★★ Theodore Dodge wrote in his tome, Gustavus Adolphus, that the Thirty Years War did not have grand tactics. He was not alone in that belief. Dodge served in the American Civil War and studied Napoleon's campaigns, as well as those of the 17th Century. In order to grasp this statement, we must define Grand Tactics.... Continua a leggere →
★★★ Official War Department doctrine called for tanks to be used as dose support weapons for the infantry, thus the wartime practices for the employment of tanks would continue. A board of officers convened by the War Department in 1919 to study tank tactics recognized the value of tanks as an adjunct to the infantry... Continua a leggere →
★★★ The world war I experience When the United States entered World War I, in April 1917, tanks had yet to prove their capabilities. Following the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Allies had employed tanks with disappointing results. Because of their poor performance, the American Military Mission in Paris declared tanks a failure.... Continua a leggere →
★★★ General Donn A. Starry made the following comments on the genesis of this March 1981 article and AirLand Battle: “The ultimate lesson of `Active Defense’ and the 1976 edition of FM [US Army Field Manual] 100-5 [Operations] is that it is virtually impossible to substantively rewrite doctrine satisfactorily in a matter of three years,... Continua a leggere →
★★ Part 1: England: "Hurry up and proceed with caution!" In 1918, the British Empire was the world leader in both the development of armored equipment and tactics. The attitude prevalent at the time in most armies was still that the tank was a specialized infantry-support weapon useful in crossing entrenchments but not much else.... Continua a leggere →
★★ Once upon a time there were two cartridges: the rifle and the pistol. The first one hits far and hard, but is difficult to control, while the second one is convenient, they have already learned to make good submachine guns from it, but it is limited in the range of effective use and does... Continua a leggere →
★★★ Experiences from the Invasion Battles of Normandy A. Preliminary Remarks 1. Experiences fulfill their purposes only when they are quickly brought to the attention of the troops. This happens from time to time through the medium of individual teletype messages. 2. The following experiences summarize what has happened so far. It is left to the... Continua a leggere →
★★★ Questionnaire presented by US interrogators to Generalfeldmarschall (General Field Marshal) Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces), concerning German plans for counter attacking against the Allies after the Invasion of Normandy. Question: 1. What were the successive plans considered by the OKW: a) 6 Jun... Continua a leggere →
★★★ Questionnaire presented by US interrogators to Chief of the Operations Staff of OKW, Alfred Jodl, concerning German plans for counter attacking against the Allies after the Invasion of Normandy. Invasion and Normandy Campaign 1. Question: What was Hitler’s personal influence on the construction and installation of the coastal defenses in the West? How far... Continua a leggere →
★★★ Interrogation of Generalleutnant [Lieutenant General] Rudolf Schmetzer concerning the construction of German defenses in Normandy, France. A) Fundamentals 1) Commands and organization of fortress engineers The sector corresponded exactly to the extent of command of the LXXXIV. Gen.Kdo [Generalkommando - Corps Headquarters], the coastal front of which reached from a point northeast of Caen to the border between... Continua a leggere →
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