STankTacticsBookReview

Reviewed by Steven Douglas Mercatante [1]

Just when you thought there was little more to be gleaned from the thoroughly
documented armored battles in France between June and September 1944 Tank
Tactics emerged in 2001 to thoroughly and thought provokingly redefine what is known
about these pivotal events in World War Two.

In Tank Tactics Austrian born Roman Johann Jarymowycz has produced a book not only
examining some of the most important armored battles defining the Normandy campaign
following D-Day and the Allied breakout to the German border; but also offering one of
the more comprehensive comparisons between Second World War German, British,
Canadian, French, United States, and Soviet armored forces existing today. If this
book were only an operational history of Jarymowycz's selected Allied attempts to
break free of the Normandy beachhead (Operations Atlantic, Cobra, Cobra's pursuit
phase, Spring, Totalize, Tractable and the follow up Arracourt battles in Lorraine) it
would be well worth the purchase.

Tank Tactics however goes much further than revisiting the desperate armored
struggle between the Allies and Germany in 1944 France. In examining the individual
military traditions, development, doctrine, organization, training, and equipment of the
Allied, German, and Soviet armored forces in World War II, Jarymowycz offers a
thorough overview explaining how and why a massive but technically inferior Allied
armored force came to be; and then confront a smaller, but qualitatively superior,
German opponent.

Tank Tactics begins, most appropriately, by exploring the development of operational
maneuver, from the cavalry dominated era preceding the First World War to the
mechanized armies developed in the interwar years, armies, each in their own fashion
replacing the horse with the tank. Tank Tactics then delves into the creation of a
North American armored arm and the European influences on the U.S. and Canadian
armored forces. In particular, Tank Tactics explains the problems plaguing a U.S.
armored force that struggled to come to terms with the German and Russian approach
to the operational art.

Jarymowycz next examines the armored battles in Normandy and then Lorraine through
an interesting conceptual framework: the linkage between American and British led
efforts defining Allied attempts to break out from the Normandy beachhead. Tank
Tactics demonstrates how the Allied efforts were true coalitional efforts, albeit coming
up short in several key indices, yet working under an organized strategic approach far
more evolved than as described in past works. Although some may argue with the
importance of the operations Jarymowycz chose to profile, Jarymowycz is not seeking
to craft a comprehensive look at the 1944 Allied campaign in France. Rather the Allied
operations Tank Tactics investigates highlight the larger study of armor and battle of
maneuver defining this book. Within the larger goals motivating his book Jarymowycz
takes several other unique approaches to the subject matter. For example, he analyzes
how the Red Army would have done in Normandy, and compares the Allied grasp of the
operational art and maneuver warfare to the Soviet.

Although Jarymowycz spends the majority of his time examining operational level
military history, he also links the operational to the strategic and tactical. In particular,
Tank Tactics offers a fascinating look at exactly what it was about German armor that
made it so effective against the Allied armies in Normandy, but then ironically failed
Germany during and following the Allied breakout. Jarymowycz's reliance on after action
reports detailing first person experiences from both the allied and German perspective
are particularly illuminating in explaining the dynamics on the battlefield. To this end
the chapter entitled "Who Killed Tiger?" ranks among the most appealing of the book;
the chapter details a point by point analysis into the technical differences between the
capabilities and performance of the armor present on the Normandy battlefields.

Jarymowycz's operational level study of warfare and comparison of tank tactics draws
its authority from his experiences and education. Jarymowcyz's Ph.D. in history is
perhaps most evident in reviewing the sources he relied upon in writing Tank Tactics.
For the student of military history Tank Tactics offers more than an interesting read, it
is a tremendous reference work. The footnotes at the end of each chapter (and the
bibliography) provide more than just attribution for Jarymowcyz's logically presented
points; they substantially enrich the text - many even include tables of their own -
complementing those found within each chapter.

Although highly technical, Tank Tactics is broken up into easily digestible parts, is
supplemented with simple and easy to understand maps, charts, diagrams, tables and
illustrations; all helping to explain the complicated technical issues and movements of
men and machines defining each of the armored clashes profiled in his book. You will
not find this book at major brick and mortar retailers, the most accessible location is
online and even then, the book, as of the time of this writing, is limited in its
availability. Nevertheless, if you are at all interested in armored warfare, this book is
for you.

Return to Book Review Page