Figure 1.--Dishonoring the pledges he made at Munich, Hitler ordered the Whermacht to invade Czechoslovakia (March 15, 1939). Here German Mark II tanks move into Wencelas Square in Prague. The Czechs had tanks, but did not have a sizeable air force. The Germans made several excellent tanks, but the key to their early victories was they worked out how to effectively utilize their tanks on the battlefield. An important aspect of German tank warfare was that they were equipped with radios to provide command and control. Source: Imperial War Museum. MH13154.

Most of the major combatant countries built tanks of widely varied desisigns which they used or supplied to their allies. The British built and effectively used tanks in World War I. Budget contraints severly limited production during the inter-war years. The Soviets built tanks in large numbers before the German invasion, but many were ineffective light variants. It was their T-34 medium tank that shocked the Germans after they inved. The French built some excellent tanks, but did not equip them with radios or develop effective tank tactics. The Germans won the battle in West not because the had substantial technical or numerical superiority, but because they worked out the most effective tactics--Blitzkrieg. They also worked out the importance of anti-tank guns in tank battles and had a highly effective gun available. The Germans after encountrring the Soviet T-34 on the Eastern Front, they produced some superb tanks, especially the Panthers, but were unable to mass produce them. The famed Tiger tanks were heavily gunned and armored, but not very mobile. The Italians produced light tanks that were ineffective. The Americans were far behind in tank technology. The M-4 Sherman proved to be very vulnerable, but was highly mobile and was produced in quanity. The Shermans had the advantage of air support. It was, however, not until the final moths of the War that better tanks that could slug it out with the Panthers reached American tankers.

America North

Canada

Canada played an important role in World War I. After the War, most of the Canadian Army was demobilized. Very limited resources to the military, especially weapons technology. Here the Canadians relied on the British as a source of arms for its small Army. The Canadian Army did not even begin to plan for armored regiments until German rearmment was well underway (1936). The Army estanlished a Tank Training School n London, Ontario (1936). The School acquired British tanks for the training. The Canadians worked with the Light Mk VIs. Just befofe the outbreak of the War, the School ordered 14 more Light Mk VIs (summer 1939). No tanks were actually acquired for combat units until just before the War (August 1939). [Chartrand] Canada with Europe moving toward war doubled its military budget (1936-39). Most of the funds were used to purchase ships and aircraft. The Canadians purchased destroyers and British Hawker Hurricane aircraft. Germany invaded Poland (September 1, 1939). Canada 7 days after Britain and France declared war on Germany, loyally followed suit and also declared war on Germany (September 10). Canada rapidly move to gear its industry for war production.

United States

The Americans were far behind the Germans and other Europeans in tank technology. The United States had, however, the industrial capacity to mass produce tanks in huge quantities, not only for its army, but for allies as well. This far exceeded the capacity of the Germans. Developing effective tanks was a different matter. The M-3 Grant was rushed into production before the United States had mastered turrant technology. Even so it helped the British at a crucial point in the Western Desert. The Germans had far better tanks, but the Afrika Korps was a low priority and was on the end of a very long and vuklnerable supply line. The war was being settled on the Eastern Front which had the priority in allocation of resources. And the British were able to inderdict substantial part of what was sent to thecAfrika Koros. The backbone of American armored forces during the War was the M-4 Sherman. It is unclear to what extent American tank designers managed or even tried to get Soviet or German technology. Even French technology available before 1940 would have been helpful. And of course the British were building tanks with modern features. Even a photograph of Soviet or German tanks should have given American tank designers clues. The high profile of the Sherman was one of its worst features. Designers were also working on the larger and heavier M-26 Pershing. Appararently the simplicity of the M-4 and the ability to begin production sooner won out. The Americans had high hopes for the M-4 Sherman, but it proved to be very vulnerable because of relatively thin armor and had an underpowered 75/76-mm gun with which to hit back. It is unclear why the United States did not build a more effective tank and was so slow to introduce an improved version. The Sherman had its assessts. It was highly mobile and fast. And it was was produced in great quanity. The Americans had to develop armored tactics to play upon the Sherman's string points. The U.S. Army at the start of the War planned to use the tank as infantry support and not for pitched armored battles with German tankers. American tankers proved to be quick learners, although many lost their lives in the process. The learning curve in the field, especially after Kaserine, was steep. The Americans were able to develop tactics to deal with the superior German tanks, primarily based on mobility and numbers. the Shermans also had the advantage of closed air support and excellent artillery support. Only after realizing that it would take three ot four Shermans destroyed to get one Panther did the United States rush development of the M-26 Pershing with a high-velocity 90-mm gun, but they did not arrive until after the Bulge. It was thus not until the final months of the War that American tankers had a tank that could slug it out with the German Panthers.

