ASL Veteran Posted September 23, 2000 Share Posted September 23, 2000 Wow, that book “Tiger Ace” by Gary Simpson sure is poorly written isn’t it? I mean, I really struggled through that thing. After the first couple of chapters I started to wonder who this Gary Simpson clown was. I mean, where the heck did he learn to write anyway? So, I looked at the cover and saw that he served in the US Army. “Wow” I thought, “I thought it was some foreign guy writing this trash”. A little while later I looked at the bibliography and was duly impressed. Gary Simpson actually interviewed Michael Wittman’s widow!! Not only that, but he had several interviews with Jurgen Wessel Oberstleutnant a.D. der Bundeswehr who was Wittmann’s deputy commander in Normandy during 1944. Simpson notes that he was one of the first SS officers to enter Villers Bocage after it was captured by the German forces. Oberstleutnant Wessel also contacted several Waffen SS veterans for Gary Simpson through various veterans organizations. Although Simpson was unable to get an interview with Bobby Woll due to Woll’s illness, it is obvious that Bobby Woll contributed some of his memories to this book. Bobby Woll was Michael Wittman’s gunner on the Eastern Front. This then convinced me that the writing style is a result of Gary Simpson simply collating and editing the memories of Wessel and Wittman’s widow among others. Now I’m a pretty mild mannered guy, but I felt I had to speak up when someone on this board called Simpson’s version of the events at Villers Bocage “Pure fantasy” and possibly the result of some Nazi glorification from the 50s. Well this just doesn’t wash, and makes me feel a little indignant. I can't find that thread so I was forced to start a new one. The interviews for this book were conducted between 1978 and 1980 – a little after the 50s if I am not mistaken. It is obvious to me that the individual who was calling this work “Pure fantasy” doesn’t really know the extent of the research that Gary Simpson put in his work – and apparently would casually dismiss it as trash without even knowing what was done to put this information together or to even bother to discover the sources of this information. So let us examine this fantasy that exists at Villars Bocage. We know that Gary Simpson interviewed Oberstleutnant Wessel who was Wittman’s XO at the time. We also know that Wessel had personal postwar contact with Bobby Woll who was in Wittman’s turret during Villars Bocage because his own tank was out of service at the time. He also interviewed Major WHJ Sale who was a captain in the 3rd County of London Yeomanry. Major Sale also assisted Simpson in getting an interview with Pat Dyas and Bobby Bramall. Pat Dyas clarified many things about R.H.Q. tanks and his involvement with B squadron. Bramall was commander of a Firefly. Their collective version of events are what is presented in Gary Simpson’s book, and Simpson notes that the British veterans were in complete agreement with the German veterans as to what happened. This only leaves the question of who was in ‘that’ Tiger tank when the Germans came back to Villars Bocage. Wittman’s XO says it was Michael Wittman. Presumably if Wessel was wrong in that regard Bobby Woll would have corrected him. Bobby Woll was in the turret of ‘that’ Tiger when the events were taking place. So we have Wittman’s XO saying that it was Wittman who came back and not some other guy. Well, since HE WAS THERE then who am I to say he is living in a fantasy world. I doubt that there is a single individual who checks this board who can say “Nope, that was not Wittman in that Tiger because I was there and I didn’t see him.” No, you can look at the markings on the tanks and you can look at the photographs, but you cannot say that, “I was at Villars Bocage in Wittman’s turret and I know we didn’t come back for a second go.” because only Bobby Woll can say that and he didn't. Here is Simpson’s own answer to the question of the authenticity of ‘his’ version of the events at Villars Bocage. “Question No.14: Why was Wittman operating in a 1st Company Tiger I and also the other two Tiger Is in his battle group that entered “Villars-Bocage”? This question has been asked many times by many people who are experts in dealing with World War Two German panzer marking systems and has proved to be a very controversial issue. According to Wittman’s deputy commander, panzer crews often used other company’s panzers. (snip) With Wittman’s notoriety, he was able to commandeer any vehicle or vehicles that he chose, and in an emergency it would not matter what markings the immediately available vehicles had; it only mattered if they were battleworthy.” Simpson then adds “Regardless of who’s Tiger I Wittman was operating in during the battle of “Villars-Bocage”, it was SS-Obersturmfuhrer Michael Wittman who lead the attack into Villars-Bocage for the second time on June 13th, 1944. The Tiger I that was knocked out closest to the road junction was commanded by Wittman with Bobby Woll as his gunner.” And of course Bobby Woll was alive (maybe he still is) when Simpson was conducting his research (although unable to interview). I should think that he of all people would know where he was and how many times he went into Villars Bocage. Disagree with Woll and Wessel if you must, but try not to call it delusional fantasies of Nazi glorification – especially if the second battle was a little rougher than the first. Nazi glorification would be better served to say that Wittman wasn’t there the second time and that the reason the second attack was a failure was because the B team was in action that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DesertFox Posted September 23, 2000 Share Posted September 23, 2000 In all honesty, if you want to find out why Simpson wrote all this ....hmmmm....let´s call it personal interpretation, you have to ask himself for his motivation. Fact is, and that´s not my personal interpretation of things, but