For a tank there should be only two speeds

Several recent posts have expressed an interest in WW II panzer tactics especially regarding firing on the move versus stationary firing.

I have lost the original link to the printed German training manual so I am reposting from this WW II Online thread on the same subject.

Tadpole wrote:

This is a translation of a German training circular issued by the German Armored Force containing 30 basic lessons of armored combat on the platoon and company level derived from the Wehrmacht's experience against the Soviets. Written during the Second World War by a German company commander, these lessons are fresh with recent combat experience. The original text has cartoon-like illustrations and civilian "parables" on one page, with the combat lesson on the opposing page. Only the combat lessons are translated here.

AUTHOR's PREFACE

The Panzer Regiment is, by reason of its firepower, protection and mobility the main fighting power of the Division. Its strength lies in unexpected, concentrated and determined attack; aggressive leadership and daring operations.

FORWARD

Combat in Russia has shown once again that for us, in action against the Communists, it is not so much the kind or number of our tanks but the spirit and skill on the tank soldiers that count. Only by these factors are German tanks always, even in Russia, victorious.

This exemplary combat spirit can however count for little as the weapons speed, armor or number of tanks in achieving success, if they are not led and employed by fully competent officers.

Superior tactical leadership in battle is a prerequisite when one desires few, or better still, no casualties.

The purpose of this volume is to collect the experiences of the veteran front-line combat leaders of our Regiments in action, and pass it on in simple and understandable form to our junior officers.

1. Before any attack acquaint yourself with the ground. Use the information provided by other units or by the map. Share this information with your subordinate commanders. Exact information and correct estimation of the terrain will be the decisive difference between victory and defeat.

2. No armored attack is so fast, even under the most pressing situation, that you do not have time to put subordinate leaders into the picture about the tactical situation, mission, and anything else which may impact on the coming action. Losses due to over-hasty action are your responsibility and place the success of the mission in jeopardy.

3. Only careful combat reconnaissance can protect you from surprise. Protect to your flanks as well as the front. Observation to all sides is the duty of every commander. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR THE ENEMY!

4. Your entire ability in combat must be used to make a constant appreciation of the situation. Only in this manner can you make the correct decision during the decisive seconds and issue short, clear orders without delay. This is the kind of leadership for which you are responsible.

5. Iron radio discipline is a prerequisite of good leadership, particularly when your only method of command is radio. In the point company for instance, the trail platoons should not use the radio at all except in emergency, leaving the net clear for the point platoon leader.

6. You must lead with strength. At least two tanks must be forward, and the trail platoons must be held far enough forward to support the lead platoon. The more guns that fire in the first minute, the quicker the enemy will be defeated and the fewer losses you will suffer.

7. When breaking cover, do it quickly and together. The more targets the enemy is shown simultaneously, the harder his fire control and distribution will be, and the more guns you will have in effect on the enemy.

8. In the attack drive as fast as you can. At slow speed you can see and shoot only a little better than at high, and are much more likely to be hit. For a tank there should be only two speeds: the half (for firing!) and all out forward. This is the basic principal of tank combat!
9. When antitank weapons are encountered at long or medium ranges, you must first return fire and then maneuver against them. First make a firing halt in order to bring effective fire to bear - then commit the bulk of the company to maneuver on the enemy with the continued support of one platoon.

10. When antitank weapons are encountered at close range, stopping is suicide. Only immediate attack at the highest speed with every weapon firing will have success and reduce losses.

11. In combat against the antitank guns you may never - even under the protection of strong fire support - allow a single platoon to attack alone. Antitank weapons are not employed singly. Remember - lone tanks in Russia are lost!

12. You must continually keep a broad interval between vehicles. This splits the enemy's defensive fire and complicates his fire control. Narrow intervals must be avoided at all costs, especially in critical situations, or it will cost you losses.

13. When an impassable obstacle, for instance a minefield or antitank ditch, is encountered you must immediately and without hesitation give the order to withdraw into the nearest cover. Standing still, in open sight, trying to carry on the attack, has in such circumstances no sense and will only cost you losses. Your consideration on how to make a new start will be best made in the safety of cover.

14. When your attack must pass potential enemy tank positions, for instance a woodline, you should either pass by them so closely that you are inside their minimum range, or remain so far away that you are outside their maximum effective range.

