Hi all!
After the battle of Kursk in 1943, Germany basically fought a defensive war.
Should their arms industry be focused on producing tanks or anti-tank guns to fight this type of war?
- Linlu
Tanks vs. anti-tank gun production...
They did try to increase tank production but they had made the wrong production decisions. They decided to build a heavy complicated tank in the shape of the Panther and another complicated super heavy tank in the Tiger and King Tiger. Untill Speer took over German Industry was not organised for total war. The Russians organised themselves brilliantly and concentrated on simpler designs producing the medium T-34 in huge numbers with heavy machines in smaller numbers to back them up.
Rommel came to believe that as Germany could never match its opponents in tanks they should concentrate on equiping the infantry divisions with up to 200 75mm anti tank guns each and use them in conjunction with minefields. The counter argument was that mobility allied to firepower was the most economic counter. Allied bombing would have disrupted German production to some extent also
Rommel came to believe that as Germany could never match its opponents in tanks they should concentrate on equiping the infantry divisions with up to 200 75mm anti tank guns each and use them in conjunction with minefields. The counter argument was that mobility allied to firepower was the most economic counter. Allied bombing would have disrupted German production to some extent also
I think the declining number of ATGs in the ger div from 39-45 was a key factor that led to thier ultimate defeat. Not to mention flak guns were preoccupied battling the enemy airforce by wars end and could not help the soilders at the front towards the end of the war as much as earlier. The gers towards the end of the war increased tank production considerablly but did so by producing less true tanks and more turrentless vehicles. The extra production just made up for extra losses the ger started suffering in the west. Thier was no huge increase in number of the ger tanks in the field forces. This was also a weakness of the ger army from 44 onwards a bigger % of them were not true tanks.