![]() A World War I veteran with an aggressive approach to fighting, he wanted anti-tanks to be mounted on fast vehicles. Another idea, however, was being pushed by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Davis Bruce, head of the Anti-Tank Planning Board. These were small and easily camouflaged to make a very difficult target, and cheap enough to produce in large numbers. Lesley McNair (Read our earlier article – The Army’s architect)initially wanted to use towed anti-tank guns. Two main American lines of thought emerged in response. Therefore, enemy tanks had to be engaged by different weapons, since every tank used for tank hunting meant one less tank that could be used for its “true” purpose. Dispersing one’s anti-tank guns suddenly no longer made sense, since the few guns in the section under attack would be overwhelmed by the number of enemy tanks.Ī column of German tanks and mechanized infantry advancing during the invasion of the Soviet UnionĪmerican doctrine held that the primary purpose of tanks should be to support infantry in breaking through enemy lines. It grouped tanks into a concentrated “spearhead” assisted by mechanized infantry and aircraft, and attack a single narrow area of the defender’s lines to create a breakthrough. The new German Bewegungsrkieg (“mobile war,” better known by its unofficial nickname Blitzkrieg) doctrine broke with this tradition. Consequently, anti-tank guns should also be dispersed in a similar way so they could stop enemy tanks along the entire front. Military wisdom received from World War I held that tanks should be dispersed evenly among infantry as they attack on a wide front. ![]() ![]() Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939, then France in May 1940, showcased this new type of warfare and made American military planners sit up and take notice. An M6 “Fargo” gun motor carrier, one of the U.S.’s less successful tank destroyer designs, with a 37 mm gun (on the right) ![]()
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