Rob Murray Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I just received my copy of Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II by Christopher Wilbeck. It's published by Aberjona Press. I finally got my copy after a month or so of it being lost in shipping :mad: ! Anyway, flipping through the book, I've come away pretty impressed. It's well detailed & has many maps. It blows away many of the myths surrounding the Tiger & King Tiger. For example there's a section on sPzAbt. 501's employment on the Sandomierz (sp?) bridgehead in Poland, August 1944. Wilbeck contends that the King Tiger and IS-2 were pretty evenly matched; neither having a clear advantage over the other. I've found this mirrored in the scenario CDST - Road to Staszow. The KT's aren't invulnerable (I won't give any more away as some people may not have played this). Let's just say it's a blast . In short this is a very good book to pick up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kipanderson Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Hi, I also have the book. Agreed, it is very good book. All the best, Kip. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkiviadis Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Concur 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dook Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 For those of you who are cheapskates like me, Wilbeck's thesis from the Army's Command and General Staff School is available for free: <a href="https://calldbp.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/2003011508525769/wilbeck/wilbeck.pdf#xml=/scripts/cqcgi.exe/@ss_prod.env?CQ_SESSION_KEY=ORUOPWTMSIWQ&CQ_QH=125083&CQDC=8&CQ_PDF_HIGHLIGHT=YES&CQ_CUR_DOCUMENT=1" target="_blank">Swinging the Sledgehammer: The Combat Effectiveness of German Heavy Tank Battalions in World War II</a> by Maj. Christopher Wilbeck 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeatEtr Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I swear somebody just posted about this book like a couple of weeks ago. Since then, i ordered it and already recieved it. Haven't had a chance to read it yet, just flipped through it, looks good. It's next in line after i finish reading Mr. Beevor's Fall of Berlin, which really isn't that good. At least not nearly as good as his Stalingrad book. I also bought Slaughterhouse: The Encyclopedia of the Eastern Front, which somebody here recommended. It's a great reference book. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Originally posted by Dook: For those of you who are cheapskates like me, Wilbeck's thesis from the Army's Command and General Staff School is available for free: <a href="https://calldbp.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/2003011508525769/wilbeck/wilbeck.pdf#xml=/scripts/cqcgi.exe/@ss_prod.env?CQ_SESSION_KEY=ORUOPWTMSIWQ&CQ_QH=125083&CQDC=8&CQ_PDF_HIGHLIGHT=YES&CQ_CUR_DOCUMENT=1" target="_blank">Swinging the Sledgehammer: The Combat Effectiveness of German Heavy Tank Battalions in World War II</a> by Maj. Christopher Wilbeck Hey thanks a lot. Us cheapskates should stick together. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Dook, Fantastic! The link, that is. I haven't read the paper yet. Thanks for posting that. Regards, Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmavis Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 It sounds like a good read. I'll have to check that out. This isn't exactly related, but I've been trying to find a copy of "Hell's Gate" by Douglas Nash and it now will cost $380.00(!) if I want to buy it from Amazon. Luckily, I was able to find it at a local site for about 50 pounds. That's what I get for not going with my instincts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Just read the paper - very interesting. Thanks to Dook for the link. My favourite quote concerns the operations of s.Pz. Abt. 501 during BAGRATION: However, it is clear that the twenty-five Tigers fielded by this battalion were wholly inadequate to stop the Soviet attack against Army Group Center. Cor blimey guv, who would have thought... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 I have now received the book, and I am a bit unconvinced about the maths. As I understand it, he is using German kill claims. These are however almost certainly overstated. From what I understand, a 50% haircut was applied to all kill claims at the higher level, and it does not appear that Wilbeck is factoring this in. After the 50% reduction it appears that German claims and allied losses on all fronts seem to match reasonably. This does however not mean that the numbers Wilbeck arrives at should be halved, because I do not think that there is a direct relationship between the macro and the micro level here. Just that they are most likely overstated to a considerable degree. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobs_ladder2 Posted July 9, 2005 Share Posted July 9, 2005 Originally posted by MeatEtr: I swear somebody just posted about this book like a couple of weeks ago. Since then, i ordered it and already recieved it. Haven't had a chance to read it yet, just flipped through it, looks good. It's next in line after i finish reading Mr. Beevor's Fall of Berlin, which really isn't that good. At least not nearly as good as his Stalingrad book. I also bought Slaughterhouse: The Encyclopedia of the Eastern Front, which somebody here recommended. It's a great reference book. Amazon keeps offering me Colossus Reborn and Slaughterhouse for $50 Canadian, a decent deal, but I am unsure about Slaughterhouse. Anyone else have it? Is it a good source? Any reviews and/or opinions? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
76mm Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 I've got Slaughterhouse (bought it in the Amazon package you mentioned); I bought it mainly for the weapons data tables, but overall I didn't find the book very useful. It is not meant to be read cover-to-cover, but its usefulness depends on what you want to use it for--if you are looking for unit chronologies, short bios of some German and Soviet commanders, or the OOB of various Axis and Allied units, you might find it interesting. Let me know if you have specific questions. 76mm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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