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124-557:  II. Abteilung, Pz.-Lehr-Rgt. 130 Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 901  I. Battalion, PzGr-Lehr-Rgt. 901  II. Battalion, PzGr-Lehr-Rgt. 901 Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 902  I. Battalion, PzGr-Lehr-Rgt. 902  II. Battalion, PzGr-Lehr-Rgt. 902 Panzer-Artillerie-Lehr-Regiment 130 Panzeraufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung 130 Panzer-Lehr-Pionier-Bataillon 130 Panzerjäger-Abteilung 130 Panzer-Flak-Artillerie-Abteilung 311 Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 559 The Panzer-Lehr-Division ( tank teaching division )

248-606: A December 1943 conference, Hitler welcomed the suggestion of taking the StuG III superstructure and mounting it on a Panzer IV chassis to offset the loss of production of the StuG III. This restarted the Sturmgeschütz IV project, which had earlier been considered and rejected. The superstructure of the StuG III Ausf. G was mounted on a Panzer IV chassis 7. The Krupp plant, which did not produce Panzer IIIs, used

372-562: A battalion each of Panther and Panzer IV available. Moreover, all the battalions in both panzergrenadier regiments were transported by tracked, armored vehicles, such as the Sd.Kfz. 251 halftrack. This was in contrast to ordinary Wehrmacht panzer divisions, where only the first battalion in the first panzergrenadier regiment was equipped with halftracks, with the remaining battalions equipped with trucks. The division's engineer and reconnaissance formations were also equipped with armored vehicles,

496-495: A battalion of forty-eight Vickers Medium Mark I tanks, a motorised machine-gun battalion, a mechanised artillery regiment, which had one battery of fully tracked self-propelled Birch guns capable of acting as conventional or anti-aircraft artillery, and a motorised company of field engineers. The unit carried out operations on Salisbury Plain and was observed by the other major nations, the United States , Germany , and

620-431: A better range than their WW I predecessors. To save weight, such designs had thin armour plating and this inspired fitting small-calibre high-velocity guns in turrets, giving tanks a good antitank capacity. Both France and Britain eventually built specialised infantry tanks, more heavily armoured to provide infantry support, and cavalry tanks that were faster and could exploit a breakthrough, seeking to bring about defeat of

744-468: A dangerous practice. The turboshaft -powered M1 Abrams , for example, has such hot exhaust gas that nearby infantry have to be careful where they stand. Tanks can also be very vulnerable to well aimed artillery ; well-coordinated air support and counter-battery artillery units can help overcome this. While attempts to defeat the tank were made before and during the Second World War, through

868-463: A deliberate military doctrine, in 1941, it ultimately failed on the eastern front, though initially attaining spectacular successes. Before the war, Heinz Guderian had in his Achtung–Panzer! propounded a thorough mechanisation of the German forces. By 1942, increased AFV-production allowed a fuller implementation of this ideal. Now extensive armoured combined arms team could be formed, distinct from

992-551: A fighting withdrawal, it was ordered back to Alençon for rest and refitting. The division was subsequently called back to Germany for rest and refitting. During August, the division suffered 1,468 casualties. Within seven months of its formation, the division was reduced to a combat-ineffective unit with only 20 remaining tanks. At one point, in September, it consisted only of a panzer grenadier battalion of company strength, an engineer company, six 105 mm howitzers, five tanks,

1116-581: A group of three German A7V tanks engaged a group of three British Mark IV tanks which they met accidentally. After the final German spring offensives of 21 March to 18 July 1918, the Entente deployed tanks en masse at the Battle of Soissons (18 to 22 July 1918) and Battle of Amiens (August 1918), which ended the stalemate imposed by trench warfare on the Western Front, and thus effectively ended

1240-679: A lack of effective armoured tactics. Strategic use of tanks developed only slowly during and immediately after World War I, partly due to these technical limits but also due to the prestige role traditionally accorded to horse-mounted cavalry. An exception, on paper, was the Plan 1919 of the British Army's Colonel J. F. C. Fuller , who envisaged using the expected vast increase in armour production during 1919 to execute deep strategic penetrations by mechanised forces consisting of tanks and infantry carried by trucks, supported by aeroplanes, to paralyse

1364-570: A narrow cooperation between large armoured units – of the Panzerwaffe and the Cavalry – and "active" infantry divisions to break the Polish defensive lines and pursue the defeated enemy forces. The more limited and dispersed Polish armoured units were quickly destroyed. The Red Army, invading the east of Poland , also deployed armoured divisions. At the time, the swift collapse of the Polish army

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1488-496: A purely infantry or cavalry formation. The panzer divisions integrated tanks with mechanised infantry (riding in halftracks to be protected from small-arms fire while being transported) and self-propelled artillery (howitzers fitted on a tank chassis). This allowed the panzer division to become an independent combat force, in principle able to overcome the problems of attaining a breakthrough against entrenched enemy infantry, equipped with large numbers of antitank-guns, with

1612-682: A reconnaissance platoon, and an Alarmbataillon (emergency alert battalion) of about 200 men recruited from stragglers and soldiers on furlough in Trier . After spending a month refitting in the Saar , the division was moved to Paderborn , receiving 72 tanks, 21 assault guns and replacements, to compensate for the losses suffered in Normandy. In early November 1944, Panzer Lehr was transferred to Hasso von Manteuffel 's Fifth Panzer Army , part of Field Marshal Walter Model 's Army Group B in preparation for

1736-597: A result of this, Panzer Lehr was considered an elite unit from the time of its formation. In early 1944, Panzer Lehr division was to be prepared for training to take place in Southern France. Orders received on 6 March 1944 made it clear that the unit was to first be transported to the Vienna area. On 19 March 1944, Panzer Lehr division took part in the German occupation of Hungary codenamed Operation Margarethe , as well to continue its training. The division absorbed

