The author does a great job by taking the reader along, inside and outside of the tanks, to show what it was all about. That's either a signal for a night attack,' he said to his driver, Bert Crowhurst, 'or else peace has been declared. Informed by never-before-seen documents, letters, photographs, and other artifacts from Sherwood Rangers' families-an ongoing fraternity-and by his own deep knowledge of the war and of tank warfare, Holland offers a uniquely intimate portrait of the conflict at ground level. Originally horse-mounted cavalry, the regiment converted to tanks and learned the hard way how to fight in the desert; it suffered badly at the Battle of El Alamein in 1942 but emerged as a tough and tested unit. You get to know them through stories and actions and more personally through quotations from letters to home.

A fascinating story of how the fortunes of war changed in obvious—and particularly not so obvious—ways. Following the Sherwood Rangers' brutal journey over the dramatic eleven months between D-Day and V-E Day, Holland presents a vivid and original perspective on the endgame of WWII in Europe. Extremely readable and a good companion to Holland's Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France.From the bestselling author of Normandy '44 and Sicily '43, a brilliant new history of the last days of the war'Seldom is war so vividly described. On D-Day he narrowly escaped death when his amphibious Sherman capsized in the rough sea off Gold Beach. The SRY were an adaptive, versatile group, first figuring out the best way for armor to opperate in the desert, then slowly changing their operations to effectively fight in the brocade and forest regions of Europe.

Along the way, we're given any number of ministers - the British landings on D-Day weren't simply a nice day at the beach, for one - but it's also interesting to chart the development of the unit through its replacements. Holland brings this cramped universe vividly to life in his account of the long march of a single regiment, the Sherwood Rangers . The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance. Along the way, they’ll unlock wisdom for those of us navigating our own coupledoms, and for those still seeking their perfect match.Working heavily on his recurrent themes that German isn't necessarily better, and that the Allies don't necessarily get the credit they're due, James Holland follows An English tank Regiment across Northwest Europe in an excellent book.

Brothers in arms revolves around the journey of the Sherwood Rangers tank regiment from their landing in Normandy to their final advance towards the heart of Germany.

It plainly owes a lot to Band of Brothers in concept, although thankfully written by a competent and unbiased historian, and takes in the brutal grinding match of Normandy, the pursuit across Belgium, Market and the Rhineland and the Final pursuit across North Germany.

although I enjoyed this for the most part I felt some details of the many figures in the regiment could have been spared, or possible have had a more focused look on just a few of the soldiers to limit confusion on the endless amounts of stories taking place. He weaves the Sherwood Rangers' exploits into the larger narrative and strategy of the war, and also brings fresh analysis to the tactics used.

Best-selling author Mark Manson brings his signature no-nonsense wisdom back to the subject he started his career covering: relationships. As the losses mount through the war and continue to the very end you feel the losses and the terrible strain on the men that remain. Holland often talks extensively and passionately about the SRY in his podcast ,(WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk) and has written/edited An Englishman At Ear by Major Stanley Christopherson who is CO the SRY and features heavy in Brothers In Arms.