ORIGINAL: Daykeras
5 allied tanks beat back 11 axis tanks, correct? Did they do this alone, or with help? And if they had help, how much of a role do you think this help played?
Last I remembered, there was no Allied Armored division out on it's own. They were all tied to Infantry due to US doctrine of support.
If you are at all familiar with the Ardennes battles you would know they were very much on their own, as were so many other US units in the opening days of the Bulge. You again seem to have mistaken ideas about US combat organization and doctrine which evolved rapidly as the war progressed. For starters Doubler's "Closing with the Enemy" is good as are any of the very detailed books from this site : WWII History
And I don't care what the sherman's are classified as. They're just heavy Light tanks, but they were "Medium Armor." Light armor being armored cars.... .
Perhaps you don't care, but usually an established set of definitions for language helps communication and understanding.
And what does the Maus have to do with anything? So they built only three and they probably never saw combat. They were planning on building the Ratte which had two naval guns for it's armament... So what if it never saw battle. That scares the shit out of me. 50 guys in 1 tank manning machine guns and 2 naval cannons with a range of 47 kilometers weighing in at a total of 2000 tons. If they ever got it into position in time it could destroy everything.
Anyway... Just to clarify. You're saying the Germans had no chance in heck to ever win because the Americans had more and better stuff. Well then why the hell are we playing this game? What's the point! We can't win. Nothing matters. No wonder Germany was given so many historically inaccurate boosts. It's because they can't really win! WOW!!! Why should anyone ever make a WW2 game. Germans are destined to lose no matter what.
Thank you Ron for destroying my enjoyment of all WW2 games
Hmm, I believe it was you who trotted out the Maus example as one of German superiority and now the "Ratte". Yet any rational person would see it as an example of incompetence, waste and fantasical thinking. Note, there were only 2 prototypes(Maus) built and they were never fitted with any armament.
Yes the Germans never had any chance of winning WWII, but I never said or implied it was because the Americans had more and better stuff. I am sorry for bursting your bubble of German worship. WaW is a game, not a historical simulation of WWII. The whole German structure was bureaucratic and rotten and never understood the 'total war' concept. By the time Germany began to streamline, mostly due to one man, it was already far too late, as the Allies(including Russia) had a 2 year head start. The German military High Command failed strategically throughout the war and never did 'learn' even when the Russians were showing them over and over.
Lastly. An excerpt of report. This is obviously a one time thing, but still.
Despite their well known liabilities, when encountered in the Normandy
hedgerows, Tigers, (and there were fewer Tigers than one imagines, with only
three panzer units fielding a relatively small number of operational PzVI's
so that their actions are historically pretty easy to track and assess..),
inflicted extremely serious damage on their opponents. Regard for instance
this excerpt concerning one encounter during the battle of Hill 213 or
"Villers-Bocage" during the British investiture of Caen:
I believe most are familiar with the exploits of Michael Wittman and the example at Villers-Bocage is mentioned so often because his audacity was so incredible. I am sure Wittman was confident of his tank and that led him to take risks he may not have otherwise. It led to wonderful victories such as above but also to his demise. Don't get me wrong, the Tiger was a good tank in its time, but not the best, as was the Sherman. Both were effective throughout the war.
Feel free to read these.
"The Panzers and the Battle of Normandy," by Georges Bernarge.
"Steel Inferno: 1.SS Panzer Corps in Normandy," by Michael Reynolds
"Hill 112: Cornerstone of the Normandy Campaign," by Major JJ How
"Sledgehammers: Strengths and flaws of Tiger Tank Bns in WWII," C. Wilbeck
"Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks," by Dmitriy Losza
Thanks, I have 4 of those books already, I will look into the other one. Here's a freebie, Allied intelligence reports throughout the war : Intel Bullentin
I know during the course of this I learned something. I learned people are incredibly dense.
Becoming self-aware and realizing your shortcomings are all a part of life and growing.
All the best,
Ron
