Mobility Shock And Firepower The Emergence Of The U S Army S Armor Branch 1917 1945

From the Preface: The following pages provide a narrative analysis of the U.S. Army's development of armored organizations and their related doctrine, materiel, and training activities in the period 1917-1945. This period marked the emergence of clear principles of armored warfare that became the underpinning of the Armor Branch, influencing armored developments long after World War II ended. A unique style of mounted maneuver combat emerged that reflected a mix of tradition an innovation. In the process, American military culture changed, particularly through the adoption of combined-arms principles. Conversely, political actions, budgetary considerations, and senior leadership decisions also shaped the course of armor development. The emergence of an American armored force involved more than simply tank development. It included the creation of an armored division structure steeped in combined-arms principles, organizational flexibility, and revolutionary command and control processes. Parallel developments included the establishment of specialized units to provide antitank, reconnaissance, and infantry support capabilities. Several Army branches played a role in determining the precise path of armored development, and one of them-the Cavalry-became a casualty as a result.

Captures the multifaceted development of the Armored Force from its inauspicious beginnings in World War 1 to its fully mature, operational status at the close of World War 2. Provides an excellent case study in force transformation. Gives attention to training maneuvers conducted in the interwar period. Source material includes reports, memorandums, and correspondence of the majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels associated with armored development since World War I.

CMH Pub 30-23-1. Army Historical Series. Captures the multifaceted development of the Armored Force from its inauspicious beginnings in World War 1 to its fully mature, operational status at the close of World War 2. Provides an excellent case study in force transformation. Gives attention to training maneuvers conducted in the interwar period. Source material includes reports, memorandums, and correspondence of the majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels associated with armored development since World War I. First published in 2008.

Between 1917 and 1945, the U.S. Army's concepts of armored warfare grew from a platform focus and a narrowly defined mission into a broad capability. Mobility, Shock, and Firepower: The Emergence of the U.S. Army's Armor Branch, 1917–1945 captures the multifaceted development of the Armored Force from its beginnings in World War I to a mature, operational status at the close of World War II. Through analysis of the Armor Branch's early years, the book provides an excellent case study in force transformation. The development of new armor doctrines and organizations to exploit emerging technologies, concepts, and missions is the heart of this work. How that transition was accomplished during the brief space of about twenty years—the accepted duration of a single generation—is a story worthy of careful examination as our Army gropes with managing similar transformations today.

The entry of the US into World War II provided the Allies with the industrial might to finally take the war to German and Japanese forces across the world. Central to this was the focus of the American military industrial complex on the manufacture of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles. Between 1939 and 1945, 88,140 tanks and 18,620 other armored vehicles were built – almost twice the number that Germany and Great Britain combined were able to supply. In this lavishly illustrated volume, armour expert Michael Green examines the dizzying array of machinery fielded by the US Army, from the famed M4 Sherman, M3 Stuart and M3 Lee through to the half-tracks, armored cars, self-propelled artillery, tank destroyers, armored recovery vehicles and tracked landing vehicles that provided the armoured fist that the Allies needed to break Axis resistance in Europe and the Pacific. Publishing in paperback for the first time and packed with historical and contemporary colour photography, this encyclopedic new study details the design, development, and construction of these vehicles, their deployment in battle and the impact that they had on the outcome of the war.

Robert Forczyk covers the development of armoured warfare in North Africa from the earliest Anglo-Italian engagements in 1940 to the British victory over the German Afrikakorps in Operation Crusader in 1941. The war in the North African desert was pure mechanized warfare, and in many respects the most technologically advanced theatre of World War II. It was also the only theatre where for three years British and Commonwealth, and later US, troops were in constant contact with Axis forces. World War II best-selling author Robert Forczyk explores the first half of the history of the campaign, from the initial Italian offensive and the arrival of Rommel's Panzergruppe Afrika to the British Operation Crusader offensive that led to the relief of Tobruk. He examines the armoured forces, equipment, doctrine, training, logistics and operations employed by both Allied and Axis forces throughout the period, focusing especially on the brigade and regimental level of operations. Fully illustrated throughout with photographs, profile artwork and maps, and featuring tactical-level vignettes and appendices analysing tank data, tank deliveries in-theatre and orders of battle, this book goes back to the sources to provide a new study of armoured warfare in the desert.

In Sabers through the Reich, William Stuart Nance provides the first comprehensive operational history of American corps cavalry in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II. The corps cavalry had a substantive and direct impact on Allied success in almost every campaign, and served as offensive guards for armies across Europe, conducting reconnaissance, economy of force, and security missions, as well as prisoner of war rescues. From D-Day and Operation Cobra to the Battle of the Bulge and the drive to the Rhine, these groups had the mobility, flexibility, and firepower to move quickly across the battlefield, enabling them to aid communications and intelligence gathering, reducing the Clausewitzian "friction of war."