US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944–45

US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944–45 PDF Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849086265
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
Overshadowed by the United States Army's armored divisions, the separate tank and tank destroyer battalions had the difficult mission of providing armored support for US infantry divisions in the 1944–45 campaigns. This book details the organizational structures and deployment of these units: the standard tank battalions, tank battalions (light), tank battalions (mine exploder) and tank battalions (special), self-propelled and towed tank destroyer battalions. It also covers the tactics used by these units in their attempts to assist the infantry, as well as providing a listing of all the battalions that took part in the Northwest Europe campaign.

US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944–45

US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944–45 PDF Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849086265
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
Overshadowed by the United States Army's armored divisions, the separate tank and tank destroyer battalions had the difficult mission of providing armored support for US infantry divisions in the 1944–45 campaigns. This book details the organizational structures and deployment of these units: the standard tank battalions, tank battalions (light), tank battalions (mine exploder) and tank battalions (special), self-propelled and towed tank destroyer battalions. It also covers the tactics used by these units in their attempts to assist the infantry, as well as providing a listing of all the battalions that took part in the Northwest Europe campaign.

US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944–45

US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944–45 PDF Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147280001X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
Overshadowed by the United States Army's armored divisions, the separate tank and tank destroyer battalions had the difficult mission of providing armored support for US infantry divisions in the 1944–45 campaigns. This book details the organizational structures and deployment of these units: the standard tank battalions, tank battalions (light), tank battalions (mine exploder) and tank battalions (special), self-propelled and towed tank destroyer battalions. It also covers the tactics used by these units in their attempts to assist the infantry, as well as providing a listing of all the battalions that took part in the Northwest Europe campaign.

Seek, Strike, and Destroy

Seek, Strike, and Destroy PDF Author: Christopher Richard Gabel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
In the seventy years that have passed since the tank first appeared, antitank combat has presented one of the greatest challenges in land warfare. Dramatic improvements in tank technology and doctrine over the years have precipitated equally innovative developments in the antitank field. One cycle in this ongoing arms race occurred during the early years of World War II when the U.S. Army sought desperately to find an antidote to the vaunted German blitzkrieg. This Leavenworth Paper analyzes the origins of the tank destroyer concept, evaluates the doctrine and equipment with which tank destroyer units fought, and assesses the effectiveness of the tank destroyer in battle.

The Tank Killers

The Tank Killers PDF Author: Harry Yeide
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1935149733
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
“A fantastic read . . . Whether your interest is armour or history I would highly recommend this book” (Military Modelling). The tank destroyer was a bold—though some would say flawed—answer to the challenge posed by the seemingly unstoppable German Blitzkrieg. The TD was conceived to be light and fast enough to outmaneuver panzer forces and go where tanks could not. At the same time, the TD would wield the firepower needed to kill any German tank on the battlefield. Indeed, American doctrine stipulated that TDs would fight tanks, while American tanks would concentrate on achieving and exploiting breakthroughs of enemy lines. The Tank Killers follows the men who fought in the TDs, from the formation of the force in 1941 through the victory over the Third Reich in 1945. It is a story of American flexibility and pragmatism in military affairs. Tank destroyers were among the very first units to land in North Africa in 1942. Their first vehicles were ad hoc affairs: halftracks and weapons carriers with guns no better than those on tanks, thin armor affording the crews considerably less protection. Almost immediately, the crews began adapting to circumstances, along with their partners in the infantry and armored divisions. By the time North Africa was in Allied hands, the TD had become a valued tank fighter, assault gun, and artillery piece. The reconnaissance teams in TD battalions, meanwhile, had established a record for daring operations that would continue for the rest of the war. The story continues with the invasion of Italy and, finally, that of Fortress Europe on June 6, 1944. By now, the brass had decreed that half the force would convert to towed guns, a decision that dogged the affected crews through the end of the war. The TD men encountered increasingly lethal enemies, ever more dangerous panzers that were often vulnerable only to their guns, while American tank crews watched in frustration as their rounds bounced harmlessly off the thick German armor. They fought under incredibly diverse conditions that demanded constant modification of tactics, and their equipment became ever more deadly. By VE-Day, the tank destroyer battalions had achieved impressive records, generally with kill-loss rates heavily in their favor. Yet the army after the war concluded that the concept of a separate TD arm was so fundamentally flawed that not a single battalion existed after November 1946. The Tank Killers draws heavily on the records of the tank destroyer battalions and the units with which they fought, as well as personal stories from veterans of the force.

