Re: Merc Guild

----- Original Message -----
From: Laserlight <laserlight@quixnet.net>
To: <gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 1:24 AM
Subject: Re: Merc Guild

>
> > Keep in mind, those same Shermans <the Israelis used> fought in
armies
> that beat back Tigers and Panthers.
>
> At odds of 5 to 1, wasn't it?  I recall the Panther than drove through
a
US
> tank company, turned around and drove back through, disappeared back
into
> German lines undamaged.  And another single tank from an SS division
knocked
> out something like 20 tanks from a British battalion and retired
undamaged.
> I'd have to say the Israelis were pretty impressive.

I don't know about the US case, but the UK case is famous and involves
unusual circumstances- a Tiger I commanded by Michael Witmann (sp?)
found a
squadron column of Cromwells in a narrow sunken road.  He destroyed the
leading and last vehicles first, trapping the rest of the column which
he
despatched more or less at leisure.  I suspect the US example also stems
from an unusual situation.

The Panther tends to be oversold as a "supertank" (I think it's because
it's
pretty)- it was an unreliable great fat lump with side armour that
wasn't
especially impressive.	I seem to recall it's turret traverse wasn't too
quick, either- both problems stemming from a concentration on producing
a
tank for the "wide open spaces" of the Eastern front. In North West
Europe,
superior numbers had a far better chance of getting "in amongst" them,
and
killing them from the side and rear.

Rob Paul