Twentieth-century warfare has produced its own peculiar brands of fighting élites, be they expert fighter pilots, daring U-boat commanders or 100-ops-plus bomber barons. The armies on the ground are no exception to this and have produced invincible warriors of their own — not least of whom are the tank aces.

Although one must wonder whether SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann would have been so successful had he been commanding a Sherman instead of his redoubtable Tiger, it is the personality of the individual tank ace which is the most important factor, rather than his ability to seek out and destroy enemy tanks. Thus, it was the example of men like US Army Colonel Creighton Abrams and Israeli Lieutenant Colonel Avigdor Kahalany, rather than the number of enemy AFVs they personally knocked out, that influenced the other tanks commanders around them

Tank Aces concentrates on a worldwide selection of highly successful tank commanders, who, by their example, ability and courage, had a profound effect upon a particular tank battle or series of battles. The aces have been drawn from the armies of both sides — German as well as British and American; Pakistani as well as Indian. The author has covered tank battles from the first days of the Second World War, through Korea and Vietnam, to the Indo-Pakistani and Arab—Israeli conflicts, and the recent Gulf War.

Fully illustrated with photographs and specially drawn maps, Tank Aces not only describes the inspiring lives and careers of the most successful tank commanders, but also reinforces the fact that a tank ace does not operate alone — he is only as good as his crew of gunner, loader and driver.