Brothers in Arms

One Legendary Tank Regiment’s Bloody War from D-Day to VE-Day

By: James Holland

Narrated by: Al Murray

Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

The renowned historian and author of Normandy ’44 recounts the operations and personal experiences of the legendary Sherwood Rangers during WWII.

One of the last cavalry units to ride horses into battle, the Sherwood Rangers were transformed into a “mechanized cavalry” of tanks in 1942. After winning acclaim in the North African campaign, they spearheaded one of the D-Day landings in Normandy and became the first British troops to cross into Germany. Their courage, skill, and tenacity contributed mightily to the surrender of Germany in 1945.

Inspired by Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers, historian James Holland profiles this extraordinary group of citizen soldiers. Informed by never-before-seen documents, letters, photographs, and other artifacts from Sherwood Rangers’ families, Holland offers a uniquely intimate portrait of the war at ground level.

Brothers in Arms introduces heroes such as Commanding Officer Stanley Christopherson, squadron commander John Semken, Sergeant George Dring, and others who helped their regiment earn the most battle honors of any in British army history. Weaving their exploits into the larger narrative of D-Day to V-E Day, Holland offers fresh analysis and perspective on the endgame of WWII in Europe. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Griffon Merlin Ltd. Recorded by arrangement with Atlantic Monthly Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2021 Penguin Audio

An AMAZING group of determined men!

Thank God there were such brave men who went after the tyrannical NAZIs... Their physical and emotional scars of the war were deep... Very well written. I had a difficult time putting it down... I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn more about the Sherwood Rangers and the battles they were involved in... From the beginning in North Africa, to 6, June 1944, and eventually into the heart of Germany... God Bless these men, and may he bestow upon them eternal peace... They have more than earned it...

Great audiobook.

an amazing story of the journey of these brave men. I would highly recommend this to anyone that wants to learn about WW2.

Just Incredible

Loved the incredible detail provided by the author. The tension, smells, sounds, and fear of being crammed into a steel can trying to hunt while being hunted.

Untold story of British Armor.

Excellent account of man and machine. A Heroic and tragic story of men doing an unenviable task that had to be done. I only nicked it for story as the narrator talks fast, brought it down on one notch in terms play speed.

Biased Tanker

Very slanted in favor of Montgomery and against the Americans and the Sherman.
The personal anecdotal stories were nice, but the biased nature of the author pervades every line and story.

Biased and gives a false narrative

The book is entertaining in its description if the action and characters, but is completely disappointing. The author foolishly takes the greatest single tank encounter in history and minimizes it down to a couple of sentences. What Michael Wittman did at Villers Broucage was remarkable. Regardless of which side he fought for, Wittman single handed annihilated a column of enemy armor and troop transports, then went into the town and destroyed at least 3 more tanks while his tank was knocked out. He kept fighting then climbed out and walked back to his line with his crew. The author's bias is ridiculous.

Superb

So grateful for James Holland’s heart as well as his narrative skill. Perfectly performed by Al Murray, could have picked no one better. God bless the memory of the Sherwood Rangers. Barry L, MN

All the details

Starts out slow in the sense that I was worried he would just be giving in personal and general descriptions of campaigns. But once they head to Normandy, it gets engrossing very quickly for those interested in military histories. He covers details from personal equipment and the relative merits of tanks, to the impact of the continuous stress on the emotions of the participants, to super interesting anecdotes about encounters with German prisoners. I loved the clipped style of writing for some of the battle sequences. It really gives you a picture of the moment by moment experience of fighting in Europe. And the narrator was really great. Perfect pacing.

good book, narrator difficult to understand

had to slow audio down to .85 to understand narrator. other than that, enjoyed the book.

Engaging and informative

This is a great accounting of a British tank regiments journey through WW2. You really feel for the men who lived it.