Book Review: William B. Folkestad, The View From The Turret: The 743rd Tank Battalion During World War II
In The View from the Turret, William B. Folkestad sets out to correct an error of omission and rescue the men of the 743rd Tank Battalion from the historical anonymity that has befallen many of the small units that fought in World War II. In the process of chronicling the combat experiences of the 743rd, the author also draws attention to one of the “least known and poorly understood tragedies of the American military industry of the Second World War,” namely the mass production of the inferior M4 Sherman tank (p. 127).
Folkestad attributes the forgotten status of the 743rd to historians’ relying too heavily, “though understandably,” on the first official U.S. Army histories of the Normandy Campaign, namely Taylor’s Omaha Beachhead and Harrison’s Cross Channel Attack (p. viii). Intent on avoiding the same pitfalls, Folkestad makes extensive use of personal interviews, After Action Reports (AARs), battalion operations journals, and the 743rd’s unit history to provide a tank commander’s view of combat in Western Europe.
Beginning with the 743rd’s D-Day landing at Omaha Beach, and continuing on through the battles for Normandy, the Bulge, the piercing of the Seigfried Line, and the final drive to the Elbe River in 1945, Folkestad’s narrative, interspersed with firsthand accounts, brings to life the day-to-day combat experiences of the battalion. The author draws special attention to the crucial role played by the 743rd at Omaha Beach, where the unit was the only full-strength tank battalion supporting both the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions. It is here that the difficulties in coordinating actions between armor and the infantry they support, a problem that persisted throughout the war, became painfully evident.
Once off the beaches, the tankers of the 743rd found themselves in the bocage country of Normandy. While the 743rd used the hedgerow-busting plow fashioned from German beach obstacles with some success, the preferred method was the dynamiting of hedgerows timed to coincide with an armor and infantry attack (p.39). Folkestad differentiates between the tank battalions of an armor division, which were designed to exploit breakthroughs and strike deep into the enemy’s rear, and those like the 743rd, whose mission it was to fight alongside the infantry they supported. For the 743rd, this often meant fighting static battles with superior German armor.
The inadequacies of the M4 Sherman tank–insufficient firepower, too high a silhouette, insufficient armor protection, gasoline engines, narrow tracks–are brought up time and again by the tankers of the 743rd. Of particular interest are the innovative means devised for offsetting the Sherman’s shortcomings such as sandbagging the hull to make up for insufficient armor protection, and welding additional ammunition-ready racks in the turret to provide easy access to the additional ammunition needed to score a kill on German armor. Despite these innovations, the 743rd lost 96 M4 Shermans and suffered 141 killed, 22 missing, and 316 wounded. The total casualties, 479, represented the battalion at nearly full strength (p. 126). By comparison, the Third Armored Division lost 780 M4s and the equivalent of 583 tank crews (p. 127). As Folkestad so poignantly notes, “the price for technical inferiority was tremendous” (p. 127).
The book’s strength, the story of the 743rd Tank Battalion, is also one of its weaknesses. Those unfamiliar with the campaigns in Western Europe can easily lose sight of how the 743rd and its supported units fit into the larger picture of winning the war against Germany. In general, the book would benefit from a bit more background information on the various campaigns in which the 743rd participated, as well as additional maps and graphics. Likewise, the discussion of the inadequacies of the M4 Sherman would be enhanced by the inclusion of charts showing the characteristics and capabilities of the M4 Sherman and its German counterparts.
Shortcomings aside, The View from the Turret is a welcome addition to the combat histories of World War II.
Books on Military Vehicles
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Conceived during World War I, tanks still play a crucial role on the modern battlefield providing excellent mobility, sophisticated communications, lethal firepower, and effective armor protection. Together, these assets provide the shock effect necessary to close with and destroy the enemy in most any condition.
