With assault guns serving dutifully as infantry support and armored guerrillas against turreted assault armor, do you think we could see the use of vehicles with ATGM's and older models of tanks in a similar role?
Well, I didn't get my swim. (The gym was closed.) I did, however, get a chance to think. It seems that the present-day equivalent of the assault guns of '43 and '44 would be a vehicle, armored against small arms and shell splinters, that was armed with ordnance optimized for top down attack.
Great post. I recently finished “Wages of Destruction” by Adam Tooze. Fascinating stories on raw materials, armament production & Speer’s Panzer program.
I seem to recall a book titled something like “Armored Combat on the Eastern Front” or similar, which I read as a teenager and consisted mainly of the authors essays about particular engagements interspersed with accounts of veterans. Whoever wrote this book seemed to think that assault guns were the greatest combat innovation since gunpowder.
With assault guns serving dutifully as infantry support and armored guerrillas against turreted assault armor, do you think we could see the use of vehicles with ATGM's and older models of tanks in a similar role?
That is a splendid question. I will ponder it during my swim and get back to you.
Well, I didn't get my swim. (The gym was closed.) I did, however, get a chance to think. It seems that the present-day equivalent of the assault guns of '43 and '44 would be a vehicle, armored against small arms and shell splinters, that was armed with ordnance optimized for top down attack.
Pity about the swim, hope you get it soon.
As for the vehicle - a tankette like the German Wiesel with a bank of Javelins on either side, carrying a drone operator with a small spotter drone?
The gamer side of my mind is already spinning with possibilities.
Yes, that's the sort of thing that I had in mind.
I also imagine a unit in which some of the vehicles are armed with guided missiles while the others carry breach-loaded mortars.
The local pickup truck meet but everyone is sporting team weapons or a campershell for dismounts.
Great post. I recently finished “Wages of Destruction” by Adam Tooze. Fascinating stories on raw materials, armament production & Speer’s Panzer program.
Thank you. Adam Tooze does splendid work. (He has also done a lot to boost the readership of the Tactical Notebook.)
I seem to recall a book titled something like “Armored Combat on the Eastern Front” or similar, which I read as a teenager and consisted mainly of the authors essays about particular engagements interspersed with accounts of veterans. Whoever wrote this book seemed to think that assault guns were the greatest combat innovation since gunpowder.