1860-533: A sharp increase in the number of available tanks for 1918. The German Empire , on the contrary, produced only a few tanks, late in the war. Twenty German A7V tanks were produced during the entire conflict, compared to over 4,400 French and over 2,500 British tanks of various kinds. Nonetheless, World War I saw the first tank-versus-tank battle, during the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918, when

1984-496: A significant problem emerged: the main armament on the light tanks and the 37 mm gun of the anti-tank guns and the Panzer III were insufficient against the newer Soviet T-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks. A more powerful gun, the 7.5 cm Pak 40 , then in development, did not fit in the turret of the Panzer III, Germany's primary medium tank at the time. The Wehrmacht found, however, that the turretless StuGs had enough room in

2108-752: A significant weakness at times. The StuG was more successful in defensive roles, such as ambush, rather than as an offensive vehicle. The lack of an internal light machine gun in early models left the StuG vulnerable to close-range infantry attack. A machine gun and shield were added to later versions. In November 1943, Alkett, GmbH , a major StuG III manufacturer, was bombed as part of the RAF campaign against Berlin , and Alkett's StuG production declined from 255 StuG IIIs in October 1943, to just 24 vehicles in December. In

2232-525: A sudden change in the global geostrategic situation, gaining Germany a position of hegemony on the European continent, but also seemed to vindicate the theories of Fuller and Liddell-Hart. Confronted with the undeniable potential of armoured manoeuvre warfare, from the summer of 1940 onwards the armed forces of all surviving major powers adapted their tactical doctrine, unit organisation, strategic planning and tank production plans. According to Frieser, this

2356-456: A tank component supplemented by tank destroyers formed into independent tank destroyer battalions . The latter is most closely identified with the Chief of Army Ground Forces, Lesley J. McNair . Having studied the early German successes McNair came under the belief that U.S. forces would be faced with fast moving enemy forces who would seek to bypass, isolate and reduce U.S. forces in a replay of

2480-527: A war of attrition and embarked on a high-risk strategy. They approved the Manstein Plan , envisaging an advance through the Ardennes by the main mass of German infantry divisions, spearheaded by seven armoured divisions, while the main mobile French reserve consisting of three Cavalry armoured divisions ( Divisions Légères Mécaniques or Mechanised Light Divisions) – the only armoured units organised on

2604-483: Is an extreme example but exemplifies what has been fairly thoroughly documented since the Second World War: tanks and infantry work best by taking advantage of each other's strengths and combining to minimise the weaknesses. In many conflicts, it was usual to see infantry riding on the back of tanks, ready to jump off and provide support when necessary. Unfortunately, the design of many modern tanks makes this

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2728-587: Is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare . It is a major component of modern methods of war . The premise of armored warfare rests on the ability of troops to penetrate conventional defensive lines through use of manoeuvre by armoured units. Much of the application of armoured warfare depends on the use of tanks and related vehicles used by other supporting arms such as infantry fighting vehicles , self-propelled artillery , and other combat vehicles , as well as mounted combat engineers and other support units. The doctrine of armored warfare

2852-513: The Panzerwaffe . The precise interpretation of this phenomenon has proven controversial among military historians. Traditionally, it has been seen as part of a " Blitzkrieg strategy" of swift world conquest by means of armoured forces. Later it has been argued, among others by Karl-Heinz Frieser , that the German army in the 1930s did not even possess an explicit Blitzkrieg tactical doctrine, let alone strategy. This would have been reflected by

2976-707: The 1937 repression of the officer corps . The Red Army ignored the lessons from Nomonhan , which had been successfully conducted by General Zhukov , and relied instead on lessons from politically selected officers who were veterans of the Spanish Civil War . The result was a poor showing during the Winter War . The Red Army tank fleet was extremely large, consisting of some 24,000 vehicles, but many were obsolete or unfit for service due to difficulties with supplying spare parts and lack of qualified support staff. One important development took place shortly before

3100-564: The First Parachute Army . Panzer Lehr saw very heavy fighting, and again sustained heavy losses. By 15 March, Panzer Lehr had only 6 Panzer IVs , 29 Panthers and 14 Jagdpanzer IVs available. When the U.S. 9th Armored Division captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen , Panzer Lehr was sent to crush the bridgehead. The attack was unsuccessful. The Allies' ground and air superiority inflicted heavy casualties on

3224-654: The French Army as the best army in Europe, and consequently the U.S. Army frequently copied French uniforms (the American Civil War) and aeroplanes. Only when France was rapidly overrun in 1940 did the U.S. Army become "shocked" into re-thinking the influences by the perceived actions of German tanks in the 1939 Polish Campaign. Its Armored Combat Arm was not created until 1940 when the Armored Force

3348-623: The IJN favoured all-around protective armour) IJA tanks were lightly armoured. As with most armour during the 1930s, the main guns were small in calibre: 37 mm for their Type 95 light tanks and 47 mm for the Type 97 medium tank, but this was sometimes compensated by a high muzzle velocity. The IJA's use of tanks in China exemplifies its doctrine: light tanks were used for scouting or acted as mobile infantry support, while medium tanks supported

3472-746: The Jagdpanzer IV and the Jagdpanther , which combined the low silhouette of the StuG with the heavier armament of the Panther and Tiger II tanks, respectively. Still, the StuG III was an effective armored fighting vehicle long after the Panzer III had been retired as a main battle tank. A number of captured StuGs were refurbished in the Soviet Union and given to Syria, along with some Panzer IVs, where they were used briefly against Israel. A captured Syrian Panzer IV and StuG III are on display at

3596-534: The Schneider CA , also failed to live up to expectations. In the Battle of Cambrai (November to December 1917) British tanks were more successful, and broke a German trenchline system , the Hindenburg Line . Despite the generally unpromising beginnings, the military and political leadership in both Britain and France during 1917 backed large investment into armoured-vehicle production. This led to

3720-612: The Second Battle of El Alamein . In 2022, Kendrick Kuo, assistant professor at the U.S. Naval War College, wrote that due to factors emanating from the interwar period , the British army in North Africa initially operated their armoured units with little infantry or artillery support. Meanwhile, the Germans had integrated their armour with mechanised infantry and artillery. Only after undoing their misplaced emphasis on armour were

