Conceived at the height of World War II, the British Centurion and the Soviet T-55 were initially expected to counter the formidable Panther and Tiger tanks of Germany. But as the Cold War unfolded, these machines prepared instead for the coming struggle between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Though they never fought in Europe, these two tanks became the mainstay of the Cold War's proxy forces around the world. From Korea to the Middle East and on to Angola, these two armored combatants clashed repeatedly, reaching their crescendo on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War where 177 Centurions of the IDF took on a vastly superior Arab force. This book compares the design, development and deployment of these classic tanks, and analyses their battlefield performance. Presented with highly detailed digital artwork, this is a tightly focused study of two of the Cold War's first main battle tanks. “This new title in the 'Duel' series of books from Osprey is written by Simon Dunstan, an author who has a number of excellent books to his credit already. This one is equally good, and covers the 2 AFVs of the title in a well balanced book... Overall an interesting book which is very readable, and a good insight into tank vs tank combat in the Middle East in 1973.” ― Robin Buckland, Military Modelling/militarymodelling.com (December 2009) “It is not often that one reads a book like this that is so superbly written that it just draws you in. I've had the pleasure of reading several in the past week, and both of them authored by Simon Dunstan. The man just knows how to write and you are really missing out if you don't pick up this particular edition. It is that good. As with others in this series, it has a nice selection of period illustrations in addition to excellent artwork and diagrams done specifically for this book. It is a first rate read and one that I most highly recommend.” ― Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness, modelingmadness.com (December 2009) Simon Dunstan is a military history author, film maker and photographer. He specialises on the subject of armoured warfare, a field on which he has been writing for over two decades. His books have covered topics such as helicopter and armoured warfare in Vietnam, the Challenger main battle tank, The British Guards and armoured warfare in Korea. Simon lives and works in London. Ian Palmer is a highly experienced digital artist with two decades of experience in the video games industry, both as a 3D artist and an Art Director. He has a passion for military history, gaming and riding his motorbike. He lives in Warwickshire with his wife, daughter and menagerie of pets. Howard Gerrard studied at the Wallasey School of Art and has been a freelance designer and illustrator for over 20 years. He has won both the Society of British Aerospace Companies Award and the Wilkinson Sword Trophy and has illustrated a number of books for Osprey including Campaign 69: Nagashino 1575 and Campaign 72: Jutland 1916. Howard lives and works in Kent. Peter Bull graduated from art college in 1979 and has worked as a freelance illustrator for over 25 years. He has created both traditional and digital art for publishers worldwide, and also runs the Peter Bull Art Studio, based in Kent, UK, which he founded in 1975. Reference Book