Main Battle Tank
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Main Battle Tank for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"An emotional rollercoaster... the retelling of the Challengers' devastating displays of firepower in tense, close-quarter battles in and around Basra which will awe every reader... Fast-paced and charged with action..." --Soldier Magazine
"A breathtaking insight into the heaviest fighting experienced by British troops in Iraq. Powerful, terrifying, relentless -- the action comes at you like the Challenger itself." --Ross Kemp
"Explosive" --The Sun
"... an intimate, vivid and action-packed account of armoured fighting in the heavily-defended `complex terrain' of urban Basra." --Military Times (Book of the Month)
"A breathtaking insight into the heaviest fighting experienced by British troops in Iraq. Powerful, terrifying, relentless -- the action comes at you like the Challenger itself." --Ross Kemp
"Explosive" --The Sun
"... an intimate, vivid and action-packed account of armoured fighting in the heavily-defended `complex terrain' of urban Basra." --Military Times (Book of the Month)
"Edworthy steers with a sure and steady hand through the plunging drama and roiling violence in his detailed, gripping account of the tank's final battle. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the smoke-wreathed belly of mechanised war." --Anthony Loyd, War Correspondent, The Times
Product Description
Taking a tank into war . . .
The British Army's Challenger II Main Battle Tank is one of the most awesome war machines ever built. In March 2003, three Squadrons of Challenger 2s from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, part of Britain's 7th Armoured Brigade, the fabled Desert Rats, gathered in Southern Iraq to prepare for battle.The Army's newest Big Guns were going to war for the first time.
But Operation TELIC was a war which the Challenger 2, designed to operate in the fog and mud of the Central European Plain, had never been expected to fight. And one that would quickly break every rule of tank warfare including the golden maxim: never take a tank into a town.
In Main Battle Tank, author Niall Edworthy, granted unprecedented access to the Scots DGs, tells the story of an extraordinary chapter in the history of British Army. From the terrifying rescue of a stricken Challenger 2 and countless nerve-shredding raids into Basra and Az Zubyar, to the biggest tank engagement fought by the British since the end of WWII, Main Battle Tank is the brutal, blistering true story of a war that tested man and machine to the bloody limit.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I first became aware of this book in the 'latest releases' section of a high street bookshop. Being an ex.tankie I was fascinated but the price put me off buying it there and then. Consequently I bought through Amazon where I found the book to be super value for money.
With regards to the book itself i'll review it from two angles, as an ex-tank crewman and as a general public reader.
As an ex.tank crewman I found the content rivetting. For example, on the very first operation into 'enemy territory' there was so much I had difficulty in comprehending. I couldn't believe that a squadron of 12 tanks costing £5m each, plus the 48 lives supported by more back up including infantry, would make a probe along an exposed and ELEVATED road, including the crossing of numerous bridges. It would have been so easy for an organised enemy to blow at least one of those bridges resulting in a critical situation. Yet this is just one of many examples where all the run-of-the-mill training for conventional warfare rulebook is thrown away. For these examples alone, the book makes interesting reading. What I found deeply frustrating for a book costing this much, is the dire lack of illustrations, both photographic and line drawings. I would recommend a separate map of each operation and line drawings of the action where photographs aren't available. I won't spoil your read by giving any more details other than to say, if you are an .ex squaddie, tankie or not, then you will really enjoy this book.
For a member of the general public I offer this review. It was Sir Winston Churchill who once said of the Battle of Britain pilots 'never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few' and rightly so. Most of those pilots were in their late teens and early 20s. How often do you hear people say that there are no young men of their calibre around today? I suggest you read this book and you will see that there are indeed many young men doing exactly that today in Afghanistan as well as in the period covered in this book. You will read of how it feels to take the lives of others who want to take yours. You will discover how the feeling of security gained from going to war in the best tank in the world can also turn into the realisation that your protector could also become your coffin. If you know of someone who served in the Gulf, then I heartily recommend this book. If you don't know anyone who served in Iraq then I still recommend this book because you will discover what the word 'Hero' actually means. As you read the story, put yourself in their position and imagine how you would feel. Then, when these guys come home, go out on the street and applaud their courage and committment to ensuring that you lead a safe and secure life.
With regards to the book itself i'll review it from two angles, as an ex-tank crewman and as a general public reader.
