No existing design appealed to Guderian and so, as a stopgap, the German Army ordered a preliminary design for a vehicle with which to train German tank crews. Simplifying an earlier proposal, Guderian suggested the design of a main combat vehicle which would later be developed into the Panzer III, and a breakthrough tank, the Panzer IV. Soon after rising to power in Germany, Adolf Hitler approved the creation of Germany’s first panzer divisions. Such a tank would require a weight of 70 to 100 tons and was completely impractical given the manufacturing capabilities of the day. Lastly, Germany would need a heavy tank, armed with a massive 150-millimeter (5.9 in) cannon to defeat enemy fortifications, and even stronger armor. He also envisioned a fast breakthrough tank, similar to the British cruiser tank, which was to be armored against enemy anti-tank weapons and have a large 75-millimeter (2.95 in) main gun. The infantry tank, according to Guderian, was to be heavily armored to defend against enemy anti-tank guns and artillery. This included a slow infantry tank, armed with a small-caliber cannon and machine guns. Like his contemporary Sir Percy Hobart, Guderian initially envisioned an armored corps (panzerkorps) composed of several types of tanks. Of the two, Guderian became the more influential and his ideas were widely publicized. In the late 1920s German tank theory was pioneered by General Oswald Lutz and his chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Heinz Guderian. Passive, static and cordon defense had failed to halt or stop the tank supported by planes and infantry. The countries of the world looked on, at first with incredulity, and then with alarm approaching panic. Like acid, this armored force dissolved, so to speak, the best armament Poland, France, England, Yugoslavia and Greece could produce. Like mercury spilling on a laboratory floor, the tanks and other armored forces of Germany rolled across the plains of Poland in 1939 and again in 1940 rifled through the fortified hills and panoplied valleys of France. Sturmgeschütz (StuG) "assault gun" / tank destroyers
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |