A couple items about tactics on the Western front in '45.

[vtsaogames]

I'm reading Victory in Europe 1945: the Last Offensive of WW II. Found a couple things of interest. The book so far is very detailed about US operations after the Bulge.

First, US troops began making many attacks at night. For some contested river crossings, when an early thaw saw the rivers in flood stage, some US commanders had a heavy smoke screen laid down at likely crossing points, drawing heavy German artillery fire. Meanwhile the actual crossings were made elsewhere, sans smoke. Some got across with scarcely a shot fired.

In one case, a badly shot-up Panzer division was called upon to counter-attack. Due to serious shortage of fuel and weight restrictions on bridges, the Panthers were left behind. Mk IVs went in. I note that most counterattacks seem made with Mk IVs. Heavier tanks show up when they are in defensive positions, the odd Tiger here and there.

[vtsaogames]

Another item: after the Ruhr pocket was closed, a green US armored division made a rush 260-mile road march to help exploit the crumbling German front. It arrived at the front missing half of their Sherman tanks, broken down along the way. And these tanks were fairly reliable machines.

[fred]

That second point is interesting- in the breakout from Normandy the Sherman’s were very reliable over long distances

But this is perhaps an even more rapid move and I wonder if the greenness of the unit also led to breakdowns.

But it is still way better than German Tiger tanks - at Arnhem 13 Tigers conducted a 12 mile approach march, only 1 made it due to mechanical issues!!

[vtsaogames]

That second point is interesting- in the breakout from Normandy the Sherman’s were very reliable over long distances

But this is perhaps an even more rapid move and I wonder if the greenness of the unit also led to breakdowns.

But it is still way better than German Tiger tanks - at Arnhem 13 Tigers conducted a 12 mile approach march, only 1 made it due to mechanical issues!!

I suspect how green the mechanics were played a part, along with the roads having been hashed up by retreating Germans, pursuing Americans and having been worked over by fighter bombers. But they could pass over most of the bridges. Not so for Panthers and Tigers.