backed up by half a dozen other people who actually DID do interviews, read primary documents etc... that a lot of what Simpson calls research is his own fantasy. Just have a look at only 2 primary sources: 1st: Wittmanns own description of the events on 13th June 1944 and 2nd: The report of 1st SS PanzerCorps of Wittmanns Villers-Bocage rampage which is dated 13th June 1944 and signed by Obergruppenfuehrer Dietrich When you read these primary sources you are easyly able to conclude that Simpson obviously has ignored both in his description of the events. Furthermore have a look at Chester Wilmots half-page account of Villers-Bocage in "The Struggle for Europe" dating back to 1952 which is actually more truthfull than Simpsons 1970ies and 80ies "research", indicating that Simpson have flat out disregarded the British sources on the battle that were available even back in the 50ies. Of course you are free to think that Simpsons account is the correct one but I myself (and I´m not the only one) take the liberty to not trust Simpson in his description of the events. Have you ever thought about the facts that Bobby Woll on 13th June 1944 commanded Tiger No. 212 ? Or have you ever followed Simpsons description of s.SSPzAbt 101s trip from Gournay to Normandy on the map ? Just check. He has the battalion driving back and forth across NW France in patterns worthy of neoimpressionalist art Cheers Helge (Who takes the personal liberty to doubt Simpsons "research") ------------------ Sbelling chequed wyth MICROSOFT SPELLCHECKER - vorgs grate! - The DesertFox - Email: desertfox1891@hotmail.com WWW: http://www.geocities.com/desertfox1891 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyShot Posted September 23, 2000 Share Posted September 23, 2000 I was rather inclined to give Simpson the benefit of the doubt as his sources do seem pretty significant and thorough... BUT, there are a number of things that point to his book as being more of a personal take on Wittman's exploits rather than an historical research text. Appalling writing and spelling aside... 1 - there are NO footnotes, endnotes etc. This a huge no-no if you are trying to accurately prove some point or describe some past event. Even direct quotes from Wittmann and other German officers are just inserted with no clue as to who might have heard them. (eg: 'Wittman stated in a low voice, "Paks are deadly to us, we will have to do away with them"!' p.158) 2 - His constant description of the Russians and British as 'Ivans' or 'Tommies'. Again, if you are trying to give the whole picture, you don't resort to describing people with semi-derogatory phrases used by one side. And Simpson does this about 90% of the time, suggesting he holds Wittmann and the SS in a higher regard than those he was fighting. 3 - Appendix II - it starts off as being written (apparently) by someone other than Simpson (it appears to be a previously published magazine article) as it says "Following are the agreed facts between Major Sale and Mr. Simpson and are written by Major Sale for guidance of Mr. Simpson on his return to America" (p.314). Halfway through the description of the battle of Villers Bocage we get this paragraph (partial): "It is now known that Michael Wittmann returned to his own troops and after obtaining an already 'bombed up' (full of ammunition and fuel) Tiger I (author's additional research note) he attacked 'A' squadron..." Now it becomes unclear who is really writing the article, and when it was edited, and to what extent. In short, the reader has no idea where supported evidence ends and conjecture begins. It really is a mess, that book, despite having the 'trappings' of a research paper, I think it isn't much more than Simpson's own ideas about who Wittmann was and what he did, inspired by some interviews he conducted and his own image of Wittmann as a larger-than-life dashing SS superman. Just my thoughts, Mark W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianc Posted September 23, 2000 Share Posted September 23, 2000 While I can't comment on the historical veracity since I haven't studied adequate volumes of material to encounter differing occurrences (and probably wouldn't remember if I did ), I was left a bit upset with the editing at Schiffer. Simpson's ability to write English is deeply flawed. This almost proved insurmountable to me at first, but after a while of hacking at it I seem to have developed a kind of 'Simpson Filter' that was able to translate his mishmosh into some kind of stream of events. There were some stirring (although probably quite fictitious) accounts of tank combat if one was able to disregard the crapulous manner in which they were delivered. Other strategical references were much drier and only barely skimmable. I don't think I'd read it again, but if you can hack it, it's probably worth plowing through once... ianc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Boy Posted September 23, 2000 Share Posted September 23, 2000 I bought that book as well and I have seen better writing in porno movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer Posted September 25, 2000 Share Posted September 25, 2000 LOL! Let's start an "I feel your pain" club for all of us who struggled through Tiger Ace by Simpson. I was an innocent victim visiting Border's Bookstore and perusing the shelves quickly (TOO quickly in retrospect). I wanted some panzer resource books, and Tiger Ace seemed a good mix of personal history and tactics about a famous tanker. Plus, I had good regard for Schiffer Military publishers from its well-produced biographies of Adolph Galland and Gabreski. Tiger Ace had good pictures, too. I didn't pay much attention to the author. Big mistake!! When I started reading the book, I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing and trying with enormous difficulty to comprehend. Reading Tiger Ace became so painful that I soon developed a perverse pride in my ability to stick with it page