An illustrated history of the first black American armoured unit to see
combat. This is a comprehensive record of the 761st Tank Battalion, the first
African American armoured unit to enter combat. Assigned at various times to the
Third, Seventh and Ninth armies, the 'Black Panthers' fought major engagements
in six European countries and participated in four major Allied campaigns,
inflicting 130,000 casualties on the German army and capturing or destroying
thousands of weapons, despite severe weather, difficult terrain, heavily
fortified enemy positions, extreme shortages of replacement personnel and
equipment, and an overall casualty rate approaching 50 percent. Richly
illustrated and containing many interviews with surviving members of the 761st,
this work gives long overdue recognition to the unit whose motto was "Come Out
Fighting." It recounts the events that in 1978 - 33 years after the end of World
War II - led to the 761st Tank Battalion's receiving a Presidential Unit
Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive. Also described are the efforts
that resulted, in 1997 - 53 years after giving his life on the battlefield - in
the Medal of Honor being posthumously awarded to Sergeant Ruben Rivers.
NB price quoted may be subject to change - a fluctuating rate set by the
official UK importer.
