Do you believe you would have had the courage necessary to go into battle in a WW2 American armored unit, knowing the armor was inferior?

Question

Do you believe you would have had the blind courage necessary to go into battle in a WW2 American armored unit, knowing American main battle tanks were grossly inferior to the Germans’, and knowing you might face the horrible death many American “tankers” did?

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-sherman-was-americas-best-worst-tank-4631b6388008

https://www.quora.com/How-were-German-tanks-different-from-U-S-tanks-during-WWII

Answer 1

American Armored forces were understandably concerned but knew their limitations, for the most part, and they had a lot of well-founded confidence in their leadership, their tactics, their air power, and their artillery, all four of which which were the great equalizers on the battlefield.



Courage was not lacking. My neighbor, when I was growing up, had been a Sherman tank commander in the 2nd Armored Division (Hell On Wheels) in Europe and had a great respect for, and yes, fear of the heavy German tanks, but he, like thousands of other tankers had a job to do and they did it valiantly. Among other battles, he was involved in the infamous night skirmish near the Falaise Gap where his unit was heavily outnumbered and low on fuel. They dug in and ended up in hand-to-hand combat with the Germans in pitch black conditions after midnight. They managed to hold the line and in the morning, despite an estimated 5:1 disadvantage in tanks and manpower, more than 100 German vehicles had been destroyed, more than 400 enemy soldiers lay dead and around 1,000 prisoners had been taken.



Nobody can claim from an armchair that they would have the courage to do that, but in times of need when it comes down to life or death, it's amazing the courage one can summon in the face of great odds.

Answer 2

its well known these days that German Tanks were superior to anything the allies had until the Russian T34 came into service. One thing about the Gemran tanks is that they were very well made but could be complicated. The US tank was Sherman and its variants , which was simple and very much more numerous than the German equivalent Panzer panther and tiger tanks and variants. Men went to war in these machines knowing that death was a step away.. Brave men on all sides... even to day with the ultra modern machines that are called battle tanks are little more than coffins for the men using them , since they are even more vulnerable than the 2nd world war tanks due to the advancement of anti tank weapons .

Answer 3

Yes! It would take no more courage then facing a fire which had high explosives in it and that I have done.

It has been pointed out at least once, but let me say this again-

The main tank killer in the allied armies were the air craft. What stopped the tank was close ground support.

The main liability of the tank (and the bigger the tank the worse it is) is mud and mire. The Sherman for all of its liabilities did not get bogged down in mud as fast as the German tanks. Muddy combat fields in Russia actually stopped the Germans and in western Europe the same thing happened.

Also numbers play a great factor! Take the Bismarck. Clearly it was the superior battle wagon. With one well placed round it could (and did) sink British ships. But the Bismarck got sunk any way. The same with the heavy armor tanks the Germans had. They were great as long as the numbers were even and they were not facing more tanks then they had rounds. But the allies did not have as limited supplies so they could afford to throw ten tanks at on heavy tank.

Study armored warfare some time and see how the allies deployed tanks and fought battles during WWII in Europe. A winning strategy is more important then superior equipment.

As foot note look at the Korean conflict. The Sherman was the right tank for that conflict because it was lighter and quicker.

Have you ever seen how much work it was to start a German tank during WWII? If the tank was not running when found it was a sitting duck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROnb5ouBjNc

Answer 4

The M-4 Sherman tank was the best tank of the war. You're mistaken in thinking the Germans had better tanks.

The comparison is not what you've been told. Your actual choices were these: you could have six functioning Shermans or one PzKpfw V sitting broken down in a field someplace well away from the battlefield, waiting for a recovery vehicle to take it back to the shop. The Germans had, in fact, lost a third of their tank force when they invaded Czechoslovakia, almost all due to mechanical breakdown, and their reliability got worse with the later models.

Moreover, you're doubly cherry-picking in that you're thinking in terms of tank-vs.-tank battles, which was not the job of the M-4. If you want a reasonable comparison, you have to look at the M-10, M-18 and M-36 were the tank killers, and the latter two certainly had more than adequate guns. They give up nothing compared to the StuG III, which is what the Germans used on the Eastern front to kill most T-34's.

Answer 5

There is no reason to suppose that modern Americans would be any more or less courageous than their counterparts of 70 years ago.

Answer 6

There is courage in numbers.

Answer 7

The Shermans weren't completely at a disadvantage - the German tank ace Michael Wittman survived for over 2 years on the eastern front and destroyed over 100 tanks including T-34s yet in Normandy his unit of Tiger tanks were destroyed by Sherman tanks although it was the British and Canadian Firefly variant. That shows that when proper tactics were employed and the allied tanks had adequate weaponry they could get the better of even the best German tank aces.

Answer 8

A, No one had Main battle Tanks during WW2.



B, American tanks were not "grossly" inferior to German tanks. The M4 worked well against with comparable tanks like the Panzer IV (THE most common German tank) but did struggle to toe toe with heavy tanks (like most other tanks)



C, Even with inferior weapons, battles are won trough tactics as history has shown time and time again.



D, Casualty rates in an armoured divisions were far less than an infantry division so you're far better off and safer in a Sherman than behind a garand despite what your internet scholars might tell you.



E, Germany was not God's gift to armour. Do try to remember that one.

Answer 9

Remember the story of David and Goliath