T-62 armor beats anything we have, I know because I left the Rangers for armor

[Darth Wagtaros]

grumbler's numerous rants aside, historical trivia like this is why I patronize Languish.

  Well, the personal attack won't work; they never have.  I'll keep posting anyway. 

All you do with cracks like that is poison the atmosphere of Languish and drive off those who are sensitive to random unpleasantness.

But we still haven't driven off Martinus, despite all our best efforts. 

I was trying to say that grumbler is a font of pleasant to learn facts too.

[DGuller]

Speaking of Shermans, I came across the interview of a Soviet tank commander who was fighting in Shermans.  Surprisingly, he has a lot of good things to say about the tank.  http://www.battlefield.ru/en/memoirs/369-loza.html  He also has a book about it.

[Razgovory]

Speaking of Shermans, I came across the interview of a Soviet tank commander who was fighting in Shermans.  Surprisingly, he has a lot of good things to say about the tank.  http://www.battlefield.ru/en/memoirs/369-loza.html  He also has a book about it.

Did he write the book before or after the Soviet Union fell?  I think I've read his interview before.

[DGuller]

Speaking of Shermans, I came across the interview of a Soviet tank commander who was fighting in Shermans.  Surprisingly, he has a lot of good things to say about the tank.  http://www.battlefield.ru/en/memoirs/369-loza.html  He also has a book about it.

Did he write the book before or after the Soviet Union fell?  I think I've read his interview before.

After.

[Admiral Yi]

Interesting article.

[Razgovory]

Interesting article.

Yeah, one of things I found interesting was that the battalion mechanic was just some guy who once drove a tractor.  I've heard the skilled personnel were hard to come by in the early Soviet Union.  I wonder what that guys American or German or British counterpart would be.  The US had lots of pre-war cars and tractors so finding people who knew how to repair and maintain an engine would probably not be as difficult.  I wonder if the that guys American counterpart would be a mechanical engineer or something similar.

[Admiral Yi]

I found it interesting that the dude focused so much on the drive train vs. the gun and armor.

[Razgovory]

I found it interesting that the dude focused so much on the drive train vs. the gun and armor.

Gun and armor are more important to the war gaming crowd.  Not breaking down ever five miles is probably more important to the actual soldiers.

[CountDeMoney]

You guys ever want to read a fascinating war memoir on armor, read Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II.

Not only appropriately critical of the Sherman's performance, but a fantastic look into the logistics of keeping those things running on the front.  Tank recovery was a motherfucker.  Anybody that's a critic of Patton would enjoy this book.  Very detailed but a fast read, and written by a sharp, no-nosense, rather humble lieutenant.

Probably one of the best wartime memoirs I've read.

[Razgovory]

You guys ever want to read a fascinating war memoir on armor, read Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II.

Not only appropriately critical of the Sherman's performance, but a fantastic look into the logistics of keeping those things running on the front.  Tank recovery was a motherfucker.  Anybody that's a critic of Patton would enjoy this book.  Very detailed but a fast read, and written by a sharp, no-nosense, rather humble lieutenant.

Probably one of the best wartime memoirs I've read.

I've actually been meaning to read that one.  Is that the one where the guy calculates how much gas it would take for the whole division to advance 100 yards?  I'm actually reading a memoir from WWII.  "Enemy, North, South, East, West", about a forward observer at Mortain.  A lot of about artillery doctrines and such.

[Berkut]

You guys ever want to read a fascinating war memoir on armor, read Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II.

Not only appropriately critical of the Sherman's performance, but a fantastic look into the logistics of keeping those things running on the front.  Tank recovery was a motherfucker.  Anybody that's a critic of Patton would enjoy this book.  Very detailed but a fast read, and written by a sharp, no-nosense, rather humble lieutenant.

Probably one of the best wartime memoirs I've read.

Patton was a pretty kick ass general, but he was pretty stupid when it came to armor and the realities of its use in late WW2. He really, really, REALLY wanted armor to be the cavalry of the day, and hence wanted his armor fast and lightly armored, so it could go run around in the rear areas destroying C3.

Most had figured out by late WW2 that that was a great idea in theory, but in reality armor had to win the breakthrough battle first. Patton never wanted to accept that.

[Razgovory]

I may be a minority on this, but I think the Sherman was a pretty good tank.  It was easy to build, reasonably effective and reliable.  It displayed it's weakness in Normandy and Italy, but was quite impressive in the race across France and the invasion of Germany.  I'm not fully sold on the importance of Heavy Tanks.  They were good in tank duels and close combat, but less useful for the rapid advance.  It would seem the rapid advance into the enemy rear is the most important thing.  It did fit the doctrine wonderfully.  Unfortunately the doctrine was flawed.

[Mr.Penguin]

I may be a minority on this, but I think the Sherman was a pretty good tank.  It was easy to build, reasonably effective and reliable.  It displayed it's weakness in Normandy and Italy, but was quite impressive in the race across France and the invasion of Germany.  I'm not fully sold on the importance of Heavy Tanks.  They were good in tank duels and close combat, but less useful for the rapid advance.  It would seem the rapid advance into the enemy rear is the most important thing.  It did fit the doctrine wonderfully.  Unfortunately the doctrine was flawed.

An easy to use reliable medium Tank is key to winning the war, not slow, expensive heavies...   

[The Brain]

Why is even a discussion of American tanks mostly about what the Shermans did and didn't do?

[Admiral Yi]

An easy to use reliable medium Tank is key to winning the war, not slow, expensive heavies...

I would be inclined to say that air superiority was the key.  I think I read somewhere that all King Tigers destroyed on the western front were destroyed by air attack.  Zero by tanks, antitank guns, and infantry.