A history of the U.S. armoured forces from the advent of the tank in battle during World War I to the campaign to drive Iraq out of Kuwait in 1991. This book chronicles the impact of mechanization on the U.S. army and U.S. Marine Corps. Despite its primitive beginnings, the tank revolutionized the battlefield in World War II. In the years since, additional technological developments - including nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, computer assisted firing, and satellite navigation - have continued to transform the face of combat. Every opportunity offered by advances in technology demands two things: the intellectual capacity to understand the opportunity and the courage to move in new directions. Each advancement has created the need for new countermeasures, further increasing the speed of technological innovation. In each chapter the authors focus on milestone events in armoured force history, and each chapter is written by an expert with a unique viewpoint on the topic at hand.
"A new book by historians and military personnel with direct experience with these systems explains how U.S. forces reached this seminal point in the history of the nation's military operations." -- Appalachian Quarterly
"By far the single best compendium yet published on the history of the development of armor and armored fighting vehicles in the United States." -- Armor
"A comprehensive volume that covers all aspects of the U.S. Armored Forces creation, development, and achievements in the 20th century." -- Boston Book Review
"A superb job of compiling the history of the Armored Forces." -- Brig. Gen. Mark A. Montjar, USAR
"A most valuable addition to the literature in the field. Even the most casual students of the topic will find this book must reading." -- Journal of Military History
"Here we find not just military history but an expert study of how a weapon of war, the tank, has interacted with political and other forces and evolved into its present form." -- Library Journal
"An extensive yet quite readable study of the development and use of the tank in the American military." -- Library Journal
"Worthwhile, educational, and informative with regard to the evolution of doctrine and equipment associated with the emergence of armor." -- Marine Corps Gazette
"A brilliant examination of the military's struggle to devise the organizations, equipment, and doctrine necessary to win in armored warfare." -- Military Vehicles Magazine
"Seminal.... Examines how armor mechanization has changed over the past 80 years and how that change influenced the accompanying doctrine and tactics." -- Parameters