after painful page to see if I could actually finish it. I counted down each page I processed until the merciful end of this publishing disaster. This "book" is nothing but an unedited first draft that looks as though it was read directly into a voice recognition program and sent straight to press. From what I can see, it started as a college paper by Simpson, who later carried out some interviews. I read the whole book because there seemed to be some useful information, and I had paid $35 for it. I did learn something, but a good edit job would have chopped at least 100 to 150 pages of the worst prose ever put on paper. I got a laugh out of ianc's "Simpson Filter" remark. How true! My favorite overworked Simpson phrase for stupidity and redundancy is "any and all" as in Wittman checked any and all things at any and all times etc.... This annoying phrase is used constantly, and sometimes more than once in the same sentence. I also got a kick out of Simpson's expressing the first-person inner feelings of a man who died in a tank in 1944 at age 26 or so. Simpson keeps saying what Michael "felt" or "thought" and so on. I kept thinking "What the hell does this guy know about what Wittman thought or felt?" Perhaps the biggest hoot for me was brief concluding paragraph when Simpson tells us that Wittman (who displayed great talent and zeal in killing lots of tanks and people) was just a simple farm boy who had a knack for machinery and never wanted to be a soldier. An unbelievable conclusion to a "book" that is truly incredible for all the wrong reasons. Yes, this is an adoring fan book more likely suited to Michael Jordan than Michael Wittman. Nonetheless, there is some interesting information on Wittman, German tanks, and tactics for those brave folks willing to torture their eyes and intellect to gather it. Anybody want to buy my copy? Thank goodness for this thread. I've been wanting to vent about this book for a long time. Whew... It's safe to come out now, I'm done. ------------------ Just call me Lucifer 'cause I'm in need of some respect.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Maenpaa Posted September 25, 2000 Share Posted September 25, 2000 Unfortunately I too bought this book of bull**** but couldn't completely finish it. It's just so bad. I know your pain Ari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyShot Posted September 25, 2000 Share Posted September 25, 2000 I just sold my copy at Barnes and Noble with some old computer books for $22. Not sure how much of that was "Tiger Ace" but I'd guess a good chunk of it. My favorite hated expression of Simpson's: "pertaining to". Seems he liked to use that phrase when he's dug himself way to deep into a bull**** sentence and wants to somehow salvage it. I don't think I'll ever be able to say or write 'pertaining to' again without thinking of his idiocy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer Posted September 25, 2000 Share Posted September 25, 2000 Good one, Luckyshot! I'm at work so I can't reference them all, but that one stuck me too. Maybe we could start a contest to find the most annoying phrases Simpson used. There are many, many candidates. I still can't believe a real publisher would release Tiger Ace. In hard cover, to boot. ------------------ Just call me Lucifer 'cause I'm in need of some respect.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Oberly Posted September 26, 2000 Share Posted September 26, 2000 For a good laugh,go to Amazon and read the reader reviews of this tome: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0887405266/customer-reviews/qid=969919220/002-8346520-8445616 Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyShot Posted September 26, 2000 Share Posted September 26, 2000 Ho Ho!, LOL! My favorite one-liner from those: "I would give this book negative stars if such an option were provided." ohhhhh boy....You're right Lawyer - it DOES feel good to vent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Der Unbekannte Jäger Posted September 26, 2000 Share Posted September 26, 2000 He who believes everything he reads had best not read. ------------------ "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crank_GS Posted September 26, 2000 Share Posted September 26, 2000 Wow, I will have to avoid that one, lol. On the other hand, DesertFox's recommendations are very well taken; they are well written. Do not be too impressed by Schiffer as an editing publisher... The work by Gabreski was published previously by another publisher (I do not remember whom, but I could go look, I suppose ) - they added some great photos, and color profiles and re-published. Don't get me wrong - it is a great book - but Schiffer did not edit that one. Another case is "Luftwaffe Aircraft in Profile" by Claes Sundin and Christer Bergstrom. Claes told me that it is "way too greenish" and was not happy with it. Yet another case is "Beware the Thunderbolt". That author writes like a dolt as well, with numerous errors in grammar and spelling. The most annoying aspect to me was his constant reference to "Drummer Lake" when everyone knows it is Dümmer Lake, or even Dümmersee. Kinda like calling it "Village Bokaz", right? ------------------ Capt. Byron Crank, US Army Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer Posted September 26, 2000 Share Posted September 26, 2000 Thanks for the tip, Mike. I just posted my review on Amazon. You guys should too. Easy to do and lots of fun in this case. I laughed when I saw that somebody gagged on the "any and all" phrase as much as I did. Same with "pertaining to". We wuz all robbed. Normally I check Amazon before buying, but this time I was just a little too anxious to buy... Ah well, venting is good for the soul. ------------------ Just call me Lucifer 'cause I'm in need of some respect.... [This message has been edited by Lawyer (edited 09-25-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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