In many respects this book is a British counterpart to Stephan Ambrose's "Band of Brothers." It follows a British armored regiment, the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, from landing in Normandy on D-Day, through the fighting in Normandy, Holland and into Germany, ending the war near Bremen. James Holland: Big Week, The Biggest Air Battle of World War Two". Pritzker Military Museum & Library. 2018 . Retrieved 23 May 2019. December 2019). The Pacific War 1941-1943. illus. Keith Burns. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7181-8652-4. Burma '44: The Battle That Turned Britain's War in the East. London: Bantam Press. ISBN 978-0593075852.

What this means is that other tank units, grouped into armoured divisions, only joined the battle after the crust of German resistance had been broken and exploitation of the gap was required. ‘Mind your paint, sir, as you go through,’ the SRY men would call, as the tanks of the less bloodied armoured divisions came past.Holland, author of World War II magazine’s “Need to Know” column, is a historian at the height of his powers with an enviable mastery of his subject. For this book he conducted deep archival research and interviewed the regiment’s veterans and their families, gleaning a wealth of new information and anecdotes. For me, his greatest insight is how the Sherwood Rangers developed from a mere military unit into a community—even a family. Readers also learn much about tank warfare, the British Army, and the bitter fighting in northwest Europe during World War II. What I also liked is that Hollland tells us what happend to a lot of the men mentioned in the book after the war. I always appreciate and author doing this. With his two-part BBC Two documentary Cold War, Hot Jets (2013), he took a rare departure from World War II to focus on the postwar era and the aeronautics race. Reviewing it for the Guardian, Sam Wollaston called it a "rip-roaring documentary." [21] From the prologue, set during El Alamein, through the chapters on the Normandy Campaign and into the bleak end of the war in Germany, Holland manages two feats. First, he imbues every member of the regiment, no matter how small their role, with a personality.

I don't mind some VERY POINTED character development of persons central to a story, but this author just goes in waaaaay too deep here; too many persons, too much information, and it obfuscates the story line. This was my first book by James Holland and I must say it will not be my last. The author does a great job by taking the reader along, inside and outside of the tanks, to show what it was all about. He captures the horrors of war and the claustrophobic nature of tank warfare. But also the camaraderie between the men of the unit and the individual crews. It also shows the problems that they encountered when they had to support infantry on the chaotic battlefield. But it is also the other way around, the infantry supporting the tanks. Lessons had to be learned and relearned, Normandy being a very different type of battlefield compared to their earlier one in North Africa. War as it should be described. The book is an assault on the senses...Painful to read but impossible to put down' Gerard de Groot, The Times History Hit Podcast Network: James Holland on Imphal and Kohima". soundcloud. 31 January 2018 . Retrieved 23 May 2019.I have read many books about the European (and Pacific) theatres in WW2, but never one that focused on a single armored division. I had always thought that being a part of a tank corp would be the worst of all possible worlds during a war...the possibility of being incinerated alive from a hit on your tank sounds terrible. This bood did nothing to convince me otherwise, but it was still a fascinating account. Not many people write both fiction and non-fiction, but I like doing both. Although I studied history at university, (and continue to do so), my first book was a novel.

I would definitely recommend An Englishman At War, as it tells the story perfectly of the SRY before D-day. Holland has written novels and non-fiction history books focusing on the Second World War, and presented documentaries for television and radio. He is the co-founder and co-chair of the annual Chalke Valley History Festival, and co-hosts the We Have Ways Of Making You Talk podcast with Al Murray. Through compelling eye-witness testimony and James Holland's expert analysis of the war in the West, Brothers In Arms brings to vivid life the final bloody scramble across Europe and gives the most powerful account to date of what it was really like to fight in the dying days of World War Two.

Chronicling those dark, dramatic months in unflinching and insightful detail, The Savage Storm is unlike any campaign history yet written. James Holland has always recounted the Second World War at ground level, but this version telling brings the story vividly to life like never before. Weaving together a wealth of letters, diaries, and other incredible documents, Holland traces the battles as they were fought - across plains, over mountains, through shattered villages and cities, in intense heat and, towards the end, frigid cold and relentless rain - putting readers at the heart of the action to create an entirely fresh and revealing telling of this most pivotal phase of the war. Through compelling eye-witness testimony and James Holland's expert analysis of the war in the West, Brothers In Arms gives the most powerful account to date of what it was really like to fight in the dying days of World War Two.

As a historian, I try and carry out as much original research as possible and remind myself to look at the various aspects of the war I am studying with fresh eyes. worst of all for any British troops moving along this road, men with panzerfausts. The Germans had spent the war designing, building and operating an array of incredibly complex and sophisticated weaponry, but this simple, mass-produced tube of metal was ensuring there was no easy ride for the Sherwood Rangers or any other Allied troops advancing deep into Germany.All in all, the Rangers had a full war, but while the achievements are quite astounding: This book is a testimony to Hollands handwork over the years of speaking to the veterans, their families and doing what he does best walking the ground.David, Saul (16 July 2010). "Three books on the Battle of Britain: review". Telegraph . Retrieved 21 May 2019. Larman, Alexander (6 September 2015). "The War in the West review – revelatory account of second world war". Guardian . Retrieved 19 May 2019. Through compelling eye-witness testimony and James Holland's expert analysis, Brothers In Arms brings to vivid life the final bloody scramble across Europe and gives the most powerful account to date of what it was really like to fight in the dying days of World War Two. Perkins, Roger (13 July 2008). "The Odin Mission: taking the King's shilling". Telegraph . Retrieved 22 May 2019. Pritzker Military Presents – Episode: 'The War in the West: The Rise of Germany, 1939 – 1941 (PBS, 2015)