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<Stockman91790@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1120021267.107244.151210@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> How fast can someone run from 55 feet against a tank machine gun? And
> then what does someone do when they reach a tank if that is possible?
It isnt a question of running up to it, but more of one when the tanks
have penetrated the foreward infantry line. The Poles instinctively
understood the need to seperate tanks from supporting infantry.
(most armies figured this one out right off !)
Molotiov cocktails, sactchel charges, grenade bundles all worked
well enough to at the very least disable the light tanks that were the
mainstay of the german tank force at the time.
I will scan some pics from a translated German infantry manual.
Belkieve it or not, there are even reccomendations on how to
diaable a tanks MG with a crowbar ! Or the main guin by putting a
grenade down the barrell. All this with picutres (drawings) too !
Mud over the vison slits, log's in the running gear etc...
The catch to all this is that it took uncommonly brave infantry to do this,
and by 1942, the germans realized that they did not have enough of
these uncommonly brave infantry to do this. It is at this point you see
the introduction of handheld infantry AT weapons. (Panzerfaust,
and Panzerschreck, along with then current handheld magnetic AT mines)
At that time, the germans had no heavy tanks, MK I's, and II's
were the vanguard. The existing anti tank *rifles* of the day could get in,
same with 2.5cm and 3.7cm, and simmilar AT guns.
MK III's, and MK IV's were in incredibly short supply.......
(German propaganda was extremely successfull in fooling the world about
the size, and makeup of their panzer forces)
> And what are the other tanks doing in the meantime? And what are the
> supporting infantry doing while someone is trying to stab a tank?
The other tanks will be (are) looking for the source of any fire, and or
strongpoints. The infantry will be trying to keep up, give flank protection
and attempt to neutralize infantry AT fire. Believe it or not, the Germans
were still refining their tactics, and not all went as planned, the plans
were still be made. Call it on the job training.
The defenders PRIMARY job was (still is) to seperate the infantry from
the armoured vehicles, and force the infantry to go to ground.
If the tanks continue without them, they will soon be in serious trouble.
German tank commanders were taught that the commander's main
job was situational awareness, and that required the commander to
be sticking his head out of the copula. (called CE, commander exposed)
They realized right off the trememdous blind spots that ALL tanks have,
and the necessity to negate this by doing so. A lession that took allied
tankers (particulary the Red Army) a LONG time to learn !
The suporting infantry's job is to keep up with the AFV's and make sure that
they can prevent CQB attacks by enemy infantry against their AFV's
The defenders job is to seperate the AFV's from thier supporting infantry,
and let the tanks continue onward, than to seal the gap behind them.
At that point the tanks can almost be dealt with individually.
(remember that after any battle tanks had to lagger,and refuel and rearm)
Now inagine all this being done in the smoke and confusion of
battle..........
> common sense with history on my side.
Vae Victus... History is written by the winners, and in this case
it was the Germans. Interestingly the German reports written by
junior officers is almost like a scientific review of what happened
in the engagements they were in. And the German army at the time
had a policy of *bottom up* flow of information. This meant that the
higher up's responded to problems that junior officers identified.
A system that worked very well in technological, and tactial progress.
Believe it or not, it was a case of higher up's asking the front line
troops what do you need ? It worked extremely well !!!
> I am not a history buff
I like to think of myself as one
I will dig in to the library, and get a list of books ya should read
about the subject.
For starters try ;
"WAR on the EASTERN FRONT"
"The German Soldier On The Eastern Front 1941 -1945"
by James Lucas
ISBN 1-85367-070-7
VERY good book on German tactics, and the way they dealt with varying
climatic, and changing battlefield situations, in WW II.
Allan
--
Only A Gentleman Can Insult Me And A True Gentleman Never Will
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