Re: [MV] British military superiority - tid bits

From: Jim Webster (james.webster@iomartdsl.com)
Date: Sat Apr 09 2005 - 01:54:15 PDT


Marc Strangfeld wrote:
> British military superiority? Ha, Ha, thats a good
> one. How long did Rommel hold out in Africa with next
> to nothing for tanks and supplies ? Give the Sherman
> to the British they cry about it. Give the Sherman to
> Patton and he made the best of it and actually got
> something done. It doesn't matter what you have for
> equipment if you don't have real leadership.

One of the main reasons he held out so long was that the germans had
cracked the US Embassy communication code and every evening the US
Military Attache in Cairo would dutifully inform Washington about the
current state of the desert army, it intentions, strengths, locations
etc, They carried on using that code for at least a year after the
british warned them that was probably happening - the US attitude was
that it wasn't possible as it was 'uncrackable'

As for the 'whining' about the Sherman I don't know where you get that
from as my old regiment was one of the first to get it in the desert and
they thought it a great vehicle. It was a Sherman that set the record
for the most german tanks destroyed in a single day in the desert an
action that won the gunner the MM. The only criticism that I ever heard
from the desert vets was that the AP ammo was a bit flaky at times but
large stocks of german 75mm ammunition were captured and the ordnance
depots in the delta transferred the projectiles to recycled cases and
that solved the problem until improved ammunition came along.

No there was little whining about the Sherman in the desert - it was
mostly demands for more of them as there were never enough and some
regiments has squadrons still equipped with grants, valentines Honeys etc...

TTFN
Jim



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