3844-685: The Second World War (1939–1945). The main StuGs were the StuG III and StuG IV based on the Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tank chassis respectively. The more common of the two, the StuG III was developed in the late 1930s on the chassis of the Panzer III. It was initially designated "StuG" but with the development in 1943 of the StuG IV to make up for lost StuG III production, it

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3968-576: The Soviet Union . Although its performance was recognised, it was disbanded in 1928. In 2022, Kendrick Kuo, assistant professor at the U.S. Naval War College , argued that the British army, under budget and over-stretched during the interwar period, pursued innovation recklessly by betting on the combat effectiveness of armoured units operating with little infantry or artillery support. Doing so led to its initial setbacks in North Africa during

4092-648: The Sturmartillerie  [ de ] ("self-propelled artillery"), a branch of the artillery arm of the German armed forces  [ de ] . Following the defeat of the German Empire in World War I , military commanders from the Reichswehr began to consider how mobile armored artillery units could provide support to advancing infantry units. Colonel Erich von Manstein recommended

4216-474: The Western Front by the effectiveness of entrenched defensive infantry armed with machine guns – known as trench warfare . Under these conditions, attacks usually advanced very slowly and incurred massive casualties. The developers of tanks aimed to return manoeuvre to warfare, and found a practical way to do so: providing caterpillar traction to machine guns allowing them to overcome trenches, while at

4340-478: The 1920s the armoured vehicles, as early road transport in general, were extremely unreliable, and could not be used in sustained operations. Mainstream thought on the subject was more conservative and tried to integrate armoured vehicles into the existing infantry and cavalry organisation and tactics. Technical development initially focussed on the improvement of the suspension system, transmission and engine, to create vehicles that were faster, more reliable and had

4464-433: The 1930s, political tensions between the world powers quickly increased. The Soviet Union and France began to rearm in the early thirties. In the Soviet Union, the mechanisation of the armed forces was part of a massive general industrialisation programme, the successive Five Years Plans , and the country soon had more tanks than the rest of the world combined, thousands of them being produced per year. In this period, before

4588-432: The 316th Company was disbanded. The division's panzer regiment had a total complement of 208 operating tanks and assault guns (10 Panzer III , 9 StuG III, 97 Panzer IV, 86 Panthers and 6 Tigers) as of 6 June 1944 plus nine tanks and assault guns under repair (1 Panzer III, 1 StuG III, 2 Panzer IV, 3 Panthers and 2 Tigers). It also had 31 Jagdpanzer IV in its Panzerjäger battalion. Another unique feature of this formation

4712-523: The 4th Cavalry Division was transformed into the 1e Division Légère Mécanique , the first French armoured division of the Cavalry. In Germany, after the Nazi Regime started open rearmament in March 1935, on 15 October 1935 three Panzerdivisionen were formed. Though some tank brigades were part of the Cavalry or Infantry arm, most German tanks were concentrated into a special branch, from 1936 called

4836-520: The 901st Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment while there. The division left Hungary on 1 May, and returned to France on 15 May 1944 to await the Allied invasion as a part of the OKW 's armored reserve, along with the I SS Panzer Corps and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Gotz von Berlichingen . These units could be released only with Adolf Hitler 's personal authorization. Panzer Lehr's panzer regiment had

4960-402: The 901st Panzergrenadier Regiment, wore itself out in successive attacks on the town of Bastogne. As the remainder of the division sped east, it enjoyed some minor successes, including the capture of a large American convoy, but it was brought to a halt by fierce resistance near St. Hubert , and was soon drawn into heavy fighting south of Bastogne. On the 21st, Manteuffel pulled Panzer Lehr out of

5084-548: The Allies on the tactical and operational level. German tanks operated while directed by radio communication, which allowed tank commanders to take greater advantage of the manoeuvrability of their vehicles. Even after the conquest of Poland , "Blitzkrieg" was not defined on the strategic level. Guderian and von Manstein devised a strategy that entailed what later would be seen as the essence of Blitzkrieg: concentrated panzer divisions performing swift deep penetrations. This strategy

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5208-529: The Americans along the road to Wiltz , and the 902nd encountering heavy resistance in the town of Hosingen . On 18 December, the assault got back underway. The 26th Volksgrenadier Division had secured the bridge over the Clerf River , opening the way to the road and rail-hub of Bastogne . Panzer Lehr's armored reconnaissance battalion raced ahead, attacking towards Wiltz before rejoining the division on

5332-405: The Americans. Six days later, the Americans launched Operation Cobra , their breakout from the Normandy lodgment. By that time, the division had only 2,200 combat troops remaining and 12 Panzer IV and 16 Panthers fit for action and 30 tanks in various states of repair behind the lines. The operation was preceded by a massive aerial bombardment by over 1,500 allied bombers. Panzer Lehr was directly in

5456-566: The Anglo-French coalition proved unable to match the Germans in the number of armoured divisions, as it was impossible to quickly raise such large units. Though the French possessed a superior number of tanks, often better armoured and armed, half of these were allotted at army-level to independent Bataillons de Chars de Combat ("battle tank battalions") for infantry support. In early 1940, the German command had concluded that it could not win

5580-575: The Ardennes forced the crossings over the river Meuse , assisted by massive carpet bombing of the crossing points. In the original plan, the armoured divisions were again supposed to closely cooperate with the infantry divisions. In reality, armour commanders like Erwin Rommel and Heinz Guderian immediately broke out of the bridgeheads, initiating a drive towards the English Channel , which

5704-789: The Armor Museum in Israel. The StuG was also used in Finland post-war where one unit even mixed StuGs and British turreted ' Charioteer ' tank destroyers. A Finnish StuG (posing as a German one) appears in the movie The Eagle Has Landed , and ex-Finnish StuGs have since turned up in British war museums. The Bovington Tank Museum in Dorset has one painted in Finnish markings. The Imperial War Museum 's Duxford site also has an ex-Finland StuG but its markings are more ambiguous. Another StuG III, in