15. Enemy tanks should not be attacked directly, because then they see you and know your strength before you can kill them. More often, you should avoid them until you can move into favorable firing positions, and surprise them from the flank or rear. Repelled enemy tank assaults must be aggressively pursued.

16. A strongpoint, for instance a small village or artillery battery position, whenever possible should be attacked from different directions simultaneously in order to split enemy defensive fire and deceive him about the true location and direction of the attack. In this manner your breakthrough will be easier and your losses fewer.

17. Always prepare dug in positions and camouflage against the possibility of air or artillery attack. Being sorry afterwards is no excuse for losses taken by these causes.

18. Ammunition should not always be conserved; in the decisive moment, if you want to save casualties, you may expend ammunition at exceptionally high rates (for instance, an emergency attack.)

19. Never split your combat power; that is to say, do not employ parts of the company in such a manner that they cannot support each other. When your attack has two objectives you should attack first one and then the other with all weapons. In this way you will more certainly end up with both objectives in hand and fewer casualties.

20. Support from artillery fire or dive bombers must be used immediately, that is to say, while the fire is still hitting the objective. Afterward, when the fire has stopped it is too late. You must know that mostly such fires only produce a suppressing effect, not a destroying one. It is better to risk a friendly shell or bomb than to charge into an active antitank defense.

21. Other weapons and arms, cross-attached to you, should not be misused. Do not use them for purposes for which they were not intended, for example, do not use tank destroyers as assault guns, or armored infantry as tanks, or recon or engineer troops as infantry.

22. Unarmored or lightly armored units attached to you must be protected from any unnecessary losses until they are needed for their own operational tasks, for which reason they were attached to you.

23. Cross-attached units placed under your command are not your servants, but your guests. You are answerable to supply them and share everything they need. Don't just use them on guard duty! In this way they will work better and more loyally for you when you need them. And that will be often!

24. In combined operations with infantry or armored infantry, you must make certain that the arms stick close together; only so can they help each other and achieve success. Which of the two is leading is a secondary matter; what must be known is that it is the intention of the enemy to separate them and that you must prevent this in all circumstances. Your battlecry must be "Protect the Infantry!" and the infantry's battlecry is "Protect the Tanks!"

25. You and your soldiers must always concentrate on your combat mission, i.e. "the bridge," and you may not turn aside, for example, to an enemy on your flank, unless he is actually dangerous to the accomplishment of your mission. Then you must attack and destroy him.

26. After a victorious battle; i.e. the seizure of a bridge or the occupation of a village, keep your helmets on. That is to say, prepare for a counterattack which will certainly come, perhaps in a different place than you expect. Later you can collect the spoils of victory.

27. In a defense or security mission place your tanks so that not only their firepower, but also their shock action can be brought into play. Also, leave only a few tanks in stationary firing positions. Keep most as mobile reserves under cover. Tanks defend aggressively!

28. Against strong enemy resistance, there is no point in continuing to attack. Every failed attack only costs more casualties. Your effort must always be to hold the enemy with only weak forces, in order to use mass of your strength at another, weaker place, breakthrough, and destroy the enemy by surprise attack in the rear or flank.

29. Never forget that your soldiers do not belong to you, but to Germany. Personal glory hunting and senseless dare-deviltry lead only to exceptional cases to success, but always cost blood. In battle against the Soviet- Russians you must temper your courage with your judgement, your cunning, your instincts and your tactical ability. Only then will you have the prerequisites to be victorious in battle and only then will your soldiers look on you with loyalty and respect and always stand by you in untiring combat readiness.

30. The panzer division in modern warfare today holds the former place of cavalry as the decisive arm of combat. Tank officers must carry on in the tradition of the cavalry, take up its aggressive spirit on behalf of the Panzer arm. Therefore take note, as a basic combat principle, of Marshall Blucher's motto, "FORWARD AND THROUGH!" (but with intelligence).

 

Wow - thanks Grieg, that is excellent.

I'm amused that #8 says "For a tank there should be only two speeds: the half (for firing!) and all out forward."
and #9 says "First make a firing halt"

 

Ricky wrote:

Yeah, he might have let his exuberation run away with him in that statement in #8. It seems that #9 refers to a special case where antitank guns are encounters at long or medium ranges and once your forces are marshalled and committed to the attack one would follow the rule in #8.

Besides if you followed #8 strictly things could get interesting when crossing bridges or maneuvering through cities

 

It seems the manual makes a clear distinction between fighting enemy tanks or other targets and fighting AT guns, with a tactic for handling each which is very different from the other. This could explain point 8 and 9 standing together like that.

