on the contrary, its exceedingly clear. i did not use it to "imply usefulness" i used it to directly contradict your assertionMarlboro hat geschrieben:That statistic is not very clear concerning the actual usefulness that you want it to imply...
you said:
i showed that tanks (not just medium) actually ranked 4th on the list behind mines, SP guns (assault guns and tank destroyers, NOT hummel etc) and AT guns.medium tanks are responsible for most tank kills
since this is from data from two very different fronts, it is reasonable to assume that these trends are not dissimilar to those that prevailed in other theatres and provide a reflection of typical allied losses (except north africa where there was a disproportionately high ratio of tank units involved due to the peculiar nature of the theatre).
since the allies lost many more tanks than the germans (russia alone lost over 100,000) and since mines, SP guns and AT guns were the biggest killers of tanks for the germans, the statement that medium tanks are responsible for most tank kills is clearly wrong.
i'm not sure what you mean. "normal mobile tank combat" always involves an attacker and a defender...Marlboro hat geschrieben:Also note that large percentage of kills by mines is indicator of a defensive nature battle and not the normal mobile tank combat
in fact, to use your tanks against enemy tanks is a massive tactical failure. tanks are supposed to be employed en masse against the weakest defended enemy sectors in penetration and exploitation. even in the attack, mines, SP guns and AT guns are used to protect the flanks of the penetration against enemy counterattack, with the tanks themselves concentrated in the spearhead
the enemy does not counter attack the spearhead of a penetration directly with his own tanks. he attempts to block it with AT guns, mines and tank destroyers while his own tanks attack the base of the penetration, trying to cut off and encircle the spearhead. this either cuts the tank spearhead off from resupply; or forces it to turn to meet the new threat and thus turn away from its objective; or forces it to withdraw.
using tanks in defense is fail and completely wastes their offensive capability
so, given the doctrinal failure of using tanks against tanks, it is no surprise that tank destroyers, mines and AT guns were responsible for most tank kills