Seek, Strike, and Destroy

Seek, Strike, and Destroy PDF Author: Christopher Richard Gabel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
In the seventy years that have passed since the tank first appeared, antitank combat has presented one of the greatest challenges in land warfare. Dramatic improvements in tank technology and doctrine over the years have precipitated equally innovative developments in the antitank field. One cycle in this ongoing arms race occurred during the early years of World War II when the U.S. Army sought desperately to find an antidote to the vaunted German blitzkrieg. This Leavenworth Paper analyzes the origins of the tank destroyer concept, evaluates the doctrine and equipment with which tank destroyer units fought, and assesses the effectiveness of the tank destroyer in battle.

US Armored Divisions

US Armored Divisions PDF Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472800001
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
The armored divisions were the shock force of the US Army's combat formations during the fighting in Northwest Europe in the final year of the war. Of the 16 such divisions formed during the war, all but one served in the European Theater of Operations. This book examines the organizational structure, operational doctrine and combat mission of these divisions from D-Day onwards, describing how doctrines and tactics were changed as the divisions were forced to adapt to the battlefield realities of combat against an experienced foe. The lessons drawn by the armored divisions from the bitter fighting in Northwest Europe from 1944 to 1945 strongly shaped postwar US Army doctrine.

Armored Attack 1944

Armored Attack 1944 PDF Author: Steven Zaloga
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811744787
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
1,199 photos of American and German tanks with Zaloga's expert captions

M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942–53

M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942–53 PDF Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782002634
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
The US Army had a unique tactical doctrine during World War II, placing the emphasis for tank fighting on its Tank Destroyer Command whose main early-war vehicle was the M10 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage, based on the reliable M4A2 Sherman tank chassis. This durable and versatile vehicle saw combat service from the North Africa campaign in 1943. By 1944, its gun was not powerful enough and it was rearmed with the new 90 mm gun, becoming the M36 90mm Gun Motor Carriage. This book details one of the only US armoured vehicles capable of dealing with the Panther and Tiger during the Battle of the Bulge.

US Army Tank Crewman 1941–45

US Army Tank Crewman 1941–45 PDF Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472805194
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Revealing what it was like to live and fight in a medium tank this book is structured around the career of a single tanker from 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division. The focus is largely on the crew of an M4 Sherman, though light tank service is also studied. Tank operation required a welltrained and well-coordinated crew. The crew positions and roles of tank commander, gunner, driver, loader, and assistant driver are all covered in detail, together with recruitment procedure, specialist training, and the variety of specialized clothing and personal weaponry.

Seek, Strike, and Destroy

Seek, Strike, and Destroy PDF Author: Christoper R. Gabel
Publisher: www.Militarybookshop.CompanyUK
ISBN: 9781780390192
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
After the collapse of the French army in 1940, the U.S. Army quickly moved to develop a doctrine, organization, and weaponry to deal with a large-scale mechanized attack such as the German Blitzkrieg. The result was the development of a "tank destroyer" concept that combined an aggressive doctrine, an elite spirit, and highly mobile, heavily gunned weapons - and which proved to be seriously flawed in practice. "Seek, Strike, and Destroy: U.S. Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II" provides a case study of how General Lesley J. McNair, at the direction of Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, developed the tank destroyer doctrine and its resultant antitank quasi-arm, and how the program's flawed once it was implemented. Even aside from the failure of the Germans to use massed armor in the latter part of the war, the rapid evolution of armor technology as the war went on, and the piecemeal use of tank destroyer battalions by field commanders, "Seek, Strike, and Destroy" shows that, given the largely offensive nature of the Army's mission, an strong anti-tank program assumed a defensive strategy which, if implemented, conceded that mission's failure. The misunderstanding of the mission, threat, and technology, combined with branch rivalries and obstruction within the Army, produced a tank destroyer hamstrung by tactical misuse and a technology woefully inadequate in the face of rapidly improving German armor technology. "Seek, Strike, and Destroy" not only explains the failure of a particular doctrine, but illuminates the more general problem of doctrinal development based on an inadequate understanding of technical and strategic realities. Strategists and scholars alike will find much to ponder in this valuable book. Originally published in 1985: 100 p. ill.