5828-460: The Battle of Cambrai a large concentration of British heavy tanks effected a breakthrough, it was not exploited by armour. The manoeuvrability of the tank should at least in theory regain armies the ability to flank enemy lines. In practice, tank warfare during most of World War I was hampered by the technical immaturity of the new weapon system, limiting speed, operational range, and reliability, and

5952-609: The British able to restore their combat effectiveness. Much of the Red Army development in tank use was based on the theoretical work carried out by such officers as Tukhachevsky and Triandafillov in the mid to late 1930s. This was as part of the two-directioned concepts, one being infantry-centred "broad front" and the other being a "shock army". While the infantry based part of the doctrine demanded "powerful tanks" (heavy tanks armed with infantry guns and machineguns) and "tankettes" (light, often amphibious tanks with machineguns),

6076-643: The Commonwealth troops of the British Western Desert Force . The arrival of the German Afrika Korps under command of General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel highlighted the weaknesses of the British approach: the small number of infantry and artillery in each armoured division was sufficient when attacking the immobile and uncoordinated Italian troops, but against the highly mobile, well-coordinated German units,

6200-638: The East Mediterranean region and Israel in particular would serve to become a testing ground for development in armoured warfare during the decades of the Cold War. Both sides in the Arab–Israeli series of conflicts made heavy use of tanks and other armoured vehicles due to the practicality of tanks in the desert environment these conflicts largely took place in. During the 1956 Suez War and Six-Day War (1967), Israeli armoured units typically had

6324-451: The Fall of France. To stem the flood of marauding panzers, fast moving powerfully armed tank destroyer battalions were created to be held back and used in the counter-attack. It was also calculated that U.S. interests would be better served by large numbers of reliable ( battle-worthiness ) medium tanks rather than a smaller number of unreliable heavy tanks. It was decided therefore to slow

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6448-493: The French, and ultimately were the deciding factors in the battle. It overcame their inferiority in armour and armament relative to the main French materiel such as the Char B1 bis . The superior tactical and operational praxis, combined with an appropriate strategic implementation, enabled the Germans to defeat forces superior in armour (both quantitatively and qualitatively) in the battles of 1940, but just as Blitzkrieg became

6572-551: The German lines, taking the village of Villers-Bocage and threatening Panzer Lehr's rear. Elements of Panzer Lehr, the 2nd Panzer Division , and the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion were committed to defeating the British penetration. The ensuing Battle of Villers-Bocage saw the British withdraw to their start lines after two days of inconclusive fighting. By 17 June, Panzer Lehr had been forced to withdraw. Like all German armoured units engaged in Normandy, Panzer Lehr suffered heavy losses in its transport from Allied air attacks. By

6696-467: The Germans began to use the StuGs to replace standard tank losses. They were used in this fashion as German losses of all types of armored vehicles now exceeded production. The StuGs proved effective in a defensive role, but were a poor substitute for conventional tanks offensively. Thus the panzer regiments continued to be equipped with Panzer IV and Panther medium tanks for offensive operations. Meanwhile, heavier armed tank destroyers were developed, such as

6820-589: The Panzer IV chassis with a modified StuG III superstructure, with a box compartment for the driver added. Combat weight was 23 tonnes, lighter than the 23.9 tonnes for the StuG III Ausf. G. On December 16–17, 1943, Hitler was shown the StuG IV , and approved it. To make up for the large deficit in StuG III production, StuG IV production received full support. Because of the decreased costs and ease of production,

6944-608: The Red Army in World War II , initiated under strict secrecy and using the Principle of Surprise. Furthermore, to improve the fighting capabilities of armoured units, all heavy and medium tanks are to be commanded by officers and crewed by NCOs. In Germany, in-depth research through theoretical approaches, wargaming and exercises developed a confidence within the Panzertruppe itself (and political support by Hitler) in

7068-522: The Second World War. All major European states (with the exception of Germany that was forbidden to possess armoured vehicles under the Treaty of Versailles ), the US, and Japan, would create their own experimental mechanised forces during the late 1920s, many using either French or British vehicle designs or even directly purchased vehicles, but largely borrowing from both to develop their own doctrines. During

7192-455: The StuG was one of the most effective tracked fighting vehicles fielded by the belligerents, in terms of enemy vehicles destroyed. Over 10,000 StuGs were eventually produced. The omission of a regular tank turret made for simpler and more cost-effective production, enabling greater numbers to be built. However, the lack of a traverse movement in the gun meant the entire vehicle had to be turned left or right to acquire targets, which proved to be

7316-579: The T-34 was also able to negotiate terrain in difficult weather conditions, something that persistently dogged the German designs. Assessing the success of the German Blitzkrieg strategy, operational methods and tactics, the Red Army concluded that it should return to the use of operational methods developed before the war, so the Tank Armies were eventually created. To complement the T-34, heavy tanks, self-propelled artillery, and tank destroyers were also designed. The Red Army's armoured forces were used in concentrations during all strategic operations of

7440-506: The U.S. Army consisted of the M2A4 and M3 Stuart light tanks up until 1941, although these vehicles were five years newer than the 1935 built Type 95 's, the IJA and U.S. light tanks were comparable to each other, and seemingly performed well for their respective forces during jungle combat operations; during their phase of World War II. As with all armour, maintenance was a continuous challenge; especially in tropical environments. When IJA and SNLF (Imperial marines) tanks did clash with

7564-440: The advantage, mainly due to good tactics and unit cohesion . Conversely, the Yom Kippur War (1973) illustrated the problems that can arise if armoured and infantry units do not work closely together. Israeli tanks, operating independently in large numbers, were decimated by Egyptian anti-tank teams, well-distributed amongst regular infantry, and often equipped with new, first-generation portable anti-tank guided missiles . This

