The Battle of Bastogne was fought in the period of 19-26 December 1944 during the German offensive in the Ardennes (December 1944 - January 1945), being one of its most famous elements - especially on the American side. The commander on the Allied side was General Anthony McAuliffe, and on the German side - General Heinrich von Lüttwitz. The balance of forces was favorable to the German side. At the very beginning of the battle, it had two infantry divisions and two armored divisions. The main force on the American side was the 101st Airborne Division and elements of the 10th Panzer Division and 110th Infantry Division, supported by four artillery battalions and a tank battalion. Moreover, morale on the American side - with the exception of the 101st Division - was rather low. In addition, from December 21, American troops fought in complete encirclement, with no possibility of transporting supplies or food by land. Despite these very difficult conditions, the skillful command and fortitude of General McAuliffe (the famous answer "Nuts!" To the surrender proposal), as well as the high combat skills of the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division, along with the depletion of supplies on the German side and the use by misguided tactics, allowed the American side to win this battle.
M4 Sherman je bil ameriški srednji tank iz druge svetovne vojne. Prvi prototipi so bili izdelani leta 1941, serijska proizvodnja pa je potekala v obdobju 1942-1945. Skupaj je bilo ustvarjenih približno 49.000 primerkov tega tanka vseh različic, kar ga uvršča med najbolj proizvajane tanke druge svetovne vojne in najpomembnejši tank v opremi zavezniških armad v tem spopadu. M4 Sherman je poganjal enomotorni model M4A1 Continental R 975 C4 z močjo 400 KM . Vozilo je bilo oboroženo - odvisno od različice - z enim 75 mm topom M3 ali 76 mm topom M1 ali 105 mm havbico M4 in dvema 7,62 mm strojnicama Browning1919A.
M4 Sherman je bil razvit kot naslednik tankov M2 in M3, čeprav je uporabil veliko komponent slednjih. Prvič, uporabil je le nekoliko spremenjeno podvozje avtomobila M3 Lee. Pri snovanju M4 Sherman je bil poudarek predvsem na vlogi podpornega vozila pehote in ne na boju s sovražnimi tanki – to je bila vloga ameriških uničevalcev tankov. Predpostavljeni so bili samo morebitni spopadi z vozovi Pz.Kpfw III in Pz.Kpfw IV. Pomembno vlogo je odigrala tudi množična proizvodnja novega tanka in čim nižji proizvodni stroški. Rezultat je bil tank z dobro oborožitvijo za leta 1942 in začetek 1943, povprečen oklep, vendar z nagnjeno čelno ploščo, a tudi s slabo manevrsko sposobnostjo in - zlasti v prvih različicah - zelo dovzeten za ogenj zaradi udarca v motorni prostor. Hkrati pa je bil ustvarjen tank, ki bi bil lahko resnično velikoserijsko izdelan in bi imel velik potencial za posodobitev. Veliko razvojnih različic je nastalo med serijsko proizvodnjo M4 Sherman. Kronološko prva je bila različica M4A1, ki je že imela ulit oklep. Drugi - M4A2 - je imel varjen oklep in nov motor General Motors 6460 s 375-410 KM, vendar veliko manj dovzeten za ogenj. Pojavila se je tudi različica M4A3, oborožena s 105 mm havbico in poganjana z motorjem Ford GAA z močjo 450 KM. Na osnovi različice M4A3 sta bili ustvarjeni dve podrazličici: M4A3E2 Jumbo z ojačanim oklepom in M4A3E8 s HVSS in 76 mm topom. Zanimiva razvojna različica je bila tudi T34 Calliope z nameščenimi izstrelki, ki niso vodeni na kupoli. M4 Sherman je bil v velikih količinah dobavljen tudi britanski in Rdeči armadi. Prvi je na njegovi osnovi razvil različico Fireflyja z odličnim 17-funtnim protitankovskim topom. Med drugo svetovno vojno so se tanki M4 Sherman borili v Severni Afriki (1942-1943), Italiji (1943-1945), med bitkami v Normandiji, Franciji in Zahodni Nemčiji (1944-1945), pa tudi na Pacifiku ali v vrstah Rdeča armada na vzhodni fronti. Po drugi svetovni vojni so M4 Sherman uporabljali v številnih državah, vključno z Argentino, Belgijo, Indijo, Izraelom, Japonsko, Pakistanom in Turčijo. Sodeloval je tudi v številnih konfliktih po letu 1945, vključno z indijsko-pakistansko vojno leta 1965 in šestdnevno vojno leta 1967.
