Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!mailrus!purdue!gatech!amdcad!military From: military@cbnews.att.com Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Learning in War Message-ID: <27528@amdcad.AMD.COM> Date: 28 Sep 89 07:12:08 GMT Sender: cdr@amdcad.AMD.COM Lines: 50 Approved: military@amdcad.amd.com From: military@cbnews.att.com haynes@monet.Berkeley.EDU (Jim Haynes) writes: >There was an article in Signal magazine some years ago - the author suggested >the reason for the rapid success of Germany in tank warfare against France >was possible because every German tank had radio, whereas the French tank >forces relied on messengers on motorcycles. True and false. The Germans realized in the mid-30's that each tank must have a radio. Other nations, including Great Britain, came to similar conclusions, and designed tanks accordingly. Many nations, however, emphasized alternate means of communications. Radios were relatively expensive then, and difficult to use; there was concern about reliability, as well. For out-of-combat communication, dispatch riders were seen as acceptable; in combat, of course, they would be useless, so several techniques were developed. The earliest was the use of signal flags, in a sort of semaphore system. Each commander carried a card explaining the meanings of various colors and positions; for example, one set might mean "form column", another "form line abreast", a third "halt", etc. These, of course, required the commander to expose himself to fire. More novel techniques included attempts to train carrier pigeons to fly from tank to tank; smoke bombs and flares; a flag mast not unlike those on naval warships; and moveable metal arms. (The pigeons, BTW, proved a failure 8-) All required line-of-sight communication with the commander of the tank platoon. Almost universally, the platoon command tank was radio-equipped. Upon entry into the war, Germany, Britain, and the US had all-radio-equipped tanks. German tank radios, as well as those in the US, were carried in the hull and operated by the co-driver/hull gunner. Britain was adamant that the radio must be carried in the turret so that the commander could operate it; hence, they required a re-design of the US-built M3 Lee medium tank, with a larger turret bustle and without the commander's cupola-mounted machinegun. Field conversions of the M3 Stuart light tank were also effected, leading to cramped turrets. The French had the most difficult situation. All their tanks were designed with one-man turrets. The commander was thus responsible for loading, aiming, and firing the main gun, instructing his crew, and watching for orders from his platoon leader. If *he* was the platoon leader, he also had to operate the radio. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker Moderator, sci.military military-request@att.att.com (614) 860-5294 Send submissions to military@att.att.com