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7688-607: The armored reconnaissance battalion having a company of the new Sd.Kfz 234/2 Puma armored cars. The division's panzer regiment also had the 316. Funklenk-Panzerkompanie (abbreviated 1./s.Pz. Kp. 'Funklenk' 316 ) ("316th Remote Control Panzer company") attached while in Normandy; this company was originally equipped with ten Tiger I tanks, and was allocated the first five of the new Tiger II tanks that were not used in Normandy, as they broke down en route and had been replaced by 9 Sturmgeschütz (StuG) self-propelled guns, which fought at Tilly and St. Lo until destroyed, at which point

7812-414: The armoured divisions were structurally short of tanks. Though the U.S. had established the Tank Corps in World War I using French Renault FT light tanks and British Mark V and Mark V* heavy tanks, and some officers like Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton, Jr. emerged from that war initially as avid proponents of continuing and developing an American armoured force, the rapid reduction of

7936-449: The armoured formation as the key battlefield formation – although this view was before 1940 not shared by the other Arms of Service. A key part of this doctrine was improved communications by having radios in all tanks, although this ideal suffered from technical limits as most tanks had receiver sets only. At the outbreak of World War II, the German armoured forces benefited from a much more profound and more flexible training than that of

8060-414: The beginning of the war, but would only be built in small numbers towards the end, being placed in reserve, to be deployed for the defence of Japan itself. The Republic of China 's National Revolutionary Army 's 200th Division was the country's only mechanised division during the war. The 200th used pre-war tanks acquired from Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union. The conflict between Arab nations in

8184-454: The concept of infantry Begleitbatterien (escort batteries) to General Beck , chief of the general staff in 1935. Manstein theorized the vehicle would not be used as one uses a tank, but rather as an infantry support vehicle to destroy fortified objectives through direct fire. Its mission was to destroy prepared defensive works, pill boxes, machine gun emplacements and tanks. It was not intended to be used to exploit breakthroughs and drive into

8308-587: The crew compartment to mount the 75 mm Pak 40, and modified StuGs duly appeared. The new model proved an effective tank destroyer . Not only was its main gun powerful enough to knock out the new Soviet tanks, but the Panzer III chassis on which it was based made it highly mobile and reliable, and the increased armor plating combined with its low silhouette made it a difficult vehicle to destroy. The StuG III became Nazi Germany's most-produced armored fighting-vehicle during World War II, with some 10,000 examples manufactured. The StuG vehicles operated primarily within

8432-400: The division was ordered to pull out of their positions south of Tilly-sur-Seules and head west to provide support to the divisions resisting the American advance near Saint-Lô . The area around Saint-Lô consists of small fields with high ancient hedgerows and sunken lanes, known as bocage . The bocage made it extremely difficult for armor to maneuver and provided superb defensive positions to

8556-406: The division. By then, it was reduced to just 300 men and 15 tanks. Engaged in a fighting retreat across northwestern Germany, the division was trapped in the Ruhr Pocket and the remnants of the once powerful division were taken prisoner by the US 99th Infantry Division on 15 April. Armoured warfare Armoured warfare or armored warfare ( American English ; see spelling differences ),

8680-487: The divisions still consisted of infantry that was not even motorised. As a result, tanks tended to be allotted to special armoured units, where the limited and expensive expert maintenance and training capacity could be concentrated. Only the Soviet Union had enough tanks to equip an organic tank battalion in each infantry division. Nevertheless, France was the first to create large armoured units: in 1934 two Mechanised Corps were formed of 430 tanks each. In July 1935, in France

8804-729: The end of June, the division's armoured component was severely depleted. Despite this, it continued to hold against the British and Commonwealth forces, engaging in heavy fighting near the town of Tilly-sur-Seulles . By the end of June, the Panzer Lehr Division had suffered 2,972 casualties and reported the loss of 51 tanks and assault guns, 82 halftracks and 294 other vehicles. On 1 July 1944, Panzer Lehr had only 36 operational Panzer IV tanks (additional 29 in short-term repair and 10 in long-term repair); 32 operational Panther tanks (additional 26 in short term repair and 8 in long term repair) and 28 operational Jagdpanzer and Sturmgeschütze (9 more in short term repair and 1 in long term repair). On 7 July,

8928-604: The enemy before they could get a shot in. Although they usually had guns of either 75 mm or 76 mm calibre (the M36 used a 90mm calibre gun), the tank destroyer units were issued with the ancestor of the modern armour-piercing discarding sabot , rounds which made their guns much more powerful than a simple comparison of calibres would suggest. The Japanese doctrine was mainly French in concept but with some purely Japanese elements. Due to Japan's naval priorities in warship construction and inter-service feuds (the marine branch of

9052-618: The enemy by severing his lines of communication and supply, as cavalry had done during the previous century. The British were the first to create a larger fully mechanised unit when the War Office sanctioned the creation of the Experimental Mechanized Force , which was formed on 1 May 1927, under infantry Colonel R. J. Collins, after Fuller (was) refused the function. Its sub-units were entirely mobile and consisted of reconnaissance tankettes and armoured cars ,

9176-477: The enemy command-structure. Following the First World War, the technical and doctrinal aspects of armoured warfare became more sophisticated and diverged into multiple schools of doctrinal thought. During the 1920s, a very limited number of tanks were produced. There were however, important theoretical and technical developments. Various British and French commanders who had contributed to the origin of

9300-545: The enemy rear areas, as the Panzertruppen units were intended to do. Daimler-Benz AG was given the order to develop and produce such a weapon on June 15, 1936. They created five prototypes, based on the chassis of the Panzer III, which were not useful for combat operations but did prove valuable for training. The first production units, the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf A, arrived in 1940 mounted with

9424-400: The enemy they were quickly destroyed by concealed anti-tank guns or overwhelming numbers of hostile tanks. Japan was a naval power, and concentrated its production on warships, thus placing a low priority on armoured vehicle development, its tanks becoming quickly obsolete during the later years of the war. A number of designs that were equal to heavier foreign types were on the drawing board at

