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To: Little Ray

Didn’t the Germans have the same philosophy?

Tanks against infantry.
Infantry against tanks.

Patton believed that the main weapon an any tank was the machinegun.

Combined arms operations bears out a lot of this approach, especially in urban environments.


17 posted on 09/15/2008 7:47:12 AM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: SJSAMPLE; Little Ray
Patton believed that the main weapon an any tank was the machinegun.

...yes, and Heinz Guderian said that the ENGINE was a weapon (if you think about it operationally, he's right).

The Sherman Tank's twin virtues were its relative simplicity & it's ruggedness. It didn't break down as frequently as its German counterparts. When it did it was rapidly put back into action either by its own crew or by support troops. The attrition rate due to malfunctions can be as significant as combat losses when you are trying to maintain the momemtum of an advance.

18 posted on 09/15/2008 8:08:39 AM PDT by Tallguy ("The sh- t's chess, it ain't checkers!" -- Alonzo (Denzel Washington) in "Training Day")
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