by Stephen White » Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:36 am
Kent, thanks too, I follow Missing Lynx, lots of useful stuff there.
Bob, I remember doing some research on the effectiveness of close air support when I was teaching at the Army Staff College. I found some operational research which was done just after the Normandy battles. I can't now remember the details but effectively it aid that the teams which looked at tank casualties found it almost impossible to find any which had been knocked out by a direct hit from a free flight rocket. The Typhoons and Thunderbolts were undoubtedly effective but their principle effect was on morale - it's clear that a number of tanks were abandoned - damage to running gear and the transport imfrastructure contributing. Given that, I believe the debate is now focussed on the action on the ground.
I can't help thinking that the whole Wittman story has attracted too much attention to the detriment of many other illustrious tank commnders on both sides - I can think of two, one on each side, who were in action throughout the war, who started as troopers and rose to command at battalion/regimental level. One made his name in Panzer IIIs, the other in Shermans and Comets.
Bob - thanks for opening the subject.
Stephen
