See Rare, Real-Life 'Fury' Photos From WWII
In April, 1945, the U.S.-led Allies made their final push into Nazi Germany before the widespread devastation of World War II in Europe finally came to an end. Both sides relied heavily on tanks, as depicted in Fury. The movie, in theaters Friday, stars Brad Pitt as an army sergeant who leads a unit of five men in a M4 Sherman medium tank — the most widely deployed tank in the war. Fury dramatizes the cruel, and muddy, closing phase of combat in Germany through the eyes of this fictional tank team, comprised of Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, and Jon Bernthal. But you can view the real men of World War II in rarely seen photos provided by LIFE.com. See the soldiers who risked their lives fighting in these armored vehicles that weighed several tons, and compare them to shots from Fury:
