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The First World War's fierce battles saw the need to develop military technology beyond anything previously imagined: as exposed infantry and cavalry were mowed down by relentless machine-gun attacks, so tanks were developed. Here author Craig Moore presents every First World War tank, from the prototype 'Little Willie', through the French heavy tanks to the German light tank. He gives a focused history of the development of this game-changing vehicle and the engagements it was used in – vital battles such as the Somme and Cambrai. Stunningly illustrated in full colour throughout, Tank Hunter: World War One provides historical background, facts and figures for each First World War tank as well as the locations of any surviving examples, giving you the opportunity to become a Tank Hunter yourself.
This unique collection of contemporary combat accounts provides a primary source insight into the reality of anti-tank warfare on the Eastern Front. Both armoured and infantry based operations are considered.This book is part of the 'Hitler's War Machine' series, a new military history range compiled and edited by Emmy Award winning author and historian Bob Carruthers. The series draws on primary sources and contemporary documents to provide a new insight into the true nature of Hitler's Wehrmacht.The series consultant is David Mcwhinnie creator of the award winning PBS series 'Battlefield'.
This facsimile edition of the US 1942 field manual for tank destroyer units describes missions, organization, combat, and training. It scales its information from squad to company to battalion to group. Issued early during the United States' WWII experience, it predates the assignment of authorized tank destroyer gear: "It is prepared for the guidance of units that will be equipped with materiel now being developed..." Readers should recall that US WWII doctrine and the high command forbade tank vs. tank combat. The American tank was meant for targets other than Axis armor. However, tank destroyer units were specifically designed, equipped, and deployed to fight what we now think of as tank battles. This is an historic document that gives us deep insight into a long-forgotten military doctrine. For those who think of tank destroyers as cheap tanks or stopgaps, this will be an eye-opener.
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.
“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.
A book by the specialist for the specialist, this is a must-have history of the most powerful German tank destroyer of World War II – the Ferdinand/Elefant. This is the story of the largest and statistically most successful tank destroyer of World War II. The Ferdinand was a true behemoth, and although only 91 examples were built, they took a savage toll of Soviet armour in the Battle of Kursk and subsequent operations on the Eastern Front. This study explores the technical development and combat deployment of this remarkable vehicle, from its' origins in the Porsche Tiger Tank through its deployment under the designation 'Ferdinand' in the Citadel offensive, to its modification and redesignation as the 'Elefant' and final use in the desperate Battle of Berlin. Drawing on original archival material from within Germany, private collections and heretofore unpublished photographs this title is an essential illustrated history to one of the most famous armoured vehicles ever built.
A detailed and witty examination of 20 real inventions from WWII that never saw the light of day. Each entry includes full technical details, a complete development history, in-depth analysis, one or more illustrations and an acerbic fictionalised account of the invention's success or failure on the battlefield. These are the strangest inventions of WWII - from a 1000 ton tank to an aircraft carrier made out of ice - and for many of them, the original illustrations within are the only surviving images of the inspired lunacy they represent.
Failure to exploit the potential of an original idea is a recurring phenomenon in our national history. Few failures, however, can have been so costly in human life as that of our military commanders early in 1916 to appreciate that the tank was a war winning weapon. The slaughter of the Somme, Passchendaele and Ypres salient had to be endured before accepted 'conventional' methods were abandoned and the tank given a chance. Bryan Cooper describes the early tank actions in vivid detail, with many eye-witness accounts. He tells of the courage and endurance of the crews not just in battle but in the appalling conditions in which they had to drive and fight their primitive vehicles. Scalded, scorched and poisoned with exhaust fumes, constantly threatened with being burned to death, these crews eventually laid the foundation for the Allied Victory in World War I. The book is well illustrated with many original photographs which give the present day reader a glimpse of the infancy of a dominant weapon of modern war.