Doctrine
Fire and Shock
By the beginning of the eighteenth century there appeared to be two approaches to fire tactics for infantry; one stressed firepower, the other shock, the charge with the bayonet. The first method was a case of controlled volleying, in either battalion or company form, or by alternate ranks, three at a time, with the aim of reducing the enemy’s numbers.…
Most Recent
The Build-Up of the Luftwaffe I
More than the rearmament of the army and the navy, the spectacular development of the Luftwaffe in the six years from 1933 until the outbreak of the war aroused the boundless admiration as well as the dark forebodings of contemporaries. Even today the inventions and brilliant technical achievements of those…
Schnelltruppen and Tank Co-operation I
‘The tanks advance by bounds from cover to cover, reconnoitering the terrain ahead and providing protective fire for the dismounted Panzergrenadiers’ – Handbook on German Military Forces A highly distinctive, even unique, passage in the evolution of tactics during the Second World War was the development of special techniques for…
Schnelltruppen and Tank Co-operation II
By the end of 1944 the basis of tank and infantry co-operation tactics showed distinct similarities whether German, US, or British. Whether well or indifferently performed in practice, the result of six years of war was convergence of theory. According to Handbook on German Military Forces, When the enemy has…
Relearning Old Lessons: RAF in France 1940 Part II
12 Squadron aircraft going in against the bridges over the Albert Canal. The instruction to fly fighter sweeps in the Arras area does not appear to have been acted on. No. 151 Squadron had already been ordered to fly a morning patrol along the Arras front, but the nine fighters…
War and Culture
The most important problems that Arab militaries have experienced in battle since 1945 derive from behavioral patterns associated with Arab culture. It starts from the fact that the other explanations just don’t cover the full extent of the problem. The Russians probably helped the Arab armed forces more than they…
The World War II Battlefield
Bare with him. There is a point at the end. In May 1939 Adolf Hitler attended a demonstration of Waffen SS battle tactics. The Führer was keen to see how the Waffen SS was using assault groups of infantry together with field artillery and how effective this was in a…