Asia

Only three Asian countries played important roles in World War II: China, India, and Japan. Japan's major goal was to turn China into a colony. And India was a colony. Only Japan actually manufactured and deployed tanks. China was a much larger country with substantial resources. It was not yet an industrialized country capable of designing and manufacturing tanks. The Japanese armor were light tanks that were effective in China because the Chinese did not have any number of tanks or anti-tank guns, even for the thin-skied Japanese tanks. They could resist machine gun fire, but nothing heavier. The Japanese tanks could be useful in infantry assaults, and thus played a role in the Chinese campaign. This was the case in the first year of the war in China when the Nationalist Army attempted to fight conventional battles. This was disaster and the Nationalist forces were routed in a series of battles. Once the Nationalists withdrew into the interior, the tanks became useless. The rugged Chinese terrain and lack of infrastructure meant that the Japanese could not deploy their army and tanks to engage the nationalists. They could bomb the Nationalist by air, but not move in force on the ground into the interior. They had some success in the first 6 months of the Pacific war when the Japanese encountered poorly armed Allied forces (December 1941-May 1942). This changed dramatically on Guadalcanal when the Japanese first encountered well-armed combat forces with better tanks. The Japanese tanks were useless against American, British, and Soviet tanks and anti-tank guns. As a result, there were few tank battles in Asia and the Pacific. The largest occured on Saipan (June 1944) and the Japanese tanks were easily destroyed by American armor.

Europe

It was in Europe that the most effective tanks of World War II were developed and used to great effect. At the start of the War the French has some of the best tanks, but an ineffective battle doctrine (1939). French tanks did not even have communication gear. German Barbarossa tactics not only dfeated the Poles with few tanks, but the French with a sizeable tank force. Captured Czech tanks played aole in the German victories in the West. Early German victories were do in larger part because of the Wehrmcht Panzer force. The Germans rapidly improvd the quality and size of their tank force. The Barbarossa invasion of the Soviet Union destroyed Soviet armies with large, but obsolte tank forces. The Germans were stratled when the Red army T-34 tank suddenly appeared on the battlefield (1941). The Germans did not believe that the Russian untermench could produced such an advanced tank. At first there were only a fewand the Red Army had not developed am effective combt doctrine, but the T-34 was surperior to any of the German panzers. The Germans rushed improvements, but they did not have the industrial capacity to match Soviet and American production. The Panther Mk5 which appeared in 1943 was a match for the T-34, but not as reliable or acvailable in the same numbers as the T-34. The Tigers that followed were gas-guzzeling behemoths, but not very maneuverable and only available in small qunatities. The greatest tank battle of the War was fought at Kursk (1943) and it was th Red Army with its tanks that emrged as the victor. The British built a variety of tanks, but surpringly never hit on a match for the German tanks. Fortutely by the time of D-Day, the tank was no longer the decisive weapon on the battlefield, especially as the Luftwaffe had been destoyed. And Blitzkrieg without air support was impossible as the Germans fond in the Blge (1944). Air power and anti-tank weapons were able to counter armor and the Germans were using hir tanks mor as mobile pill boxes.

Sources

Author unknown. "Italian tanks," 2003). The article is associated with "Tanks eMagazine."

Chartrand, René. Canadian Forces In World War II (2001). Illustrations by Ron Volstad.

Created: 9:10 PM 11/18/2011
Last updated: 8:56 AM 1/31/2024