Modern U.S. Tanks & AFVs examines the development, capabilities, and service histories of some of the most important and interesting tanks, armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), wheeled armored firepower, and indirect armored fire-support vehicles used by the U.S. military today, including: amphibious assault vehicles (AAVP), the full range of M1 Abrams tanks, Bradleys, armored Humvees, and Strykers. In typical ECS fashion, color photographs depict each type in training exercises. There will also be discussions of how the 1999 “Army Vision” transformation strategy calling for lighter and more maneuverable armed forces precipitated the development of some of the weapons covered. |
 Jane’s Tanks and Combat Vehicles Recognition Guide, 3e (Jane’s Tank & Combat Vehicle Recognition Guide) |
The Essential Guide to All the World’s Tanks and Combat Vehicles. A fully illustrated encyclopaedia of all modern military vehicles in service today. Includes tanks, personnel carriers, reconnaissance vehicles; self-propelled guns and self-propelleled anti-aircraft systems. |
 The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles: The Comprehensive Guide to over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles from 1915 to the Present Day |
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Over the last century, tanks and armored vehicles have developed into highly mobile and mightily armed vehicles common to the inventores of nearly every army in the world. This huge, comprehensive reference provides historians and modelers with an accurate and detailed directory chock full of technical specifications, development and service histories, specially commissioned color plates, and action photography illustrating more than 150 tanks and fighting vehicles from World War I to present. The hardware is arranged chronologically within national entities that represent all the world’s major armies. Readers will clearly witness the tank’s development and their performances during all of the century’s major wars and minor conflicts, from the muddy battlefields of World War I to the harsh desert campaigns of World War II, and from the “turkey shoot” in the sands of Iraq to the mountainous terrain of the Balkans. |
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Starting with the crude and unreliable tanks that clashed on the Western Front in World War I, roll through years and on to the vehicles of World War II, such as the Panzer IV, Panther, Tiger, Sherman, and T-34, and right up to the most recent fighting machines, including the Abrams and Challenger, and Bradley and Warrior infantry tanks. 300 in all. |
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The concept of the Main Battle Tank emerged from the Centurion Universal tank that was developed at the end of World War II. Development of its successor began as early as 1951. The Chieftain incorporated significant innovations including a reclining driver position and two-piece ammunition for greater survivability. The tank entered service in 1967 and was the heaviest armed and armored MBT within the NATO alliance. The Chieftain saw combat during the Iran-Iraq War, with the Kuwaitis during the 1990 Iraqi invasion and with the British Army during the Gulf War of 1990-91 as special-purpose variants. This book explores the design, development and operation of one of the most influential vehicles used in modern warfare. |
 Merkava Main Battle Tank: Mks I, II and III: Chariot of Steel |
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 Marines Under Armor: The Marine Corps and the Armored Fighting Vehicle, 1916-2000 |
In this story of men, machines and missions, Kenneth Estes tells how the U.S. Marine Corps came to acquire the armored fighting vehicle and what it tried to do with it. The longtime Marine tank officer and noted military historian offers an insider’s view of the Corps’s acquisition and use of armored fighting vehicles over the course of several generations, a view that illustrates the characteristics of the Corps as a military institution and of the men who have guided its development. His book examines the planning, acquisition, and employment of tanks, amphibian tractors, and armored cars and explores the ideas that led to the fielding of these weapons systems along with the doctrines and tactics intended for them, and their actual use in combat.
Drawing on archival resources previously untouched by researchers and interviews of both past and serving crewmen, Estes presents a unique and unheralded story that is filled with new information and analysis of the armored vehicles, their leaders, and the men who drove these steel chariots into battle. Such authoritative detail and documentation of the decisions to acquire, develop, and organize armored units in the U.S. Marine Corps assures the book’s acknowledgement as a definitive reference. |
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The second installment of the WARMACHINES series, this edition is part one of two that cover the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier and its variants. With amazing detail color photos, part one covers in-depth the M113 A1 and A2 Armored Personnel Carrier, the M113 Medevac Vehicle, the M106 A1 and A2 107mm Mortar Carrier, and the M577 Armored Command Post. Such features as full interior and exterior details, powerplants, suspension, tools & equipment, stowage, armament, ammunition, and more are meticulously displayed and described. |
 Warmachines No.3 : M60 A3 |
The third installment of the WARMACHINES series, this edition covers in depth the M60 A3 “PATTON” Main Battle Tank of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. Such features as the fighting compartment, driving compartment, powerplant, suspension, auxiliary equipment, armament, ammunition, stowage, add-on armor, and more are beautifully photographed and described in detail. |