9548-470: The fight for Bastogne and grouped it with the 2nd Panzer Division and 116th Panzer Division Windhund for an assault on Dinant and the Meuse. After a day spent on reorganising the attack, Panzer Lehr finally got underway. It fought its way through St. Hubert and the road to Dinant and the Meuse again seemed open. The assaulting unit, the 902nd Panzergrenadier Regiment, was met by heavy resistance. Nor

9672-470: The forces and apathy and even antipathy towards funding and maintaining armed forces in the inter-war years led to relative stagnation of armoured doctrine in the United States. Adna R. Chaffee, Jr. , virtually alone, advocated for the future of armoured warfare and the development of appropriate training, equipment and doctrine during the late 1920s through the 1930s. The United States Army regarded

9796-619: The infantry and assaulted deeper objectives, but did not fight en masse. In 1939, the Japanese Army engaged Soviet armour at Nomonhan . During the three-month-long war, Japanese armour had shown their weakness against Soviet tanks; and the resulting Japanese defeat prompted a series of complaints by the Imperial Army to incorporate improvements in future Japanese armour. This is the primary reason IJA tanks were not as successful while being used with IJA tactics. The tank forces of

9920-573: The infantry on both sides of the battle. On 10 July, Panzer-Lehr launched a counterattack against elements of the American 9th and 30th infantry divisions around the village of Le Dézert . American M10 tank destroyers knocked out 30 of Panzer Lehr's tanks and forced the remaining tanks to withdraw over the Vire Canal to relative safety. Over the next two weeks, the division fought a defensive battle of attrition . On 19 July, Saint-Lô fell to

10044-521: The line, much reduced in strength. The time spent refitting Panzer Lehr and several other units which had been committed prematurely meant that the operation had to be delayed. During the run up to the offensive, Panzer Lehr was kept in reserve, along with the Führer Begleit Brigade . On 15 December, the day before the offensive began, Panzer Lehr was still severely understrength, with only one of its two tank battalions ready for action,

10168-471: The lines of the German armoured divisions – would be lured into the Low Countries by a feint attack with a lesser force, including three armoured divisions. In May 1940, during the Battle of France , the German feint resulted in a number of undecided armour engagements, among them the Battle of Hannut , the largest tank battle fought until that date. At the same time, German motorised infantry west of

10292-492: The mechanisation progressed, slowly the French armour doctrine began to reflect the increased capacity, evolving from direct infantry support, to independent breakthrough and eventually envelopment with the Infantry, and to deep strategic exploitation with the Cavalry. Despite the increase in tank numbers, in all countries financial constraints prohibited a full mechanisation of the entire armed ground forces. Necessarily, most of

10416-411: The other restored to its parent unit, the 3rd Panzer Division . Both of its panzergrenadier regiments were at 80 percent of its authorized strength. It had only 57 tanks (30 Panthers and 27 Panzer IV) and 20 Jagdpanzer IV/70's by the time the attack jumped off. In compensation, it was reinforced by two tank destroyer battalions and an assault gun brigade. The division's armored reconnaissance battalion

10540-511: The path of attack and the division suffered about 1,000 casualties during this bombardment. The division also lost at least 14 assault guns and 10 tanks. Despite strong initial resistance, by 27 July the German defenses has been penetrated. On the same day, Bayerlein reported that Panzer Lehr was "finally annihilated." On 1 August, the Panzer Lehr had 33 tanks and assault guns operational and a further 44 in workshops. and so on August 17 after

10664-511: The planned winter offensive, Operation Wacht am Rhein, commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge . On 21 November, the partially refitted Panzer Lehr was ordered out of its assembly area to counterattack the American forces driving towards the Saverne Gap. At that time, it has a strength of 34 Panzer IV and 38 Panther tanks . The counterattack stalled, and Panzer Lehr was called back out of

10788-528: The potential to completely halt tank assaults inflicting devastating losses to armoured units without infantry support. However, much of the AFV production was increasingly diverted away from the Panzertruppe . The Artillery formed its own Sturmgeschütz units and infantry divisions were given their own Panzerjäger companies. Despite lowering their formal organic strength, from the summer of 1943 onwards,

10912-535: The process. It was formed from several elite training and demonstration units. Most of the division's original cadre was drawn from Panzertruppenschule I and Panzertruppenschule II , the Panzerwaffe 's major training units. These training and demonstration units were some of the most experienced and highly trained troops in the Panzerwaffe , with almost all having seen combat in the East, North Africa , Sicily or Italy and many having received decorations for bravery. As

11036-645: The production of the U.S. heavy tank designs such as the M26 Pershing and concentrate resources on mass-producing the M4 Sherman and tank destroyers such as the M18 Hellcat . To be able get into position to counter-attack, the tank destroyers had to be fast. To achieve the desired mobility and agility from the engines available the armour protection was sacrificed, a measure of protection coming from being nimble and hopefully from being able to knock out

11160-521: The purchase of a T3 chassis, using the Christie suspension , from US designer John Walter Christie , which served as the basis of the Soviet BT series of fast tanks. The Red Army tactics were influenced by the theoretical works of Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky who advocated "large scale tank warfare" as part of the deep battle doctrine. In France, the second largest tank producer, mechanisation

11284-645: The relatively unimpressive rate of tank production and development. During the 1930s the United Kingdom gave priority to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy . The British Army began the conversion of its cavalry from horse to tanks and all but a few regiments were fully converted by 1939. The British 1st Armoured Division was formed, as the "Mobile Division", in November 1937. Before the Second World War actual use of armoured fighting vehicles

11408-591: The rise to power of the Nazi Party in Germany, German officers were sent to observe and participate in development of armoured doctrine in the USSR. Red Army and German experts collaborated in developing the use of tanks based on second generation vehicles with turreted main weapons, and experimenting to design different chassis configurations and drive trains. One important acquisition for the Red Army turned out to be

