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by William E. Hiestand.
Softcover (7.25×9.75 inches). 80 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: Arracourt 1944
The Panther specs and performance are well known, but the M-18 Hellcat’s attributes are less so, especially as compared to the earlier M-10 tank destroyer.
The M-10 was built with the idea of quickly putting a 3-inch gun in a turret (as opposed to the sponson of the M3 Grant) to deliver on the tank destroyer concept. The M-18, with the same gun and open-topped turret, was built from the ground-up for speed, sacrificing armor for that speed. The M-18 is incredibly thin-skinned and lacks bow and coaxial MGs, but has a 50cal MG that can be fired from the open-topped turret. Yet it can hit speeds of 55mph (p21) to put into practice the tank destroyer theory of rapid movement to avoid getting hit
and setting ambushes of German tanks. This was of limited use at Anzio when first sent for combat, but proved more useful in France.
Interesting was that the Panther reliability was only 37% in 1943, but was boosted to 60% in September 1944 (p35). The text outlines the problems, especially with the transmission. The text does not give a number for the M-18, only that it had a “high degree of reliability.” (p36)
Although the subtitle says Arracourt, other combats are mentioned, including Mairy, Dompaire, and Luneville, at least from a vehicle comparison standard.
Arracourt was a disaster for the new Panzer Brigade of 45 tanks, two PzGrenadier battalions, 10 STuG IIIs, and eight FlakPz IVs (37mm AA guns). The lack of artillery was a severe handicap. The brigade commanders were all veterans, but the new crews were just out of training and woefully inexperienced. The US forces were generally veteran status and came with considerable artillery and support forces.
The booklet contains 44 black and white photos, five color photos, two color maps, eight color camouflage illustrations (four Panther and four M-18), six color illustrations, and one color two-page action illustration.
Another fine addition to the Duel series.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