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The fourth installment in the WARMACHINES series, this edition covers the versions of the M4 “SHERMAN” tank in Israeli service. Versions covered include the following: M4A2, M4A1 105mm Howitzer, M50 “SUPER SHERMAN,” M51 “ISHERMAN,” M4 Armored Engineer Vehicle with M1 bulldozer blade, M4 “CRAB” Mine Clearing Tank, both early and late types M4 “SHERMAN” Ambulance, M74 Recovery Vehicle (M32 modification), M4 “SHERMAN,” “LIVE TARGET,” “EYAL” Observation Tank, 290mm Rocket Launcher, “SHERMAN” with 75mm AMX-13 Turret, M4 Personnel Carrier/Command Vehicle, and the 155mm M50 Self Propelled Artillery Vehicle. Along with detailed description captions, this book covers the history of the “SHERMAN” in service with the IDF. |
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The sixth installment in the WARMACHINES series, this volume covers in depth the details of the formidable M1 “ABRAMS” Main Battle Tank. Along with a history of the vehicle, such features as the suspension, tracks, armor protection, powerplant, armament, ammunition, fighting compartment, driving compartment, maintenance, stowage, exercises, and more are all covered with amazing detail photographs and drawings. |
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 Warmachines No. 9 : M163 A1/A2 Vulcan, M901 A2 Tow, M48 A2 Chaparral |
This ninth installment in the very insightful WARMACHINES series is the second volume dedicated to variants of the prolific M113 family of armored vehicles. Carrying on the Verlinden tradition of presenting high quality color detail photographs, this book takes a close look at the details of the M163 Vulcan Air defense Artillery Gun, the M901 Hammerhead Improved TOW Vehicle, and the M48 Chaparral Improved Air Defense Guided Missile System. |
 Warmachines No.10 : IDF T54, T-55, T-62 |
This tenth edition of the WARMACHINES series initiates the special 24 page mini-file, which utilizes the comparatively fewer available photographs to document a worthy subject. Following the many wars fought by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), large quantities of captured enemy equipment were pressed into Israeli service following extensive modifications. The vehicles in question covered in this unique publication include the Soviet-built T-54, T-55, and T-62 Main Battle Tanks, which, after modifications by the IDF Ordnance Corps, were designated as the Tiran 4, Tiran 5, and Tiran 6, respectively. Such modifications included communications equipment upgrades, stowage modifications, armament replacement, and of course, new painting and markings. Most of the photographs in this book were taken at the Armored Corps museum at Latrun in Israel. |
 Warmachines No.11 : Merkava MK2/MK3, Israeli Defense Force |
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 Warmachines No.12: MLRS: Multiple Launch Rocket System |
This twelfth installment in the WARMACHINES series takes a revealing look at the details of the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). The beautiful full color photography contained in this book captures details such as suspension, cab interior, access panels, rocket cage assembly, hoist mechanism, launcher drive system, rocket pods, tilting cab, and field maintenance scenarios. The MLRS in German service, as well as those serving with the U.S. Army in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm are photographed in stunning detail to ensure comprehensive coverage of this very reliable and cost-effective artillery weapon. |
 Warmachines No.13 : On the Road to Kuwait, Marines in the Gulf |
This special thirteenth installment in the WARMACHINES series takes a look at Operation Desert Storm through the camera lenses of members of 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 8th Marine Tank Battalion. In these pages we see the life experienced by U.S. Troops while pushing their way into Iraqi-occupied Kuwait in 1991. We see how they ate, slept, showered, played, and fought in the desert. Many useful photographs appear of U.S. equipment in action and undergoing maintenance, as well as the rare U.S. casualty, and captured and destroyed Iraqi equipment. |
 Warmachines No.14 : 1/4 Ton M151 Mutt |
This fourteenth installment in the WARMACHINES series is the third of the special 24 page mini-files which utilizes the comparatively few available photographs to document a worthy subject, in this case the 1/4 ton M151 Mutt. This book benefits the reader by providing detailed color photographs of the Mutt in field conditions, from the barracks parking lot, to deplaning from a C-130 Hercules, to undergoing an engine change, to serving with the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Many details are revealed in the photographs, including engine, radios, batteries, hard-top kits, soft tops, trailers, and more. This book is extremely useful to scale modelers wishing to improve the Tamiya and Academy kits, as well as to military enthusiasts. |
 Warmachines No.15: 3/325 ABCT Airorne Battalion Combat Team “Blue Falcons” in Action |
This fifteenth installment in the WARMACHINES series focuses on the operations of the paratroopers of the 3rd/325th ABCT (Airborne Battalion Combat Team Blue Falconsduring practice exercises. This book provides a rare glimpse of such operations with beautiful full color photography. Excellent coverage of such things as parachuting, air-drops of vehicles and equipment, securing landing zones., concealment, ambush positions, and much more. Excellent details of vehicles and equipment, like the M102 105mm Field Howitzer, the M998 hummer, TOW missile launchers, and more, abound, and make for handy reference. |
| Tracked Firepower: Today’s Armored Fighting Vehicles |
Lethal firepower and an impressive array of modern capabilities take you into the front lines of battle! The spearhead of today’s battle groups, tracked vehicles are fully equipped with global positioning systems, inertial position navigation systems, and single channel ground/airborne radio systems to allow them to respond rapidly to ever-changing tactical situations. See these sophisticated systems on full alert commanding today’s fighting tanks and infantry vehicles. |