The Art Of Tank Warfare - Chris Keeling
The Art Of Tank Warfare - Chris Keeling The Art Of Tank Warfare - Chris Keeling
37 While local attacks kept the German forces pinned, the Allies squeezed the area, known as the Falais Pocket, tighter. British and Canadian forces applied pressure along the northern flank, while the US Third Army was responsible for the south. By August 12th, the German forces were in a general state of retreat throughout France, as American forces swept south and then east, crossing the Loire River on August 11th, and threatening Paris. The besieged Germans, including Fifth Panzer Army under Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich and Seventh Army under General Hausser, attempted to fight an orderly retreat as they moved their units through the shrinking gap at Argentan. Their forces included I and II SS Panzer Corps, LXXIV and LXXXIV Corps, LVIII and XLVII Panzer Corps, and II Fallschirmjäger Corps, however, they were all short of supplies, especially fuel, and many of their vehicles were destroyed or abandoned. Still, through bitter fighting, they managed to hold the area around Argentan for over a week, long enough for the majority of German troops to escape eastward, where they would be reorganized and resupplied for the Ardennes offensive in the Winter. On the 20th of August, American and Canadian forces linked up, closing the Falaise Pocket, and the German forces left behind capitulated.
5. THE WEHRMACHT 38 At the beginning of World War II, the Wehrmacht (the ground forces of the Heer, the air forces of the Luftwaffe and the naval forces of the Kriegsmarine as well) seemed to be an unstoppable juggernaut. Its forces were far superior in quality, and only rarely in quantity, to those of its opponents. When American troops first encountered German troops, they were engaging a force that had been fighting for three years, and were equipped with some of the most advanced tanks and weapons in the world. Learning painful lessons, the Americans improved quickly, while the German economy could not hope to match the output of American industry. Due to constant interruption by allied air and ground interdiction, supply lines back to Germany faltered. Finally, recruit quality began to fall after 1943, and coupled with mounting veteran losses effectively ended the German advantage in training, experience, and leadership. German tanks were technically and technologically superior to most Allied tanks throughout the war although they were often over-engineered. This led to difficulties in armored vehicle production and repair. The German armaments industry was incapable of meeting the demand for these new vehicles in useful quantities, and certainly not in the quantities in which American and Russian tanks were being produced (German production levels equalled the Soviets only late in the war). During the entire war, only 80,000 armored vehicles of all types were produced in Germany, while the United States alone produced over 50,000 Sherman tanks! This was partly made up for by the high quality of German tank crews coupled with thick, high-quality armor, powerful guns, and greater manoeuvrability provided by wider track designs. The official American estimate of the cost of each Panther tank was five Sherman tanks! The following tables of organization and equipment represent the bulk of German ground forces during the Second World War. As a side note, difficulties in production, supply and reinforcement meant that nearly every unit had its own differences from the standard force levels, particularly among elite units and those not strictly belonging to the army (such as the Luftwaffe field divisions).
- Page 2 and 3: THE ART OF TANK WARFARE A Guide to
- Page 4 and 5: 1. THE HISTORY OF TANK WARFARE 5 Ar
- Page 6 and 7: The First Tankers. Nearly every maj
- Page 8 and 9: WORLD WAR II 9 Armored warfare, as
- Page 10 and 11: 11 The German Heer, however, was un
- Page 12 and 13: 2. TANK ACADEMY It is essential tha
- Page 14 and 15: meters that it could at 10 meters.
- Page 16 and 17: MOBILITY 17 Most tanks are heavy, s
- Page 18 and 19: 19 Optics. The quality of a tank’
- Page 20 and 21: 3. TANKS IN BATTLE The armor tactic
- Page 22 and 23: the top of a hill or ridge is a goo
- Page 24 and 25: 25 Concentration of force. Whenever
- Page 26 and 27: 27 retreat is easy, as buildings ar
- Page 28 and 29: 29 Know your enemy. One of the most
- Page 30 and 31: Using supporting units against infa
- Page 32 and 33: 33 utilized by both sides in the Se
- Page 34 and 35: 35 opposed, and easily overpowered
- Page 38 and 39: • The German Panzer Battalion of
- Page 40 and 41: GERMAN ARTILLERY 41 The German war
- Page 42 and 43: GERMAN ARMAMENTS 43 The following c
- Page 44 and 45: GERMAN UNITS PzKpfw II F 45 Type: T
- Page 46 and 47: PzKpfw III J 47 Type: Tank Top Spee
- Page 48 and 49: PzKpfw IV E 49 Type: Tank Top Speed
- Page 50 and 51: PzKpfw IV H 51 Type: Tank Top Speed
- Page 52 and 53: PzKpfw V D Panther 53 Type: Tank To
- Page 54 and 55: PzKpfw V G Panther 55 Type: Tank To
- Page 56 and 57: PzKpfw VI E Tiger (late version) 57
- Page 58 and 59: StuG IIIG Type: Assault gun Maximum
- Page 60 and 61: StuPz IV Brummbar 61 Type: Assault
- Page 62 and 63: JgdPz III (IV) Hornisse (Nashorn) T
- Page 64 and 65: JagdPz IV/70 Type: Assault gun Maxi
- Page 66 and 67: Elefant Type: Assault gun Maximum V
- Page 68 and 69: SPW 250/9 Type: Halftrack Top Speed
- Page 70 and 71: SPW 251/1 sMG Type: Halftrack Maxim
- Page 72 and 73: SPW 251/10 Type: Halftrack Maximum
- Page 74 and 75: PSW 232 Type: Armored car Top Speed
- Page 76 and 77: PSW 234/2 Puma 77 Type: Armored car
- Page 78 and 79: Opel Blitz Type: Truck Weight: 2.1
- Page 80 and 81: Infantry (Early) Type: Infantry HS
- Page 82 and 83: Panzerschreck Team 83 Type: Infantr
- Page 84 and 85: 6. THE U.S. ARMY 85 American units,
37<br />
While local attacks kept the German forces pinned, the Allies squeezed the area, known as the Falais Pocket,<br />
tighter. British and Canadian forces applied pressure along the northern flank, while the US Third Army was<br />
responsible for the south. By August 12th, the German forces were in a general state of retreat throughout<br />
France, as American forces swept south and then east, crossing the Loire River on August 11th, and<br />
threatening Paris. <strong>The</strong> besieged Germans, including Fifth Panzer Army under Obergruppenführer Sepp<br />
Dietrich and Seventh Army under General Hausser, attempted to fight an orderly retreat as they moved their<br />
units through the shrinking gap at Argentan. <strong>The</strong>ir forces included I and II SS Panzer Corps, LXXIV and<br />
LXXXIV Corps, LVIII and XLVII Panzer Corps, and II Fallschirmjäger Corps, however, they were all short<br />
of supplies, especially fuel, and many of their vehicles were destroyed or abandoned. Still, through bitter<br />
fighting, they managed to hold the area around Argentan for over a week, long enough for the majority of<br />
German troops to escape eastward, where they would be reorganized and resupplied for the Ardennes<br />
offensive in the Winter. On the 20th of August, American and Canadian forces linked up, closing the Falaise<br />
Pocket, and the German forces left behind capitulated.
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