By war's end, a consensus was emerging regarding tank doctrine and design.īackground Christie suspension schematic T3E2 tank with Christie suspension crossing an obstacle during tests in 1936 Tank usage, doctrine and production varied widely among the combatant nations. However, during World War II, most armies employed tanks, and production levels reached thousands each month. Even though tanks in the inter-war years were the subject of widespread research, production was limited to relatively small numbers in a few countries. Tanks were an important weapons system in World War II. The museum commemorating the two Battles of the Meuse, on 13 and, is in the village of Haut-le-Wastia, on a wooded bluff high above the Meuse and Molignée rivers.The Tiger I heavy tank could use its long ranged powerful gun to advantage in the open landscapes of the Battle of Kursk, 1943 Historians regard its advance as one of the greatest military assaults ever seen, capturing 46,000 enemy troops (including 8000 British soldiers) despite facing an enemy with superior numbers and equipment, fighting on its home turf. The German advance was unstoppable.Īfter outflanking the Allies towards Dunkerque, Rommel finally reached Cherbourg on the Channel coast in late June. The French units were relentlessly bombed, and they suffered a humiliating and costly defeat. The Germans had more than 500 tanks, aerially supported by a large number of bombers and fighters – the first combination of tanks and aircraft on such a scale. The French generals underestimated the speed at which the Panzers could cover the ground, and failed to commit sufficient resources along the Meuse to the South of Namur. They brushed aside the first serious opposition at Chabrehez, and reached the banks of the Meuse on 12 May, between Dinant and Houx. The so-called ‘Ghost Division’ of Panzer tanks crossed the Belgian border at St Vith and sped through the Ardennes forests, with their initial objective to cross the River Meuse, 100kms to the west. One of the quickest incursions was made by the 7 th Panzer Division, led by (future Field Marshall) Erwin Rommel in his first divisional command. The German surge through the Ardennes and eastern Belgium in May 1940 was truly astonishing.
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