Friday 30 April 2021

Anti-Tank Gunner's Advice

 "Reminder to tank destroyer battery commanders

  1. Check your sight lines every day.
  2. Dial in on landmarks, especially on on off-road terrain.
  3. Have each gunner personally measure the range to landmarks in paces.
  4. Set up false guns 50-80 meters away or flanking real guns.
  5. Organize nighttime lighting (with flares) of a 500-800 meter long zone in front of the guns if enemy tanks appear.
  6. Conduct practice battles with your gunners and gun commanders.
  7. If you have time and the conditions are right, conduct subcaliber practice shoots against moving targets both at daytime and nighttime.
  8. If there are few enemy tanks, do not open fire with the entire battery. Remember the ratio: 1 gun per 3 tanks.
  9. Try to hit the tanks in the side, fire until it burns.
  10. Immediately issue bonuses for knocked out tanks.
  11. Nominate exceptional troops for government awards.
Commander of the 8th Independent Guards Anti-Tank Artillery Brigade, Guards Lieutenant Colonel Chevola"

3 comments:

  1. Set up false guns 50-80 meters away or flanking real guns

    I've never seen photos of these. Were they made of wood, like the "Quaker guns" US Civil War armies sometimes set up?

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    1. From what I gather [from East German Manuals] it is more or less exactly like that: wooden "mockups". And while I haven't ever been in an armored fighting vehicle during combat operations, I assume it would be hard to distinguish these from the real stuff. Especially if camouflaged/covered in a manner similar to the real guns.

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    2. There's a very good example of them shown in the movie "38 Panfilov's Men". They are exactly that: wooden guns that are camouflaged poorly, not so poorly that they are an obvious decoy, but poorly enough that the enemy will see them.

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