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Until relatively late in the War, infantry units had no effective defenses against tanks. They could call in artillery support or air support, but this might or not come. Here the Americans by 1943 were able to provided substantial support to their infantry. Virtually every 2nd leiutenant had radio contact abd could call in artillery support and airstrikes. In close quarters combat, however, this could be as dangerous as the Germans. The German infantry was largely on their own. This changed with the invention of hand-held anti-tank weapons. The last major tank battke if the War was Kursk (July 1943). The infantry fought the battle without portable anti-tank weapons was Kursk. Infantry anti-tank weapons began to appear midway in the War (1942), but were not common until about 2 years later (1944). The first was the British PIAT. It was a tricky weapon to use, but scored perhaps the most important tank kill as part of D-Day. It helped the British glider troops hold Pegasus Bridge. the American Bazooka and German Panzerfaust were the twon most important. Tanks could be stopped with properly armed airplanes or anti-tank artillery, but not at first by small infantry units. The Red Army made do with improvised weapons like Molotov cocktails or training dogs with mines strapped on the head for tanks. The new weapons gave a single infantryman the ability to stop a tank in its tracks. And as a result, tanks could not be sent into battle without strong infantry support. This dramatically changed the World War II battlefield. The American Bazooka 2.36" was not capable of penetrating front armor of the Panthers, let alone a Tiger, but could do damage from the sides or in close-quarers combat. Even if they just not a track off, the tank was of little use to the Germans. Despite its short comings, the U.S. Army was still using it in the Koean War (1950-53). The Bazooka was not up to the German Panzerfaust. It had inferior penetration capability. The Panzerfaust was the precursor of the modern Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG). The British PIAT was also inferior to the Panzerfaust. The Germans produced the Panzerfaust in large numbers--200,000 a month. In the final year of the war when the Germans expeienced shortages of the 88mm gun and other artillery, the Panzerfaust played an important role in slowing the advance of Allied and Soviet armor. The American Army had the added advantage of strong communications capabilities and strong artillery capability. This allowed any second lieutenant to call in a devestating artillery barage when faced with tanks as well as strong air support. This was somnething German infantry units did not have in the second phase of the War. They had to rely almost entirely on the Panzerfaust unless anti-tank guns were available, but this was support small infantry units commonly did not have. With a Panzerfaust a diminuative Hitler Youth boy could stop a tank and in many cases did precisely that.
Until relatively late in the War, infantry units had no effective defenses against tanks. They could call in artillery support or air support, but this might or not come. Here the Americans by 1943 were able to provided substantial support to their infantry. Virtually every 2nd leiutenant had radio contact abd could call in artillery support and airstrikes. In close quarters combat, however, this could be as dangerous as the Germans. The German infantry was largely on their own.
This changed with the invention of hand-held anti-tank weapons. The Poles ans Allies lost major battles because the infabtry could not contend with fst moving German tanks. The last major tank battle of the War was Kursk (July 1943). The infantry fought the battle without portable anti-tank weapons was Kursk. Infantry anti-tank weapons began to appear midway in the War (1942), but were not common until about 2 years later (1944). The British developed the PIAT. the American Bazooka and German Panzerfaust were the twon most important.
The Finns were the second victim of World War II. After Stalin in cooperation with Hitler had dismantled Poland (September 1939), Stalin on his own attacked Finland (November 1939). The Result was the Winter War. Tiny Finland with a small poorly equipped army was left to defend itself with the massive Red Army. Tanks were a major problem. They played an imprtant role in the defeat of the Oolish Army. The Finns did not have them and the Soviets had thousands. The inniovative Finns, came up wiyh the Molotov Cocktail. It was an improvised hand-thrown incendiary weapon. It could be made by troops on the field. It involved a frangible container (typically an eaily obtainable glass bottle) filled with flammable liquids such as gasoline. And completed with a fuse (typically a rag stopper wich beame a wick). The rag is soaked with the inflable liquid, lit, and thrown at yhe tank. It shattered and the liquiid inside the biottle birsts into flames. Hopefully th flames spread to vulnerable points of the tank. As the Molotov Cocktail was not industrially produced, it was widely used by resistabnce groups, but it was the Funns who invented it and nmed it.
