And It was Caught on Film!

Makos, Adam.  Spearhead: The World War II Odyssey of an American Tank Gunner.  New York:
           Ballantine, 2019.  ISBN: 9780804176729

Tank versus tank!  Pershing versus Panther!  And caught on film?  No, this is not a war movie, rather this is a World War II tale worth making into a movie.  Adam Makos met with Clarence Smoyer in 2012 and that launched a journey that led to this book.

Clarence Smoyer was a tank gunner in the 3rd Armored Division lead by General Rose.  He came ashore in France 3 weeks after D-Day as a loader and was promoted to gunner in a Sherman tank in August.  As the book opens, the 3rd Armored Division was laying an ambush for the German army trying to escape France at Mons, Belgium.  A German tank pulled in next to Clarence's tank during the night and the fight was on.  The fight continued through the Battle of the Bulge, receiving a Pershing, the conquest of Cologne which included a one on one between a Panther and a Pershing, and the attack at Paderborn against the German Panzer Training Cadre.

But this is not just the tale of Clarence and his exploits.  It is also the tale of Gustav Schaefer (German tank crewman), Buck Marsh (infantry scout in 3rd Armored Division), and Chuck Miller (officer from 3rd Armored Division).  Their stories are entwined with Clarence during the war and afterwards when in 2013 all four met in Cologne, Germany, to discuss what happened there and the influence that had on their lives since.

In Spearhead, Adam Markos delivers a well written World War II account of action from the 3rd Armored Division illustrated with pictures of the participants and maps of the battles.  the author also researched the details given by the individuals to verify details.  A very interesting read!