Spearhead: The World War II Odyssey of an American Tank Gunner

Adam Makos’s World War II biography Spearhead tells the story of two tank gunners, American Clarence Smoyer and German Gustav Schaefer. Makos tells the story of the two men separately before bringing them together in the battlefield. The two men’s paths diverge again after the war, before coming back together one last time in the same square in Cologne where they stared each other down through their gun turrets in 1944. It is the account of a duel between the two most fearsome tanks at that time: the M26 Pershing and the German Panzer tank.

However, besides giving the account of the battle between the two tank gunners, the author also weaves in the theme of humanity and forgiveness. This is a story about two ordinary men, each with their own dreams and aspirations, whose lives were disrupted by war. The book shows how even the two bitterest enemies can forgive one another and become the best of friends, and how circumstances can forever alter a person’s life.

I truly enjoyed reading Spearhead. The writing is very smooth and descriptive without being boring, and it reads like a great novel. I would greatly recommend it to anybody who is interested in history as well as those who enjoy reading books about humanity.