Reply To: Tankgewehr successes?

[Mike Headden]

Ivan,

Soviet forces in WW2 deployed entire platoons of anti-tank rifle troops throughout the war. Apparently successful against light vehicles throughout the war and against the lighter tanks early on. As the war wore on the massed AT fire was used against running gear (it’s why schurtzen were introduced), vision blocks, turret traverse and anything else that would degrade the effectiveness of the tank.

I remember seeing German propaganda footage years ago of a German tank returning under it’s own steam after being hit scores (hundreds?) of times by AT rifle fire. It was trumpeted by the voice-over as a great success and proof of the invincibility of German technology. Frankly it looked to me like it would need new running gear, tracks, gun and possibly turret – the tank equivalent of the Ship of Theseus! It may not strictly have been knocked out but I’d say that in wargames terms it had been eliminated.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data