11532-413: The route to Bastogne. The horse-drawn 26th Volksgrenadier had gotten itself mixed up in Panzer Lehr's column, greatly slowing the advance. On the 19th, the division's panzer regiment ran into a roadblock near Neffe , held by troops of Combat Team Cherry of the U.S. 10th Armored Division . After initial success, Panzer Lehr's follow up attack resulted in heavy casualties. Combat Team Cherry pulled out, and

11656-525: The same time offering them armour protection against small arms as they were moving. Britain and France first developed tanks in 1915 as a way of navigating the barbed wire and other obstacles of no-man's land while remaining protected from machine-gun fire. British Mark I tanks first went into action at the Somme on 15 September 1916, but did not manage to break the deadlock of trench warfare. The first French employment of tanks, on 16 April 1917, using

11780-435: The shock army demanded "manoeuvre tanks" (fast tanks with medium guns) used in conjunction with motorised forces and "mechanised cavalry" that would operate in depth as "strategic cavalry" combined with nascent airborne troops. These ideas culminated in the "PU-36" or the 1936 Field Service Regulations. At the start of the Second World War much of the Red Army, including its armoured forces, was in transition and recovering from

11904-399: The short barreled 75 mm StuK 37L/24 gun and increased frontal hull armor (from 30 mm to 50 mm). The main armament, which had a limited lateral traverse, was mounted directly in a casemate -style hull. This created the lowest possible profile in order to reduce the vehicle's height, making the StuG more difficult to hit and easier to protect in hull defilade . In 1942 and 1943

12028-412: The spearhead of George Patton 's US Third Army , began its attack to relieve Bastogne and a corridor to the surrounded 101st Airborne was created. Panzer Lehr was then involved in the unsuccessful operations to close the corridor, and finally the exhausted division was pulled out of the battle. Panzer Lehr had once again been virtually annihilated. After the failure of the Ardennes offensive, Panzer Lehr

12152-722: The summer of 1939 combined mass tank manoeuvres with artillery and air attacks, to defeat the Japanese Imperial Army at the Battles of Khalkhin Gol at Nomonhan in Mongolia . Partly as a result of the experiences in Spain, the Soviet Union began the development of a new generation of medium and heavy tanks, sporting much stronger armour and armament. In their Invasion of Poland during September 1939, German forces applied

12276-400: The tank, such as Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne , B. H. Liddell Hart and J. F. C. Fuller , theorised about a possible future use of independent armoured forces, containing a large concentration of tanks, to execute deep strategic penetrations. Especially Liddell Hart wrote many books about the subject, partly propagating Fuller's theories. Such doctrines were faced with the reality that during

12400-609: The time that Panzer Lehr moved out again and reached the town of Bastogne, the US 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles) had already secured it. Panzer Lehr was then divided, with half the division left to help 26th Volksgrenadier Division capture Bastogne, while the rest of the division, including most of its armor, were to continue on to the Meuse . Over the next few days, the Kampfgruppe helping 26th Volksgrenadier, made up mostly of

12524-476: The undermanned Commonwealth formations were proving inadequate. Between 1941 and 1942, the Allies struggled in armoured battles in the North African desert due to improper tactics; in particular, running armoured formations into opposing anti-tank positions; however, they achieved some notable successes at Crusader , 1st Alamein and under Montgomery finally achieved decisive victories, in particular at

12648-520: The use of conventional high velocity anti-tank artillery, this proved increasingly difficult in the post-war period due to increased armour protection and mobility of tanks. Sturmgesch%C3%BCtz Sturmgeschütz (abbreviated StuG ) meaning " assault gun " was a series of armored fighting vehicles used by both the German Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS formations during

12772-506: The war, which influenced Soviet armoured doctrine and tank design for a decade: the creation of the T-34 . Developed on the Christie suspension chassis and using sloped armour for the first time, the T-34 proved a shock to the German forces in the first German encounter of Soviet T-34 and KV tanks . The T-34 had an excellent combination of mobility, protection and firepower. Using wide tracks,

12896-425: The war. Tactically, deployment plans for armour during the war typically placed a strong emphasis on direct support for infantry. The tank's main tasks were seen as crushing barbed-wire and destroying machine-gun nests, facilitating the advance of foot soldiers. Theoretical debate largely focused on the question of whether to use a "swarm" of light tanks for this, or a limited number of potent heavy vehicles. Though in

13020-435: The way to Bastogne was open again. However, the majority of the division's armor had been sent north to Mageret to support 26th Volksgrenadier. After the taking of Mageret, a local informed Bayerlein, the division's commander, that a column of about 50 American tanks and infantry was seen moving to Longvilly . Bayerlein ordered his troops to halt and set up a roadblock, giving him a chance to regroup and reorganize his troops. By

13144-465: Was also established. Under this doctrine, U.S. tank crews of both armoured divisions and GHQ tank battalions were taught to fight tanks in tank on tank engagements. Armoured force personnel during and after the war criticised the infantry for using the GHQ tank battalions assigned to infantry divisions strictly as infantry support. The U.S. combined arms team included air support, artillery, engineers, and

13268-477: Was an elite German armoured division during World War II . It was formed in 1943 onwards from training and demonstration troops ( Lehr = "teach") stationed in Germany, to provide additional armored strength for the anticipated Allied invasion of western Europe . On 4 April 1944, the division was officially designated as the 130th Panzer Division; however, it is usually referred to as the Lehr Division. It

13392-482: Was born on 10 July 1940, with the Headquarters, Armor Force and the Headquarters, I Armored Corps established at Fort Knox . On July 15, 1940, the 7th Cavalry Brigade (Mechanised) became the 1st Armored Division ; the 7th Provisional Tank Brigade, an infantry tank unit at Fort Benning , became the 2nd Armored Division ". The Tank Battalion was established at Fort Meade , Md., and a small Armored Force School

13516-477: Was developed to break the static nature of World War I trench warfare on the Western Front , and return to the 19th century school of thought that advocated manoeuvre and decisive battle outcomes in military strategy . Modern armored warfare began during the First World War of 1914–1918. Strategists wanted to break the tactical , operational and strategic stalemates forced on commanders on

