Funny you should mention this; it is almost the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Arracourt, where the outnumbered American 4th Armored Division, equipped with Sherman tanks, faced two German Panzer Brigades and parts of two Panzer Divisions, equipped with the latest Panther tanks. The American crews were experienced and well trained, and had excellent leadership from General John Wood and Col. Bruce Clarke.
The Germans were poorly trained, had not fought together in large units, and lacked organic recon elements.
The result was a spectacular American victory, virtually destroying the tank strength of the attacking German units.
Properly handled, the Sherman was a good seviceable tank. They were used in some quantity by the Soviets on a lend-lease basis, and the Soviet crews liked them as much as the T-34s, mostly for the Sherman’s better range, reliability and better crew accomodations.
A little extra fuel would have helped jerry...
Thanks for the post. I didn’t know the Sherman actually did well in trained hands and good leadership.
The fact that they ran on gasoline was a massive plus, despite complaints by some (even to this day) because it simplified the logistics of keeping all the machinery rolling.
The Shermans were also narrow, an artifact of having been designed to be built on auto assembly lines — and that turned out to be a huge advantage in those narrow lanes between the hedgerows and in the narrow lanes of French villages.
And of course, over 30,000 were built, of which a great many were shipped to Europe.