[Charles Martel]

Battle doctrine for the Allies differed from that of the Germans. We used the Sherman more in support of infantry than to kill enemy armor. That job was done by air power and field artillery (including tank destroyers).

Given the way we employed the M4 and the need to field them in the largest possible numbers, as well as the fact that we had to ship them across the Atlantic (unlike the Soviets, who drove their T-34s straight from the factories into battle), it's tough to argue with the choice.

[X Fretensis]

The Soviets only drove tanks from the Stalingrad production facility directly to the front in late 1942 until the German destroyed the factory. Soviets shifted all armor production to the Chelyabinsk area of the Urals by the end of 1942. New Soviet tanks headed for Moscow had a train ride of over 1500 kilometers to get to the front. As the Germans were pushed back, the distance to transport new tanks grew greater.