From the bloody battle for Normandy to the Nazi heartland, from war's end to the killing fields of Korea, the men of the British Army's Royal Tank Regiment fight battle after battle against terrible odds. Whether outnumbered or outgunned, the Tankies soldier on--as their motto would have it, ''From Mud, Through Blood, to the Green Fields Beyond.''

After D-Day the largely untried Allied armies meet their seasoned German counterparts on the killing grounds of Bocage country. As Panzers and SS units turn the French hedgerows into a slaughterhouse, a lone British tank crew struggles to rejoin their squadron. Their only hope lies in their commander, Corporal Stiles--but does even this wily old trooper stand a chance against the infamous Tiger?

Newly promoted but just as angry, Sergeant Stiles enters the battle for Germany in command of a Sherman Firefly--capable of taking out any tank thus far encountered. Unfortunately, the enemy have a new tank of their own, the mighty ''King Tiger,'' with twice the firepower of the original. As Stiles and his men join the Allied advance into the Nazi homeland, they find worse horrors than Tigers lurking in the German twilight.

Six years later, as massed Chinese armies descend on UN forces defending South Korea, a British infantry brigade digs in amidst the hills of the Imjin River sector. With them are the Centurion tanks of the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, including WWII veteran Sergeant Stiles. But Stiles is a man haunted by the horrors of his past, and when the Communist offensive smashes into the tiny British force, he must battle his own demons along with the enemy's might.