 

EDIT..changed exuberation to exuberance..can't belive I used that non-word..musta been a brain fart

 

I don't think "musta" is a word, do you mean mustard?

 

Roel wrote:

Ahh Grasshopper as you learn more about the mysterious language of Anglais you will know that one can fashion their own words if the need arises.
must of becomes.. musta
going to becomes.. gonna
want to becomes..wanna
got to becomes.. gotta

and so on

 

I was strongly under the impression that no WWII combatants tanks had sufficiently sophisticated Gyro stabalising#, or optics, to permit firing on the move. Germany certainly could not afford the cost in ammunition after late 1943.

# This may not be the correct technical term, for keeping the gun barrell trained on the target, whilst the tank is lurching around, but I guess you know what I mean.

 

The Germans didn't have gun stabilization systems in any of their tanks AFAIK which would permit true fire on the move accuracy anything remotely similar to what we know today. The M-26 Pershing had a gyro stabilized gun late in the war but I'm not sure any other gun stabilization system was of that type.

 

... hafta, wontja, didja, usta, willya, wudja, cudja, shudja, wudda, cudda, shudda, jeat, lostya, beatja, ...

 

Ah, Grasshopper, we must educate you in the true English language...

'must of' is actually 'must have'

as in, "It must have been a brain fart"



P.S: didn't the M3 Grant & M4 Sherman have gyro-stablised guns?

 

British 2 pounders, at least, were light enough and balanced enough that the gunner more or less "fired from the shoulder", and were therefore aimed and fired manually - hence Brit insistence on firing on the move. (Later changed). I believe that the increased weight of 6 pounder (? might have been 75 mm) raised objections that the gunner wouldn't be able to aim it as well he could with 2 pounder.
M4 had a rudimetary stabilisation system, but AFAIK it was regarded as more trouble than it was worth.

 

:roll:

Notice the winking smiley in my post, I was just being pedantic to try to embarass you further while you were correcting yourself. No actual correction intended.

And I have seen plenty of American movies so I know about the words you mention!

 

Everything I have written about this says, german tanks always made a firing halt in order to gain the necessary accuracy, russian tanks on the other hand fired while driving and hardly hit anything.
By the way, IIRC the Sherman had a gyro stabilized gun, but for some reason it was not used?!

 

US M3, both light (Stuart) and medium (Grant/Lee), M4 Sherman, and M5 Stuart all had gyro stabilizers. Reviews were very mixed, a few crews swore by them, most did not use them.
It is difficult to believe that even at half speed (~10mph?) a German tank crew could fire with any kind of accuracy at all.
I recall reading an acccount by a US tank creew that only when the panzers stopped and turret started to traverse did they start looking for a place to hide, because a moving tank was not a threat to fire.

 

Ah, now, I vaguely remember an old discussion on here about the Sherman's Gyro-stabilisers where somebody (just checked - it was me! See link below) pointed out that most Sherman crew disabled the gyro, as if the tank was hit then it could easily come free of its bearings, and race around inside the tank. Which I'm sure you can imagine would be unpleasant.

http://www.fun-online.sk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1207

 

I was aware that as far back as the Stuart gun stabilization had been introduced but I wasn't aware that it was a gyro controlled system. Usually when discussions of gun stabilization comes up the Pershing is mentioned as having one of the first practical systems remotely similar to modern systems. Perhaps some of the bugs of the earlier system had been worked out by then?

As far as German doctrine I don't know how widespread the tactics described in that training manual were and whether they were adopted adopted. I will attempt to find the original source of that manual when I can spare the time.

 

The original system used on the M3 was based on one used in light naval guns (3"-5" guns on destroyers). I'm not sure if this has any relation to modern systems. In articles of read it isn'st really clear to me if there really was a problem with the gun stabilizer running wild or if it was an soldiers tale. It any case it seems most crews did not use the system, but those that did thought it was great. Go figure.

 

I've read that the Sherman gun stabilizer was also a power pig and crews disabled it to save battery power.

 

Talk about a pain in the ***. Doesn't sound very useful.

Btw, when using only two gears (half and full throttle): doesn't that blow your engine? I don't think such a heavy vehicle can be started up at half speed right away. Next to the problems like driving bridges and cities like you already mentioned