The History of ArmorThe History of Armor

LTC Oakland McCullochLTC Oakland McCulloch

OutlineOutline

• Why Tanks

• Interwar Years– Swinton, Fuller, Hart, Guderian, Soviets– How Budgets & WWI experience Impacted Armor Development

• World War II– Blitzkrieg– Combined Arms– Organization

• Armored Vehicles of World War II and Beyond

• World War I Tanks and Tactics

• Why tanks• No man’s land• Massive casualties• A replacement for Cavalry for exploitation of success• An answer to the technological advances in artillery and machinegun• Break the stalemate

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor

• World War I Tanks and Tactics

• 1915• Little Willie given road trials in September• Mother Tank approved for development

• Major-General Sir Ernest Swinton• Coined the name “Tank”• First attempt to develop a Tank was in 1912• An Infantry support weapon – moving pillbox

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor

• 1916• Tank Corps created – never more than 20,000• Armor plate developed & Short barreled 6 pound gun• 20 Mother tanks tested & 50 new ones ordered

• World War I Tanks and Tactics

• 1918• First American Offensive at Cantigny• Germany Surrenders

• 1917• Disastrous British and French attacks • Outbreak of French Mutiny• Introduction of Hutier offensive tactics on Eastern Front• Battle of Cambrai and the first use of Tanks

• Marginal success due to terrain & lack of cooperation

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor

Mother Tank

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor

Little Willie

AV-7 Schneider

• Armor in the Interwar Years• Major-General J.F.C. Fuller

• A Tank Army

• B.H. Liddell Hart• Expanding Torrent Theory• Armor used against Artillery, Headquarters & Log Centers

• General Heinz Guderian• Put Hart’s ideas into practice - Blitzkrieg• Combined Arms Warfare • Organization of Armored Force

• The Soviet Model• Operational Maneuver Groups & Deep Attacks

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor• The Impact of Budgets & WWI Experience on Armor Development

• Britain and France• Existing Armored Forces & Tactics• Appeasement

• United States• No money for the military• Use of tanks as an Infantry support weapon• Reverts back to horse Cavalry

• Germany and the Soviet Union• No existing Armored Forces & no pre-determined ideas• Worked together in secret to develop new vehicles and tactics

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor• Armored Forces in World War II

• Germany• A well designed Armored Vehicle• Organization of Armored Divisions• Combined Arms Warfare

• Armor, Motorized Infantry, Artillery, Aviation, Logistics• Blitzkrieg• Radio and Command & Control

• Everyone Else in WW II• Inferior Armored Vehicles• Poor organization• Poor command & control• Poor tactics

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor

Char B1Matilda II

PzKw IV PanzerTiger

T-34ShermanPanther

The Evolution The Evolution of Modern Armorof Modern Armor

The History of ArmorThe History of Armor

Questions ?Questions ?