Bill Close had a remarkable war. Throughout the conflict, in campaign after campaign, from the defence of Calais in 1940 to the defeat of Germany in 1945, he served as a tank commander in the Royal Tank Regiment – and he survived. His tanks were hit eleven times by enemy shellfire and he baled out. He was wounded three times. He finished the war as one of the most experienced and resourceful of British tank commanders, and in later life he set down his wartime experiences in graphic detail. This is his story.

After being evacuated when France fell, he took part in the Greek campaign and in all the major battles in the Western Desert, including those fought at Sidi Rezegh, Bir Hacheim, Knightsbridge, Agedabia and El Alamein. During the final offensive in North Africa, as Montgomery's army broke the Mareth line and advanced into Tunisia, his battalion played a major role.

Then, as a squadron commander, he was involved in the break-out battles in Normandy – Operation Epsom, the struggle for Hill 112, Operation Goodwood – before his tanks drove across France and the Low Countries in pursuit of the retreating enemy. In the final months of the war he was caught up in deadly, small-scale clashes with the Wehrmacht as the Allies forced their way into the heart of Germany.

His book is not only an extraordinary memoir. It is also a compelling account of the exploits of the Royal Tank Regiment throughout the conflict. As a record of the dayto- day experience of the tank crew of seventy years ago – of the conditions they faced and the battles they fought – it has rarely been equalled.