The Pz.Kpfw V (SD.Kfz 171) Panther is a German medium tank, considered to be one of the best tanks of the Second World War. This vehicle was a response to the Soviet T-34. The first production versions appeared as early as 1942, but the Panthers appeared for the first time on the front lines in the summer of 1943, in the Battle of Kursk. Due to the very high failure rate and numerous "childhood" problems of the vehicle, 150 out of 204 used vehicles were lost. Interestingly, however, only a few of these 150 cars were lost as a result of the Soviet shelling. After eliminating these shortcomings, the Panther became famous as an extremely effective tank. It owed it to the well-shaped frontal armor and the excellent anti-tank gun. KwK 42 / L70 cal 75mm. The basic version of the T34 / 76 did not stand a chance with the Panther. Only the advent of the T34 / 85 and IS-2 tanks changed this state of affairs. On the other hand, the Allied Sherman tanks could compete with the Panther only after being armed with a 17-pound gun (Sherman Firefly). Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that the Achilles' heel of this successful design was the weak side armor and the high technical complexity of the entire structure, and thus the high production time. Throughout the war, around 6,000 Panther vehicles of all versions (Ausf. D, A, G) were produced. The first mass-produced version was the "D" version, with 80mm thick frontal armor and a Maybach 230 P30 engine with 700HP. From the second half of 1943, tanks of this version had armored aprons. The Panther Ausf entered production in September 1943. A. It had a spherical mount for the MG-34 rifle in the fuselage. It was produced until March 1944. The "G" version was the most produced version. Over 3,700 tanks of this model were built. It was produced from March 1944 to January 1945. It mainly increased the angle of the frontal armor and made it thicker. The gun mantlet has also been modified. The Jagdpanther tank destroyer (Sd.Kfz 179) was also built on the Panther's chassis. When assessing the Pz.Kpfw V, you should remember not only about the great frontal armor or the gun, but also pay attention to the disadvantages of the weapon - large overall dimensions, delicate suspension, armor of increasingly poor quality caused by a lack of molybdenum or weak side armor. Technical data: length (with a barrel): 8.66m, width: 3.42m, height: 2.99m, engine power: 700KM, range (on the road): 200km, maximum speed (on the road): 46km / h, weapons : 1 cannon. 75mm KwK 42 / L70, 2 7.92mm MG-34 machine guns.
The decisive influence on the shaping of the organization and tactics of the German infantry before the outbreak of World War II was, on the one hand, the experience of the previous World War, but also theoretical works created in the 1920s and 1930s, which often emphasized the need to perceive the German infantry as a tool waging an offensive war. This affected both the equipment and the organization of the German infantry division, which during the September campaign of 1939 consisted of 3 infantry regiments, each of which was divided into 3 infantry battalions, an artillery company and an anti-tank company. In addition, there were numerous support units, including: an artillery regiment with 4 artillery squadrons (including one heavy), an anti-tank battalion, a sapper battalion and a communications battalion. In total, the so-called infantry division In the first mobilization wave, there were approximately 17,700 people and had a significant artillery component, but also was abundantly equipped with machine guns. It also had modern and efficient - for those times - means of communication and command. In the course of the war, infantry divisions underwent transformation - in 1943 some of them were transformed into armored grenadier divisions. However, from 1943, the standard division of the "traditional" infantry consisted of approx. 12,500 men (and not approx. 17,700 as in 1939), and its artillery component - especially heavy artillery - was also reduced in it, while its anti-tank defense was significantly improved. It is assumed that during the entire Second World War, about 350 infantry divisions served in the Wehrmacht.
Already after the first experiences of fighting in North Africa at the turn of 1942-1943, the US Army changed the position of the American infantry division. From 1943 onwards, each infantry division had three full-time infantry regiments, in turn composed of three infantry battalions. In addition, the infantry regiment also included other units, for example: an anti-tank company, an artillery company or a staff company. In total, the US Army's infantry regiment numbered approximately 3,100 soldiers. It should also be remembered that the division also included a strong artillery component consisting of four artillery battalions - 3 light and 1 medium, most often armed with 105 and 155 mm howitzers. There was also, among others, an engineering battalion, a repair company, a reconnaissance unit and a Military Police platoon. In total, the US Infantry Division numbered approximately 14,200 people from 1943. It quite clearly dominated the artillery over the German division and had much better and - above all - fully motorized means of transport, which made it a highly mobile tactical formation. It also had much richer "individual" anti-tank weapons in the form of a large number of bazooka launchers, of which there were over 500 in the entire division.