Better Ammunition, Anyone?
Did you fight in WWI? In WWI, all sides of the war used trenches, which were just giant lines in the ground to protect themselves from the unfriendly enemy’s bullets. They also used cavalry charges to take land which, before they captured it, was called, “no mans land.” Because the mounted cavalry was too easy to kill, America needed something bigger, better, stronger, and more protective. Intelligently Fredrick Simms made the first army tank in 1899, which by the way, was not called a tank. It was called a motor-war-car. The purpose of the motor-war-car was to replace mounted cavalry. The name “tank” was used as a code name for the motor-war-car, so the Germans would not know what the Americans were talking about. Hitler used gigantic tanks that were very fast to take land, and called it blitzkrieg. In WWII one of Hitler’s main enemies was General Patton. Patton used the destructive Sherman tank to defeat the Germans.
After WWI, the Germans used the not much referred to blitzkrieg. Meaning “lightning war,” the blitzkrieg was used to wipeout and takeover certain areas of enemy territory. Unfortunately blitzkrieg was put to use on the 25th of December, 1941, Christmas day. Although they had very big tanks they were still very fast tanks, which helped them get in and out of the place they were attacking quickly so the enemy would not have time to respond. This might have been the start of WWII, although that is debatable. The Germans blitzkrieg was very effective. Run for your life!!!
George S. Patton, who was an American, was a general in WWII. In San Gabriel Township, California, George Smith Patton was born sometime around November, 1856. The Pattons were an affluent family of Scottish descent. As a boy, Patton read widely in the classics and military history. Conveniently Patton's father was an acquaintance of John Singleton Mosby, a cavalry hero of the Confederate Army in the U.S. Civil War, serving first under J.E.B. Stuart, and then as a guerrilla fighter. Hearing Mosby's stories of military glory from an early age, the young Patton happily sought to become a general and hero in his own right.
M4 Sherman tanks served on all fronts during WWII. Supplying the Red Army on the Eastern Front, the tanks were used by the Soviet Union. On the side of the allies, support on the battlefield sometimes allowed tankers in Shermans to defeat individually superior German Panther and Tiger tanks. Unfortunately, the Sherman’s main gun, which was a 75mm cannon, was usually unable to knock out the heavily armored German Panzer, Tiger, and King Tiger tanks unless it got within very short range (inside 100 yards or less). On the other hand, the Sherman was equipped with a powerful force of machine guns. If they got too close, a hull mounted machine gun, plus a turret mounted machine gun, and a free swinging machine gun mounted above the turret hatch made it easy for the tank commander to pick off enemy troops. These made it tough on enemy infantry, because they could not go anywhere near the Sherman without dying. It was a great fire support vehicle for friendly infantry. This started a new era.
Modern day tanks such as the M1A1 Abrams have improved greatly over the years. They now have better ammunition and better protection. The only problem is that now the enemy has better weapons, too. So did it really matter if we changed? For a little while, yes. Soon we will have to change the tank into something much safer, better, and faster than the tanks of today. Also they will need to be stronger, with better ammunition. It is most significant how Hitler started a World War just by taking over little territories. From the Sherman to Patton and back to the blitzkrieg, WWII was definitely an eventful war.