May 1944, the Royal Armoured Corps prepares for the invasion of north-west Europe. Young and conscientious, Michael Brook is quickly promoted to tank commander. He must overcome not only his own fear, but the dissent and doubts of his ever-changing crew, as the war takes them over the Rhine and into Germany. The men encounter both jubilant civilians and stiff enemy resistance as the conflict exacts a heavy toll. Based on Peter Elstob's own wartime experience, Warriors for the Working Day brilliantly evokes the particular ferocity, heat and terror of tank warfare. This new edition of a 1960 classic features a contextual introduction from IWM which sheds new light on the true events that so inspired its author. 'If poetry was the supreme literary form of the First World War then, as if in riposte, in the Second World War, the English novel came of age. This wonderful series is an exemplary reminder of that fact.' WILLIAM BOYD 'Few other novels of the war describe the grinding claustrophobia, violence and lethal danger of being in a tank crew with the stark vividness of Peter Elstob... a forgotten classic that deserves to be read and read.' JAMES HOLLAND (P) 2020 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
