Clash of Steel

by Michael G. Thomas Book 1 in the Callahan’s War series.

First published 2023

Amazon

2.5(5)

Private Callahan has survived months of trench fighting when his unit is ordered to assault a fortified hill held by experienced German troops. The attack is supported by heavy tanks and aircraft, but the new machines cannot remove the wire, shell holes and close-range fighting awaiting the infantry. Callahan must keep his comrades moving while enemy defences and unfamiliar weapons turn the advance into another battle of attrition.

The novel uses a fictional assault to depict the changing Western Front. Tanks and aircraft create opportunities, but success still depends on coordination between arms and on exhausted soldiers exploiting brief breaches before the defenders recover. Callahan’s perspective keeps the focus on the men beneath the larger claims made for military technology.