As an ex.tank crewman I found the content rivetting. For example, on the very first operation into 'enemy territory' there was so much I had difficulty in comprehending. I couldn't believe that a squadron of 12 tanks costing £5m each, plus the 48 lives supported by more back up including infantry, would make a probe along an exposed and ELEVATED road, including the crossing of numerous bridges. It would have been so easy for an organised enemy to blow at least one of those bridges resulting in a critical situation. Yet this is just one of many examples where all the run-of-the-mill training for conventional warfare rulebook is thrown away. For these examples alone, the book makes interesting reading. What I found deeply frustrating for a book costing this much, is the dire lack of illustrations, both photographic and line drawings. I would recommend a separate map of each operation and line drawings of the action where photographs aren't available. I won't spoil your read by giving any more details other than to say, if you are an .ex squaddie, tankie or not, then you will really enjoy this book.
For a member of the general public I offer this review. It was Sir Winston Churchill who once said of the Battle of Britain pilots 'never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few' and rightly so. Most of those pilots were in their late teens and early 20s. How often do you hear people say that there are no young men of their calibre around today? I suggest you read this book and you will see that there are indeed many young men doing exactly that today in Afghanistan as well as in the period covered in this book. You will read of how it feels to take the lives of others who want to take yours. You will discover how the feeling of security gained from going to war in the best tank in the world can also turn into the realisation that your protector could also become your coffin. If you know of someone who served in the Gulf, then I heartily recommend this book. If you don't know anyone who served in Iraq then I still recommend this book because you will discover what the word 'Hero' actually means. As you read the story, put yourself in their position and imagine how you would feel. Then, when these guys come home, go out on the street and applaud their courage and committment to ensuring that you lead a safe and secure life.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Great read - this is not a dry military history ("meanwhile A Platoon took Objective A, while B Platoon took Objective B etc etc) , instead it introduces you to the participants, fleshes them out, and then gets you right into the heat of battle alongside them. Thus you sympathise with their dilemmas,decision making and daily routine, and each death or injury hits home. But nor is it an Andy McNab "I grabbed the GPMG and blew away 50 ragheads, their entrails splattering my night vision goggles" testosterone - fest.
Really a form of micro - history, and therefore very different from most books of this kind - perhaps the closest comparison is "Junior Officers' Reading Club", but without the occasionally irritating style of that book. Highly recommended.
Really a form of micro - history, and therefore very different from most books of this kind - perhaps the closest comparison is "Junior Officers' Reading Club", but without the occasionally irritating style of that book. Highly recommended.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a penetrating analysis of tank warfare and for anybody remotely interested in military history is a book that must be read. The details of the magnificent Challenger tank and its formidable weaponry are closely researched and the book is made all the better by the clear respect the men have for it and for each other. Because we get to know the real characters, there is a feeling that you are with them not only in Iraq but also in their actions not to mention ordeals.
Most of all there is a wonderful appreciation of what those officers and men went through and of their abundant courage. The author has given us the privilege of an insight into the minds of young eighteen year old raw recruits as well as into those of battle hardened warriors and leaders.
Most of all there is a wonderful appreciation of what those officers and men went through and of their abundant courage. The author has given us the privilege of an insight into the minds of young eighteen year old raw recruits as well as into those of battle hardened warriors and leaders.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A gripping account of modern tank warfare
This book was recommended to me by an ex member of the Scots Dragoon Guards. I have enjoyed it thoroughly and can also recommend it.
Published 16 hours ago by Malcolm Canmore
Excellent read
Being ex-armoured myself, I thound thisd book an excellent read and it brought back many fond memories. Read in two nights. well worth buying
Published 2 months ago by dave
Main Battle Tank
Quite possibly the best written book about either of the Gulf Wars. It captures very graphically the terror and horror of war from the perspective of a tank crewman as well the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Golo953
interesting but different story of the war in Iraq
it was very interesting read about the experiences of armoured warfare for a change and the book was a great read from start to finish
Published 2 months ago by Mark Barker
One of the best war books I've read
Well detailed, full of action, well written and tense from start to finish. Main Battle Tank is a great read. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Blackbird
Well Worth It
I bought this book after reading some of the reviews read here.This book was sad and funny "after seeing a burnt out car on bricks and derelct houses,one of the tank crew asked if... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kev
Classic tale of a mis-use of a modern battle tank
This is a really good description of the British tank use around Basra in the Gulf war. It is difficult to picture the battleground as maps are not supplied. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Budcus
Excellent narrative, needs some maps & diagrams
The text reads very well enabling you to race through the book. As noted previously the book needs some maps of the general area as well as the battle sites. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Bryan Jones
main battle tank
a superb book, cannot recommend this book enough for any fans of military history.a action packed story of a often overlooked part of the iraq war,giving the armoured units some... Read more
Published 10 months ago by anthomas77
Main Battle Tank by Niall Edworthy
A superb book I couldn't put it down until the end. Puts you right in the middle of the action. You feel as though you are in the tank,under fire with the crews. Read more
Published 12 months ago by M. Warner
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
