Tiger Command by Bob Carruthers & Sinclair Mclay

'Tiger Command' is a novel about a German tank commander and his crew fighting in WW2. The original manuscript was written by Ritter von Kraus - the pen name of a former German officer who wrote a large number of manuscripts based around his experiences as a German tank commander in both WW1 and WW2. The pen name translates literally as 'Knight of the Cross' and suggests that the author was a Knight's Cross recipient. There are over forty surviving manuscripts ranging from story outlines to full blown scripts, believed to have been written in the 50s and 60s when the author lived in Argentina. These stories were never published as the author's family feared they might have been identified and linked to the author's other interests including the campaign to restore pension rights to members of the SS. With the death of the last of his children, the way was finally opened to publish his work for the first time and 'Tiger Command' is the first to be published.


Bob Carruthers is an Emmy award winning journalist, with a string of WW2 books to his name, and Sinclair Mclay is an ex-journalist who has secured the rights to the von Kraus manuscripts. They have struck gold here and this will surely be the first of many.

The book tells the story of Hauptsturmfuhrer von Schroif and his crew as they take delivery of their new Tiger tank and their war on the Eastern Front. It is fast paced throughout and kept me gripped - despite it being written over 50 years ago, it didn't seem dated in the slightest. Having read other novels of a similar genre, notably the Sven Hassel series whilst on radio stag many years ago, I think this compares extremely favourably. There is a level of detail about the minutiae of the tank that points to the author's first hand knowledge.

The tank crew are an eclectic mix - each individual character bringing something to the party. As you read this book, you can't help but think that this is merely the first of what will surely become a very popular series.

Published in paper form and as an e-book, the latter in particular is a real steal at £2.99. You can't go wrong - every self respecting military Kindle owner needs a copy now!

5 Mushroom Heads (on Kindle) [4 Mushroom Heads (on paper)]