ever be compiled -- at a good price, and with Zaloga you're in good hands.

For those of you wanting a detailed history of strategy and tactics, this may not be the book for you. If you are looking for a good photographic reference book, this is definitely the book for you. Pictured in this book are multiple Sherman variants, M10, M18, multiple half track variants, self propelled guns, etc. This book also shows captured German equipment being used by U.S. forces. Included with each photograph is a paragraph describing the photo with items such as location, unit and other pertinent information. This book is a great photographic reference for scale modelers and for those who are looking for historical references.

A photographic history, not much else. Despite the words "U.S. Army Tank Combat" in the subtitle, there is little discussion of actual Tank Combat in the book. The book description is not accurate. If photos of equipment is your thing then this is it. 90% of the pages consists of pictures with captions. Photos are of both Allied and German equipment. Not just tanks but other vehicles and some artillery as well. The pictures are however disappointingly small, therefore details are hard to pick out. Modelers maybe disappointed. As for the text, there is a short one or two page cursory description of the general situation on the ground at the beginning of each chapter. Most of Zaloga's other books are full of interesting content, detailing the employment, short comings, advantages and evolution of each sides equipment. The author in prior works provides examples of actual engagements on the battlefield and how well the equipment fared on those battlefield. This book is completely lacking in those areas. Expected a lot more information about combat operations and tactics during the Allied Campaign in France and Germany in 1944-45.Again, this title comes up short in those areas. It's a very good picture book, not a detailed analysis of the equipment and methods employed by each side. The authors other books, such as "Armored Thunderbolt" and his Osprey "Duel" series are highly recommended for those who want a detailed look at nuts and bolts of armored combat.

I bought this book after having been impressed by the (better) Armored Victory. As others have stated, this is essentially a glossy picture reference book on US Armour, with two or three photos to each page. This can sometimes be frustratingly small, but that aside, its worth buying for the quantity and variety of interesting images. Arguably the best in any contemporary book on this subject. Granted, there are plenty of those "stock shots" the reader of any Osprey/Vanguard/WWII tank book, will be overly familiar with, but there are plenty more new and interesting images to counter the claim "There's a good book subject in everyone. Shame he always produces the same one...” My two grumbles are personal but would be:A) The "bleached/fuzzy" quality of some (but not all) the photographs. I have seen the same prints produced more clearly in other Zaloga books (e.g. p108 - The variety of Hedgerow cutters) than they appear in this tome. (It looks almost like someone used the glossy image from another book rather than reproduced from the original photo / negative. Like a "pirated" video.B) The subject relevance of the photographs. I'd rather had more - or bigger images of US armor detail and fewer exclusive shots of plundered German wrecks. Perhaps they should have gone in a different volume exclusively aimed at German tank fans. (Perhaps "Armored Kicking 1944"?)That aside, for the money - it’s worth it. The second volume is better, clearer....but that's another story.

I have all three books in this series, this is one of the better one as the written material is limited.The book is mainly a photo library of US armour, there are some good photos of German armour but all the photos are poorly reproduced and many of them are just too small.There are many new books coming onto the market now which do this sort of thing much better and the publishers take the time to ensure the best reproduction of the photos.Not a great book and over priced, for the Zaloga fans.

This is a fantastic book on US Armour ( plus pictures/ info of German Armour with was not expecting). All the later pictures of the ‘Bulge ‘ i have seen countless times which is a bit of a let down.Otherwise nice book.

Yet another great work by Mr Zaloga. Full of photgraphs, many of which, I had not seen before. Ignore what some critics say about the book, the photograpic history presented here is awesome! The picture quality is very good.A.J.JONES.Staffordshire.

once again zalgoa does it first rate.