On July 5, 1943, the greatest land battle in history began when Nazi and Red Army forces clashed near the town of Kursk, on the western border of the Soviet Union. Code named "Operation Citadel," the German offensive would cut through the bulge in the eastern front that had been created following Germany's retreat at the battle of Stalingrad. But the Soviets, well-informed about Germany's plans through their network of spies, had months to prepare....

On December 16, 1944, the hard-hit German Army secretly assembled a massive force to slam through Belgium-Luxembourg in the Ardennes Offensive, hitting the Allies' front line and beginning the Battle of the Bulge. General George S. Patton's 10th Armored Division is surrounded in the town of Bastogne until Patton decides to beat back the enemy assault with the best machine in his arsenal: the M-4 Sherman tank.

"A general-turned-historian reveals the remarkable battlefield heroics of Major General Maurice Rose, the World War II tank commander whose 3rd Armored Division struck fear into the hearts of Hitler's panzer crews"-- Provided by publisher

"Clarence Smoyer began the war as a gentle giant, a factory worker from Pennsylvania coal country reluctant to unleash the power of the Sherman tank he crewed. But as his tank platoon fought its way from Normandy to the Rhine and beyond, and he watched his friends cut down one by one, he learned to kill with deadly accuracy and efficiency. His fight would climax in Cologne, in the shadow of the great cathedral, where he took a shot immortalized by...