With a name like "The Employment of Tanks", let's speculate on the obverse.
III. The Unemployment of Tanks
1. In the fortunate circumstance that there is no war on, the tank is a large and relatively wasteful tractor with a lot of weight in armor and guns.
2. We therefore recommend that tanks be relegated to maintenance, training, and readiness duties in these circumstances.
3. Peacetimes should be taken as an opportunity to standardize and pare the fleet in order to maintain a ready stock of spare parts, mothballed tanks, and reorganize production.
"Tanks attack out of the darkness into the day, not the other way around. Nonetheless, they attack with the sun behind them, not in front of them."
Am I missing something?
"Attack in the early morning (if going east) or late evening (if west). Nonetheless, attack in the late evening (if going east) or early morning (if west)."
Humility is always prudent, but (at the risk of falling foul of I-forget-which Extra Muros post about narratives in history) I'm entirely prepared to believe the confusion is original, given what else the Wehrmacht had on its plate in July 1943.
Hello, Darin! It's good to hear from you. My plan is to translate the entirety of the Armored Forces Newsletter, starting with Issue 1 (July 1945). If, however, you see an article of particular interest, I can put it at the head of the list. (You can 'reconnoitre' the German-language originals by looking at the copies made available at the 'Sturmpanzer' website.)
Having said those things, I suspect that most of the 'operational' material is woven into the 'tactical' discussions.
Bruce, understood and agreed. Note: I was referencing the first part of your post, “the operational characteristics of armored formations” regarding the translation. Regardless, I will recon the material headings for any prioritization and let you know if I find anything. Thank you for all you do as always.
I see what I did. I fell into the classic "operational = functional" trap. I've made changes to all three parts of the article to ensure that I use "operational" in its classical (German/Russian "above tactical") sense.
My maternal grandfather was a tank specialist who fought in WWI and WWII, so I will catch up with more of your interesting posts when I am done with Covid19 jabs.
For a moment, you had me worried. Then I checked your posts and realized that you were referring to reading (and, perhaps, writing) about the Clotshot, not letting someone inject it into you.
With a name like "The Employment of Tanks", let's speculate on the obverse.
III. The Unemployment of Tanks
1. In the fortunate circumstance that there is no war on, the tank is a large and relatively wasteful tractor with a lot of weight in armor and guns.
2. We therefore recommend that tanks be relegated to maintenance, training, and readiness duties in these circumstances.
3. Peacetimes should be taken as an opportunity to standardize and pare the fleet in order to maintain a ready stock of spare parts, mothballed tanks, and reorganize production.
"Tanks attack out of the darkness into the day, not the other way around. Nonetheless, they attack with the sun behind them, not in front of them."
Am I missing something?
"Attack in the early morning (if going east) or late evening (if west). Nonetheless, attack in the late evening (if going east) or early morning (if west)."
I have wondered the same thing!
Call me psychic if you will, but I get the sense that authorship of this article was credited to a committee, rather than an individual.
Alas, there was no credit at all.
That said, the confusion may be the fault of the translator!
Proof if any were needed.
Humility is always prudent, but (at the risk of falling foul of I-forget-which Extra Muros post about narratives in history) I'm entirely prepared to believe the confusion is original, given what else the Wehrmacht had on its plate in July 1943.
Bruce, can you / will you be publishing the “Operational” employment portion of the article? That is far more critical for my research.
Cheers,
Darin
Hello, Darin! It's good to hear from you. My plan is to translate the entirety of the Armored Forces Newsletter, starting with Issue 1 (July 1945). If, however, you see an article of particular interest, I can put it at the head of the list. (You can 'reconnoitre' the German-language originals by looking at the copies made available at the 'Sturmpanzer' website.)
Having said those things, I suspect that most of the 'operational' material is woven into the 'tactical' discussions.
Bruce, understood and agreed. Note: I was referencing the first part of your post, “the operational characteristics of armored formations” regarding the translation. Regardless, I will recon the material headings for any prioritization and let you know if I find anything. Thank you for all you do as always.
Your friend in the Schwerpunkt!
Darin
I see what I did. I fell into the classic "operational = functional" trap. I've made changes to all three parts of the article to ensure that I use "operational" in its classical (German/Russian "above tactical") sense.
Great advice and tactical concepts for leaders in any kind of unit.
Very interesting thanks.
My maternal grandfather was a tank specialist who fought in WWI and WWII, so I will catch up with more of your interesting posts when I am done with Covid19 jabs.
For a moment, you had me worried. Then I checked your posts and realized that you were referring to reading (and, perhaps, writing) about the Clotshot, not letting someone inject it into you.
I will never be jabbed with that stuff.