Originally Posted by Martin Bull

Just coming up to chapter four of this book. It is a most interesting read on one of 'my' subjects....

So far, not as smooth to read as Copp's book ( which is probably more of a reflection on me... ) and I'm just a little confused about the claims made for the book ; other writers have criticised British armour for 'failure' in Normandy and reading this convinces me that not all was down to the tanks or crews - inappropriate doctrine and tactics were imposed but the result still seems to me to have often been .... failure.

And, although I haven't yet reached discussion of the opposition, I still have a deep-seated feeling that the Germans were rather better at tank warfare 1944-style, depite the fact that the advantage lies with the defenders.....

Good to see that the author doesn't 'trash' Carlo D'Este's book - while disagreeing with some of C d'E's points, 'Decision In Normandy' is frequently cited in the notes.

On we go.....