Paths of Armor, the 5th Armored Division in World War II

The Fifth Armored Division’s record of achievement in World War Two is unsurpassed by that of any other division. It led the Normandy breakthrough; it sprang the Falaise trap which meant the death of the Seventh German Army and the Field Marshal who commanded it; it was the first division to reach the Eure River, the Seine, and the Our; it cut off near Mons thousands of Germans; it was the first to enter Germany and at the end of the war it was nearer to Berlin than any combat group in the American Army. This is the history of that division and the men and tanks that fought in it. Vic Hillery and Major Emerson Hurley, two veterans of the division, have provided a thorough account of this fascinating division in World War Two, from its inception in 1941 through to the end of the war. Hillery and Hurley fully explain how the Fifth Division, under the tactically brilliant leadership of Jack E. Heard, Sereno E. Brett and Lunsford E. Oliver, were able to revolutionise armored warfare. With detailed analysis the authors reconstruct the battles of the division and explain how they were able to carve a path through Normandy, Northern France, the Ardennes, Alsace, the Rhineland and Central Europe. Paths of Armor is essential reading for anyone interested in the Western Front of World War Two and the development of tank warfare that occurred through that war.