13640-410: Was even true for Germany itself, that only now officially adopted Blitzkrieg tactics. In the deserts of North Africa, the British developed the alternative approach of combining the armoured, infantry and artillery together to form a 'balanced, combined arms team'. The 10th Italian Army of Maresciallo (Marshal) Rodolfo Graziani , being ill-armed and inadequately led, soon gave way to this approach by

13764-504: Was its only organic unit up to strength. Wacht am Rhein opened on 16 December 1944, and Panzer Lehr moved out from the start positions in the center of the German line. The 26th Volksgrenadier Division was to clear the way for the division, but they soon became bogged down and the Panzer Lehr found itself moving forward at a crawl. The situation worsened over the next two days, with the 901st Panzergrenadier Regiment being halted by

13888-618: Was limited. Both sides used Italian, German and Soviet tanks during the Spanish Civil War but these proved to be vulnerable to antitank guns due to their thin armour. Traditionalist elements within the Red Army used this to diminish the influence of proponents of mechanisation. Tukhachevsky himself was executed in 1937. Nevertheless, during the Soviet-Japanese Border Wars of 1938 and 1939, the Soviet forces tested modern armoured warfare tactics. General Georgy Zhukov in

14012-463: Was motivated by a need to compensate for severe manpower shortages due to a collapsed birth rate during World War I. This led to the development of a vast range of specialised armoured vehicles, not just tanks but also armoured cars , self-propelled guns , mechanised artillery , armoured tractors, armoured supply vehicles, armoured artillery observation vehicles, armoured command vehicles, half-tracks , and fully tracked armoured personnel carriers . As

14136-627: Was not initially accepted by German High Command. Nevertheless, the final plans for the invasion of France in 1940 hinged on the element of a Schwerpunkt at Sedan, and was assigned to such forces. The great success of this operation led to Blitzkrieg being integrated with strategic planning for the rest of the war. German tanks could carry with them enough fuel and supplies to go almost two hundred kilometers, and enough food to last three to nine days. This relative independence from supply lines proved effective, and allowed them to advance on critical targets much faster and without hesitation. Another factor

14260-523: Was re-designated as "StuG III" to distinguish the two. Initially, the Wehrmacht intended to use StuGs as armored self-propelled infantry support guns , providing close fire-support to infantry by destroying bunkers, pillboxes and other entrenched positions. A secondary capability as an anti-tank weapon became more important as the war progressed. Following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 ,

14384-684: Was reached within a week. The French reserve of four Infantry armoured divisions, the Divisions cuirassées , lacked sufficient strategic mobility to prevent this. The strategic envelopment surrounded the Belgian army, the British Expeditionary Force and the best French troops. It led to the Evacuation of Dunkirk and the ultimate fall of France in operation Fall Rot . The spectacular and unexpected success not only caused

14508-459: Was refitted once again, though not to anywhere near the lavish standard of its earlier incarnations. Many of the veterans were dead, and the Panzer Lehr of early 1945 bore little resemblance to that of June 1944. The division was moved north, into the Rhineland , where it was engaged fighting Bernard Montgomery 's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group again during Operation Veritable , serving under

14632-526: Was seen as the result of an armoured Blitzkrieg. However, later it has been argued that the campaign was largely an instance of the classical nineteenth century German concept of the "Annihilation Battle", in which the role of deep strategic armoured penetrations was limited. In the wake of the Polish campaign, during the Phoney War French, British and German tank production sharply increased, with both western allies out-producing Germany. However,

14756-511: Was soon released, reached the front, and was committed to battle against the British and Canadians on June 8. It was placed in the front line adjacent to the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Division , where it defended Caen and fought several British offensives to a standstill. On 13 June 1944, an attack by the 22nd Armoured brigade group of the British 7th Armoured Division outflanked Panzer Lehr's defences around Tilly-sur-Seulles and cut through

14880-486: Was that its panzergrenadiers were, in large part, dressed in the double-breasted Sturmgeschütz jacket, instead of the standard field blouse worn by other German Army ( Heer ) units. When the Western Allies launched the amphibious invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, Panzer Lehr, as a part of the strategic armored reserve ( Panzer Group West ), was held back from the fighting during the crucial first days. It

15004-582: Was the ability of commanders to make strategic decisions in the field and without much consultation with their headquarters, the orders of which were often simply ignored. A prime example is Erwin Rommel 's lead-from-the-front approach while commanding 7.Panzer-Division which allowed him a flexible response to the battlefield situation, an instance of the Auftragstaktik (reliance on subordinates to make their own decisions). The effect of German Panzer 's speed, mobility, and communication shocked

15128-468: Was the advance to become any easier thereafter. On 23 December, the division fought all day to reduce the town of Rochefort, suffering heavy casualties. The Americans finally withdrew – their casualties 25 men killed and 15 men wounded, after holding off an elite panzer division for an entire day. Bayerlein later compared the defence of Rochefort to that of Bastogne. Panzer Lehr made two rescue attempts to save 2nd Panzer and succeeded in retaking Humain , but

15252-555: Was the only Wehrmacht Panzer division to be fully equipped with tanks and with halftracks to transport its mechanized infantry. On several occasions it fought almost to destruction, in particular during Operation Cobra , and by the end of the war in Europe bore little resemblance to the unit that had originally been activated. Panzer Lehr began forming on 30 December 1943 and moved to the Nancy – Verdun area in January 1944 to complete

15376-542: Was unable to go any further. After another failed rescue effort by 9th Panzer, Panzer Lehr was ordered to fall back. Of the 2nd Panzer Kampfgruppe , only Major Cochenhausen and 600 or so of his men managed to escape on foot, abandoning almost all of the division's armor to the advancing Allies. The Meuse would not be reached; Wacht Am Rhein had failed. The remnants of Manteuffel's strike force were pulled back for one final attempt to take Bastogne. Panzer Lehr began to move into its new positions, after US 4th Armored Division ,

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