The first was the British Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT). It is understanably the British developed the first infantry nti-tank eeapon. The British were in the War from the beginning and it was their infantrymen that had to contend with German armor. Even so, British infantry did not get th PIAT until well into the WAr (1943). The PIAT It was a tricky weapon to use, but scored perhaps the most important tank kill as part of D-Day. It helped the British glider troops hold Pegasus Bridge, esentially change the course of an important battle. A key objective was to secure the bridges ober the Orne River and Caen Canal to protect the eastern flan of the invasion beaches. Pegasus Bridge ws one of those beaches. No other anti-weapon scored such an imoprtant battle. The battle for Pegasus Bridge was fought at night. The PIAT hit caused the Germans to reyhink their tactics. It gave them the impression that the British had anti-tank artillery in place, which of coursec they did not. But by morning, well equipped infantry frpm Sword Beach had reached the glilder force and the Germans could no longer retake the bridge. This mean the eastern flank of the D-Day landings was seccure.
Tanks could be stopped with properly armed airplanes or anti-tank artillery, but not at first by small infantry units on their own. The Red Army made do with improvised weapons like Molotov cocktails or training dogs with mines strapped on the head for tanks. The new weapons gave a single infantryman the ability to stop a tank in its tracks. And as a result, tanks could not be sent into battle without strong infantry support. This dramatically changed the World War II battlefield. The first hand-held/man-portable rocket launcher to deployed was the the American 60 mm M1 rocket launcher, which became known as the Bazooka. The American Bazooka 2.36" was not capable of penetrating front armor of the Panthers, let alone a Tiger, but could do damage from the sides or in close-quarers combat. And it could disable the treads. Even if they just knocked a track off, the tank was of little use to the Germans. Despite its short comings, the U.S. Army was still using it in the Koean War (1950-53).
The Germans had the best anti-tank gun of the War--the 88mm gun. But not all units had 88s annd as the war progressed, fweerr wer available to German infantry units. (Priority was given to to building vast parks of anti-aircraft artillery around German cities. The American Bazooka was the inspiration for the German Panzerfaust. The Bazooka required a team to operate and inferior penetration capability. The Panzerfaust was the precursor of the modern Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG). The British PIAT was also inferior to the Panzerfaust. The Germans produced the Panzerfaust in large numbers--200,000 a month. In the final year of the war when the Germans expeienced shortages of the 88mm gun and other artillery, the Panzerfaust played an important role in slowing the advance of Allied and Soviet armor. The American Army had the added advantage of strong communications capabilities and strong artillery capability. This allowed any second lieutenant to call in a devestating artillery barage when faced with tanks as well as strong air support. This was somnething German infantry units did not have in the second phase of the War. They had to rely almost entirely on the Panzerfaust unless anti-tank guns were available, but this was support small infantry units commonly did not have. With a Panzerfaust a diminuative Hitler Youth boy could stop a tank and in many cases did precisely that.
As far as we know, Red Army uinfantrymen did not have a hand-held anti-tank gun. They may have obtained Bazooka through Aneican Len Lease, but we hve no detils on this. We do know that they trained dogs carrying mines to run under tanks. And they aklso developed a remotedly guided tracked devise to steer under German tanks. as far as we can tell, however, they were notb of any great success, .
As far as we know, the Japanese infantrymen did not have an hand-held anti-tank gun. And given the quality of Japanese tanks, it was something that was needed badky. For the final defense of The Japnese Home Islands that was planned, it would have been a huge asset. Late in the War, the Germans began providing the Jaoanese some of their military technology, delivered by sumarines. As far as we know, this was not somthing the Japanese requested. The need, however, was obvious and the Japanese developed both infantry tactics and an actual devise. The Japanese began training tank hunter teams which had a primarily suicide component. Japanese soldiers would strap on an explosive device and then try to dive underneath an American tank to detonate the charges against the tank's thin belly armor. This proved ineffective. American tanks in the Pacific War did not act independently. They were primarily used to protect infantry. There was no shortage of volunteers, but to get near an American tank was very difficult with so much infantry around. Of course what was needed was a armor-piercing munition. Late in the War, American Sixth Army units on Leyte in the Philippins encountered the first Japanese anti-tank weapon--the Japanese lunge mine (December 1944). It was called a lunge mine because the soldier lunged forward to detonate it. The formal name was the Shitotsubakurai. It was a conical-shaped mine mounted on a long pole. The soldier remove the safety pin in the shaft before using it. He then charged a tank. The mine was detonated when it was smashed unto the tank's armor plating. It was capable of penetrating 4" of armor -- if the soldier actuall got to the tank. Of course the user would not survive. It also proved ineffective because there was so much infantry around American tanks in the Pacufic.
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