Research Catalog

Spearhead : an American tank gunner, his enemy, and a collision of lives in World War II

Title
Spearhead : an American tank gunner, his enemy, and a collision of lives in World War II / Adam Makos.
Author
Makos, Adam
Publication
  • New York : Ballantine Books, [2019]
  • ©2019
Supplementary Content
The 3rd Armored Division History Foundation, Claence Smoyer Index

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Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.

TextUse in library JFE 19-5969Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
xiii, 393 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps; 25 cm
Summary
When Clarence Smoyer is assigned to the gunner's seat of his Sherman tank, his crewmates discover that the gentle giant from Pennsylvania has a hidden talent: He's a natural-born shooter. At first, Clarence and his fellow crews in the legendary 3rd Armored Division -- "Spearhead" -- thought their tanks were invincible. Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: The lead tank always gets hit. After Clarence sees his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, he and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art "super tank," one of twenty in the European theater. But with it comes a harrowing new responsibility: Now they will spearhead every attack. That's how Clarence, the corporal from coal country, finds himself leading the U.S. Army into its largest urban battle of the European war, the fight for Cologne, the "Fortress City" of Germany. Battling through the ruins, Clarence will engage the fearsome Panther in a duel immortalized by an army cameraman. And he will square off with Gustav Schaefer, a teenager behind the trigger in a Panzer IV tank, whose crew has been sent on a suicide mission to stop the Americans. As Clarence and Gustav trade fire down a long boulevard, they are taken by surprise by a tragic mistake of war. What happens next will haunt Clarence to the modern day, drawing him back to Cologne to do the unthinkable: to face his enemy, one last time.
Alternative Title
World War II odyssey of an American tank gunner
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Biography.
  • History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
The gentle giant -- Baptism -- "Bubi" -- The fields -- The foray -- Beyond the wall -- Respite -- The fourth tank -- Hope -- Something bigger -- America's tiger -- Two miles -- Hunting -- The fire department of the west -- Going first -- Victory or Siberia -- The monster -- The conquerors -- The breakout -- The American blitz -- The fatherless -- Family -- The giant -- The duel -- Getting home -- The last battle.
Call Number
JFE 19-5969
ISBN
  • 9780804176729
  • 0804176728
  • 9780804176736 (Ebook) (canceled/invalid)
LCCN
2018039460
OCLC
1051778382
Author
Makos, Adam, author.
Title
Spearhead : an American tank gunner, his enemy, and a collision of lives in World War II / Adam Makos.
Publisher
New York : Ballantine Books, [2019]
Copyright Date
©2019
Edition
First edition.
Type of Content
text
still image
cartographic image
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Connect to:
The 3rd Armored Division History Foundation, Claence Smoyer Index
Chronological Term
1939-1945
Other Form:
Online version: Makos, Adam, author. Spearhead New York : Ballantine Books, [2019] 9780804176736 (DLC) 2018042694
Research Call Number
JFE 19-5969
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