The Art Of Tank Warfare - Chris Keeling

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Infantry antitank teams. Effective antitank weapons, particularly the ‘HEAT’ warhead, were developed due
to the need for a capable antitank weapon that could be carried by individual infantrymen. This warhead,
unlike traditional armor-piercing rounds, was not dependent on kinetic energy for its penetrating effects.
Relying on chemical means, it could be fired from low-velocity guns or used for rockets. Germany developed
the first practical antitank rocket, called the Panzerfaust, which was used throughout the war, with successive
models being improvements of the basic launcher and warhead. Although its range was short, it had an
excellent warhead capable of penetrating up to 200mm of armor (on the later models) and was lightweight,
reliable, and disposable. The American rocket launcher, known unofficially as the ‘’Bazooka’ (due to its
resemblance to a musical instrument used by comedian Bob Burns), and officially as the Launcher, Rocket,
AT, M1, was developed as a tube for launching stabilized rifle grenades. Its penetrating power was not as
good as the Panzerfaust, but it did have a longer range and could be reloaded. Captured Bazookas were
copied by the Germans to form the basis for the Panzerschreck rocket launcher.
Some other weapons used in an antitank role included; hand and rifle grenades, antitank rifles,
flamethrowers, mines, satchel charges, and improvised antitank weapons such as the Molotov cocktail and the
‘Gammon’ bomb (a brick of raw explosives with a detonator inserted). These close quarters weapons make it
wise to employ friendly infantry units, when available, against enemy infantry, or to defeat them from a
distance with artillery or long-range HE bombardment.
Antitank guns and tank destroyers. Antitank guns are basically field artillery pieces capable of firing at and
destroying tanks. The development of these weapons often parallels the development of tank guns, however,
antitank guns have their own pros and cons. Antitank gun emplacements are often well camouflaged and
dug-in, making them difficult to strike at, and their low-cost makes it easy to deploy many antitank guns
where they are most effective. However antitank guns and their crews are vulnerable to artillery and infantry
attacks, since the only crew protection usually consisted of armor plating mounted in place just aft of the gun
barrel and in front of the breech on the carriage.
Tank destroyers are an interesting compromise of the tank and an antitank gun. Mounting a fixed, forward
firing antitank gun, housed in an open-topped and lightly armored cupola or superstructure, the tank
destroyers were usually based on old, obsolete tank chassis and hull. This concept allowed for a lower-cost,
mobile weapon that allowed large amounts of firepower to be brought to bear on the enemy. American tank
destroyers preferred to mount their guns in an open-topped hull, such as in the case of the M10 series, while
Germans guns and crew were completely enclosed, allowing for more protection, but slightly reduced
mobility and visibility. The outstanding StuG and JagdPanther designs were fine examples of this potent
component of the German armored Corps.
Artillery. Indirect fire artillery differs from direct-fire artillery (which includes tank guns, antitank guns, and
antiaircraft artillery) in that the units which fire are so far from the battle that their fire may take two or three
minutes to organize, direct, and arrive on the battlefield. Because of this, the tank commander must be
careful not to drive into a targeted area until after the artillery has struck and the barrage is completed.
Various types of artillery may be available to the commander, depending on the assets of the unit to which he
is attached. This may include mortars, field guns, and howitzers. Mortars are lightweight, simple artillery
pieces that fire in a very high ballistic arc and are usually found immediately behind the attacking or
defending tanks and infantry forces. Although they are not as powerful as larger caliber guns, their ubiquity
means that they are more likely to be available, and their proximity to the front means that they are likely to
respond swiftly. It’s important to note, however, that several very large caliber mortars were created and