![]() Of the remaining battalions, more than half saw combat service. Thirty-five of the 106 battalions never left the United States. From October 1943 there was a decline in numbers as the American Army realised that they were unlikely to face a massed German armoured force as was the case in Europe in 1940. It grew in numbers and by late 1942 had 100 000 men and 80 active battalions with 64 more battalions planned, reaching its maximum of 106 battalions in early 1943. The tank destroyer force resisted all attempts throughout the war to incorporate it into the armoured force. In November 1941 it was moved to Camp Hood in Texas. Initially the Tank Destroyer Centre was situated at Fort Meade in Maryland. The 6 Pounder still had to be introduced into service. Originally anti-tank units were essentially a defensive force of towed guns, which it was hoped would be able to fight off or destroy a force of attacking enemy armour. The doctrine called for gun pits to be dug but these took time and to dig even when the spade work was enthusiastic. The 2 Pounders were reasonably effective but lacked an effective armour protection for the gun crews. These anti-tank guns were sometimes supplemented by the 25 Pounder Field Gun used in the anti-tank role. This was sufficient to destroy German tanks up to the Panzerkampfwagen III. Their high velocity 2 Pounder anti-tank gun, which entered service in 1936, fired an armour-piercing solid shot which was able to penetrate 37 mm of armour at 450 m range. In Europe and later in North Africa, the British and Commonwealth forces fought for survival, confronting the Germans with whatever equipment was available. Was the best anti-tank weapon an anti-tank gun or another tank? The American War Department decided that tanks should be countered by fast moving, high velocity guns, used en masse. Various senior officers saw different requirements and doctrines for tank destroyers. At first they used stop gap equipment while the various arms of the army tried to hastily design and manufacture a reliable, fast, effective tank destroyer. Their stated purpose was to “destroy hostile tanks” in an aggressive, offensive spirit from a defensive ambush position. From the end of November 1941, the psychologically powerful term ‘Tank Destroyer Battalions’ was used for mobile anti-tank guns units. The new tactic was to hold anti-tank guns in reserve and move them rapidly to the point of the enemy (German) armour attack. The first nine units formed had 37mm M6 anti- tank guns towed by jeeps and 75 mm guns mounted on M3 Gun Motor Carriages (half-tracks). In August 1941, the American Anti-Tank Planning Board laid an ambitious plan for up to 220 anti-tank battalions. During the Second World War, the organisation and structure of an armoured division was changed many times. ![]() Each armoured division would be theoretically equipped with 368 tanks. The US armoured force was formed in July 1940. Their response was at first slow, but just as a snow ball gathers momentum so did the United States industry. American military men could see that they might get involved in the war and that they lacked sufficient quantity and quality of armoured vehicles. The neutral United States of America although morally supporting the British and French, looked on with horror at how easily the German tanks crushed the European nations. The Blitzkrieg tactics ensured the rapid defeat of the Polish, Belgium and especially the French army by June 1940. When the Second World War, 1939 -1945 started, the German armoured forces, consisting of tanks, armoured cars and half-tracks brushed aside any opposition with impunity. Leading to the M10 TANK DESTROYER Development and use in United States and British Commonwealth Serviceīy Richard Henry, DITSONG: National Museum of Military History
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