TANKS OF D-DAY 1944

◗ Steven Zaloga ◗ Osprey (2021) ◗ £11.99 ◗ 48 pages (softback) ◗ ISBN:9781472846648 ◗ ospreypublishing.com

Another strong publication by a good author...

Allied specialised anti-obstacle armour, often known as ‘The Funnies’, played a major role in the successful D-Day landings. This title describes the range of vehicles, their organisation and their combat usage, including losses by type on each of the five landing beaches. (There is also a short 2-page section on the landings in Southern France in Operation Dragoon). D-Day was no walkover, but basically the German defences were swamped by a tide of men and machine: mines and other obstacles were backed by relatively few 88m, 75mm and (mainly) 50mm anti-tank guns. On Sword Beach, the assaulting infantry brigade was supported by two armoured regiments and around sixty specialist tanks: enough virtually to guarantee success.

The author’s analysis is well researched: for example, the Churchill AVRE’s ‘bunker-busting’ Petard was less effective against major concrete obstacles, and its range of only 80 metres meant that the open-hatch exposed reloading process was hazardous to say the least. Much here for wargamers and historians alike.