Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II

I run a WW2 library page on Instagram and received an advanced copy of Spearhead in exchange for an honest review. The acclaimed author has done it again. Finding a fantastic set of characters from both the American and German side, following their fight until their stories entwine on the battlefield. The book follows the stories of tank gunners Clarence and Gustav through the European theater until their wars collide in Cologne as the Allies break into Germany. Adam Makos’ brilliant and descriptive storytelling paints a clear picture of the men and the battles. You can visualize these men and their crews inside the tanks, facing the perils of armored warfare. Adam Makos and his team spent a great deal of time researching the battlefields, on the ground with the veterans and this is evident in the amazing level of detail he has put to paper. As well as the two gunners we meet other characters from infantry and armored units as they fight together through some of the wars epic battles including the Ruhr Pocket where 325,000 German troops were captured. The reader is taken inside the tanks, through the trenches, streets and fields with these men who are swept up in the tragedy of war. A fantastic book that reads beautifully, anyone can enjoy this from WW2 enthusiasts to people who are new to the genre. I loved it and I’m sure you will too.

This book arrived earlier today and I began leafing through it to see if I liked it or not. Turns out I did so I sat down and read it from cover to cover.Wasn't sure if an accurate story of the soldiers from Company E, 32d Armored Regiment, 3d Armored Division, along with their supporting foot troops of the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, who fought in the Battle of Cologne would be accurately told by someone who relied on interviews rather than wartime documents. But a quick look at the endnotes shows Makos did rely on wartime documents. In fact, he did an excellent job in terms of getting it right, with only one minor gaffe in the entire book (mistakenly identified the German Seventh Army as the Seventeenth Army)Adam Markos has done an absolutely magnificent job capturing those events and taking the story further by examining the postwar experiences of the panzer crewmembers and US tankers during a dramatic afternoon captured on film by a Signal Corps motion picture photographer and recounted after the fact by Stars and Stripes correspondent Andy Rooney.For those interested in more than Cologne, the author begins the tale by recounting events at the Mons Pocket in September 1944 before taking the narrative through the capture of Cologne and beyond.I am gauging this book's worth from the perspective of a professional historian who previously served in the US Army as a tanker in a number of different units between 1979 and 2006. Reading about Clarence Smoyer and Gustav Schaefer meeting after the war in the same square where they both fired upon a fleeing civilian car with tragic results almost brought tears to my eyes. It was very touching to see how wartime foes could become close comrades decades later. SPOILER ALERT - Herr Schaefer was not in the Panther whose destruction was captured on film. He was in one of the other two panzers in Cologne city center that day.Highly recommended especially for those who aren't deeply interested in World War 2 or armored warfare. This will prove to be an enjoyable and interesting read for those folks.A number of photos are included, some are recognizable stock pictures that have appeared in other books but some were donated by veterans for the book. Some maps are included, but they give a "soda straw" rather than a wider view of specific events.

I just received my copy today, I had to order this great book, after seeing a review about Spearhead in The Wall Street Journal. As I thumb through my copy, I know I will not be disappointed! I am a student of history, and keenly appreciate reading about WW II, especially American actions in France and Germany. My dear Uncle was a surviving combat medic under General Devers and later with General Anthony McCauliffe going into Germany. ... years ..later he reconciled with our German cousins . For me much of this is very personal in a familial sense. Author, Adam Makos is a gifted writer with much more to offer in the future. I must read his other works. The type set makes this edition easy to read. The colorized photo on the cover brings the past to life.The photos, maps and illustrations are very worthy additions to the narrative. The notes, index, sources, etc. are complete.Well done Random House, and a special thanks to Adam Makoas.!! WELL DONE!!

Wow! This is the best book I have read since Adam Makos' A Higher Call. It is an intense and emotional journey through the end of WWII. I knew the boys in the Allied armored divisions had a rough job, but this really puts their fight into a new personal light.I remember watching the film on the duel with the Panther as a kid and always wanting to know more, now you can. This book will leave you saying wow and probably rubbing your eyes a bit at the end.I was sitting on the edge of my office chair on numerous occasions glued to the pages reading as fast I could to see what would happen next. I can't believe the things these boys went through to defeat the Third Reich. I love WWII history and I now have a much stronger appreciation of our WWII tanker veterans like Clarence Smoyer and his armored infantry comrades. All I can say is Clarence's story should be a movie! Do your self a favor and read this book!

I had the opportunity to hear this story sitting with Clarence Smoyer back in 2003 at a 3rd Armored Division Reunion. As the President of the 32nd Cavalry & Armor Association this story is part of our history as a Combat Cavalry and Armor Regiment. Adam Makos has written a great book of the story of "Spearhead" the Story of Cpl. Clarence Smoyer (Eagle 7). Clarence served in Easy Company 2nd Battalion 32nd Armor Regiment as a gunner on a Pershing Tank. His story tells of the Battle of Cologne and the tank battle that took place in front of the Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus, English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter. This battle was a turning point of the First Army/ 3rd Armored Division invasion into Germany. I recommend this book to be part of your reading. VICTORY OR DEATH!!!

I had to give up reading this book about 1/3 of the way in. The events portrayed are apparently all true and I have no reason to doubt it. It has photographs and official quotes that confirm it. However it reads like a novel written by an excitable schoolboy.The author is apparently able to tell us detailed conversations and even the thoughts of all the characters in the book plus all kinds of minutiae that I doubt anyone could recall after 70 odd years. It's full of unnecessary hyperbole . I gave up after tiring of reading for the tenth time about the Germans firing "green bolts" (anti tank fire).Maybe OK for you if you are 12 years old.

It was one of the best war books I'v read. I know the Cologne streets where the tank battle took place near the cathedral. The book shows the sheer chance of whether you'd survive or not in those World War II combats, with nothing held back in explaining the reality of the fighting, but also a nice touch on how the soldier, Clarence Smoyer went back to Cologne and met the German who fought against him in the tank battle in 1945. Excellent and highly recommended....

Tank crews lived a very dangerous life in WW2 battlefields. It didn't take much to get killed in a Sherman "Tommie Cooker" when facing superior German tanks and field guns. But American tankers eventually made it all the way to Germany, fighting tank duels and winning battles with their infantry comrades. This true story, about Clarence, shows how humans react in terrible battlefield encounters, winning through with dogged courage blended with devil-may-care attitudes to life. I found this gripping from start to finish and was sorry when the war ended and I had to say goodbye to Clarence and his "family" of tankers!

The well-known Pershing - Panther duel at Cologne cathedral is the centre-piece of the book, but there are plenty of fascinating events leading up to it. The author does a good job weaving into the narrative the stories of tank crewmen on both sides ofthe conflict and the character studies are well-rounded. There may be a little too much added detail for those looking for a purely historical narrative (the author sketches scenes and describes thoughts and feelings from the veterans' points of view), but I felt that he achieved just the right balance. It reminded me a little of Ken Tout's 'Tank!' - which, in my view, is the best semi-fictional account of WW2 tank action ever-written. Recommended.

I read this over a couple of days and really enjoyed it, not that enjoy is the correct word when you read the horrors depicted in this book.What I enjoyed most (Sorry, most interesting) was the battle between the Panther and Pershing tank in Cologne. It's a frequent film that appears on YouTube as one of the army film people were on scene. It was incredible to actually read about the men involved, and who was driving the car you see being fired upon.Well worth a read. Makes you realise that it's politicians that should be fighting, not the soldiers.