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Osprey Elite #124
World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Tactics
The battlefield interaction between infantry and tanks was central to combat on most fronts in World War II (1939-1945). The first 'Blitzkrieg' campaigns saw the tank achieve a new dominance. New infantry tactics and weapons - some of them desperately dangerous - had to be adopted, while the armies raced to develop more powerful anti-tank guns and new light weapons. By 1945, a new generation of revolutionary shoulder-fired AT weapons was in widespread use. This book explains in detail the shifting patterns of anti-tank combat, illustrated with photographs, diagrams and colour plates showing how weapons were actually employed on the battlefield.
ebook
First published February 5, 2005
About the author
Gordon L. Rottman
210 books44 followersGordon L Rottman served for 26 years in the US Army in Special Forces, airborne infantry, long-range reconnaissance patrol, and military intelligence assignments in the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. He has worked as a Special Operations Forces scenario writer for 14 years at the Army' s Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk , Louisiana where he developed training exercises for Special Forces.
Gordon began writing military history books in 1984 and is currently a full-time author. He has written 50 books for Osprey.He is married with four children and lives in Cypress, Texas.
Gordon began writing military history books in 1984 and is currently a full-time author. He has written 50 books for Osprey.He is married with four children and lives in Cypress, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 13, 2021
Rottman the Rottweiler, I call him. Chew the subject down to its bare bones. It spells disaster for a Campaign Osprey, but it is the perfect approach when you need to fit a handful of army handbooks and little else in terms of (English language) bibliography into 60 pages.
First, everything that is weak about a tank. Suddenly tankers' fears make a lot more sense. Second, everything that is weak about anti-tank weapons. Both seem invincible and powerless depending on which side of the barrel you stand. One lucky shot. The turn of battle on a dime.
Rottman gives a generic dissection of small unit AT tactics before dotting it with the specifics about the American (overall OK) British (better PIAT than AT field guns) German (disdainful yet skillful at defene, with or without Panzerfaust) Soviet (mass, depth) and Japanese (we have nothing, but suicide is the solution) approach. Note that it often is integral to their art of war.
It ends abruptly. Some applied examples would have been welcome, since the impact of Desert and Pacific environment had shown up in the British - Japanese sections....
First, everything that is weak about a tank. Suddenly tankers' fears make a lot more sense. Second, everything that is weak about anti-tank weapons. Both seem invincible and powerless depending on which side of the barrel you stand. One lucky shot. The turn of battle on a dime.
Rottman gives a generic dissection of small unit AT tactics before dotting it with the specifics about the American (overall OK) British (better PIAT than AT field guns) German (disdainful yet skillful at defene, with or without Panzerfaust) Soviet (mass, depth) and Japanese (we have nothing, but suicide is the solution) approach. Note that it often is integral to their art of war.
It ends abruptly. Some applied examples would have been welcome, since the impact of Desert and Pacific environment had shown up in the British - Japanese sections....
February 6, 2010
Osprey published a host of brief books on specific issues related to warfare (from Roman military tactics to a brief picture of Austerlitz to. . .). This book focuses on anti-tank tactics in World War II. The book begins by noting that (Page 3): "Infantry are inseparable from tanks, both in the assault and in an integrated anti-tank defense."
This volume begins by looking at the tank in World War II--from light tanks to heavy tanks, and the pluses and minuses associated with each. E.g., heavy tanks with larger guns could wreak havoc--but they tended to be slow and not as maneuverable. Protection and vulnerabilities are also discussed, including a discussion of the environment in which tankers worked (pretty close quarters).
The heart of the book is a discussion of anti-tank tactics. Examples of some of the weapons used against tanks, for some examples, armor-piercing shells, shaped charges, anti-tank guns, rifle-launched anti-tank grenades, mines, Molotov cocktails, and so on. There is, too, a discussion of changing anti-tank tactics, from 1939-1942 to the period 1943-1945. Mobility of anti-tank efforts increased during the latter period (including mounting anti-tank guns on armored vehicles). Country-by-country, there is an examination of types of weapons used against tanks, from the United States to British Commonwealth to the Soviet Union to Japan to Germany. There are some nice illustrations on pages 33-40 which depict anti-tank efforts.
The book closes with a bibliography and a brief (and not always too helpful) index. A nice, brief introduction to anti-tank combat in World War II.
This volume begins by looking at the tank in World War II--from light tanks to heavy tanks, and the pluses and minuses associated with each. E.g., heavy tanks with larger guns could wreak havoc--but they tended to be slow and not as maneuverable. Protection and vulnerabilities are also discussed, including a discussion of the environment in which tankers worked (pretty close quarters).
The heart of the book is a discussion of anti-tank tactics. Examples of some of the weapons used against tanks, for some examples, armor-piercing shells, shaped charges, anti-tank guns, rifle-launched anti-tank grenades, mines, Molotov cocktails, and so on. There is, too, a discussion of changing anti-tank tactics, from 1939-1942 to the period 1943-1945. Mobility of anti-tank efforts increased during the latter period (including mounting anti-tank guns on armored vehicles). Country-by-country, there is an examination of types of weapons used against tanks, from the United States to British Commonwealth to the Soviet Union to Japan to Germany. There are some nice illustrations on pages 33-40 which depict anti-tank efforts.
The book closes with a bibliography and a brief (and not always too helpful) index. A nice, brief introduction to anti-tank combat in World War II.
July 26, 2018
Generally it is a very good book.
Like with many Osprey books of this kind it is a brief overview and so at times it feels lacking in its content, but it more than makes up for this in the amount of illustrations and pictures that help the reader to understand the weapons and concepts talked about in the book.
Probably one of the biggest let downs was how it finished. It was just so abrupt, no conclusion or anything, just an end of a chapter and that was it.
But it is a recommended read for anyone interested in how the poor bloody infantry dealt with tanks during World War Two.
Like with many Osprey books of this kind it is a brief overview and so at times it feels lacking in its content, but it more than makes up for this in the amount of illustrations and pictures that help the reader to understand the weapons and concepts talked about in the book.
Probably one of the biggest let downs was how it finished. It was just so abrupt, no conclusion or anything, just an end of a chapter and that was it.
But it is a recommended read for anyone interested in how the poor bloody infantry dealt with tanks during World War Two.
December 9, 2017
Not great. Definitely for an audience who has a specialized interest in WWII, but isn't hardcore enough to read the actual primary source material on which it is based. There are also lots of amateurish editing errors, like captions with no pictures to go with them, captions in the wrong place and repetitive commentary. I learned a little bit, but it was a slog, even for a short book.
September 16, 2016
Decent overview
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews