Erich, that's pretty much exactly what I meant. In many cases, determining a "kill count" would have been EXTREMELY difficult, simply due to practical matters!
If three German tanks were firing on a group of russian tanks, how would they tell who actually knocked which one out?
I can think of many circumstances that would make an after-the-battle assessment very hard.
Quote:
|
it was almost impossible to clarify unless proper assessment could be done after a battle
|
THAT is my whole point/issue with the whole "kill count" idea.
But - at least in the case of most german tank aces- I would certainly believe that their "kill counts" are at least a VERY good estimate!
And on the T-34/Sherman production figures, I really think these numbers simply demonstrate a different approach than that of the Germans. The Germans built VERY high quality tanks and AFVs, both in terms of technical quality and worksmanship.
The Russians and Americans? They just figured to mass-produce so many T-34s and Shermans that they simply swamped the Germans.
I think the common concensus here on the forums is right on the mark- The Tiger and Panther are almost ALWAYS cited as the "best" tanks of the war... while the T-34 is also almost always cited as the most important/ most useful tank of the war.
Good stuff....