Tanks rushed, raising the wind

On August 12, 1918, the Amiens offensive operation ended, in which the Allies, having entered into battle tank armada, finally broke through the wall of the positional dead end of the First World War. The operation began on August 8, when the British suddenly, without a long artillery bombardment, threw 415 tanks into German positions on a narrow section of the front. Even for World War II, this concentration of armored was extraordinary. Advancing behind the fire rampart, tank units supported by infantry broke through three lines of German defense during the day and advanced 8-10 kilometers at the cost of losing about 100 vehicles. In the following days, the breakthrough was deepened and expanded, and the German army was unable to counterattack and restore the situation.
In the course of the operation, the British, Canadians, Australians and French lost in the total count of 44 thousands of people killed, wounded and captured, and the Germans 74 thousands, of whom almost 50 thousands surrendered (according to other data 33 thousands). Thus, contrary to the canons of the time, the losses of the attackers turned out to be significantly less than those of the defenders. Amiens showed that the German army, even with carefully prepared and deeply echeloned defense, can no longer hold back and parry the blows of an enemy with an overwhelming logistical superiority.
On August 13, quartermaster-general Erich Ludendorff, at a meeting of the High Command, openly declared for the first time that Germany was unable to win the war and that politicians needed to find a way out of it with the least damage to the country. Subsequently, he called the day the outbreak of the Battle of Amiens "the darkest day of the German army."

English tanks are moving forward.

Tank Mk.IV tadpole with a long back to overcome the anti-tank ditches.

Tank Mk.V **.

Lightweight speed tank Wippet.

Immediately before the beginning of a tank attack, British gunners blinded the enemy, filling enemy positions with smoke and chemical projectiles.

English armored patrol.

The British in the newly liberated from the Germans French town.

English soldiers and male tank Iron Duke

Not mastered.

The results of the German VET.

One of the tanks that failed due to technical reasons.

The British inspect the captured German anti-tank gun "Tankgever-18".

German guns captured by the British during the attack near Amiens.

A column of German prisoners of war.

Comments

[KBR109]

Thanks for the interesting photos. The infantryman of that time is really scared to unconsciousness to stand against unknown iron boxes. After the first applications, "fortress guns" were used to combat tanks.

[parusnik]

Tanks rushed, raising the wind, thanks, interesting photos .... But I think these tanks didn’t raise the wind ... at their speed ..

[moskowit]

Impressive photos. Thanks. And about the anti-tank gun must be read. It turns out that the German gunsmiths reacted instantly.

[Bayonet]

Quote: moskowit

. It turns out that the German gunsmiths reacted instantly.

On November 27, 1917, the Mauser firm received an order from the German military for the production of such weapons, and after 6 days the German command was sent a draft of the first anti-tank gun (hereinafter referred to as the PTR). Already on January 21, 1918, the first sample was presented to the command of the Kaiser's army, and by May of the same year, its mass production was mastered. The first anti-tank rifle successfully passed military tests and received the index "13-mm anti-tank gun Mauser M.1918" (also known as "elephant gun" or T-Gewehr - anti-tank gun). In fact, it was a single-shot Mauser 98 rifle of increased size, with a sliding bolt, in which, in addition to two lugs in the front, there were two more stops in the rear. For better stability when firing, the PTR was installed on the bipod from the Maxim MG.08 / 15 light machine gun. The stock had a shortened half-length forend with a pistol grip for controlling the fire under the neck. A sector sight, designed for firing up to 500 m. The gun could conduct aimed firing with a practical rate of fire of 6 rounds / min. The armor penetration of the M.1918 PTR was quite sufficient for that time: at a distance of 100 m - 26 mm; for 200 m - 23,5 mm; at 400 m - 21,5 mm; 500 m -18 mm, i.e. even more than that of the MG.18 heavy machine gun, which made this weapon a formidable opponent for all types of tanks (for example, the maximum armor of the British Mk I -11 mm, Mk IV-16 mm), especially in combination with a relatively low weight ( 17,3 kg with bipod). A special 13 mm T-Patrone cartridge was created for the new weapon. Its brass, bottle, with a gentle slope sleeve 92 mm long, had a protruding rim with a groove and contained a charge of nitrocellulose gunpowder weighing 13 g. core.

[gla172]

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[moskowit]

Found, read. For those interested, I copied it.

"The world's first PTR turned out to be an analogue of the Mauser infantry rifle of the 1898 model, only without a magazine for cartridges and more massive. It was given the official name" Tankgever - 18 ".






Since the armor penetration of the gun left much to be desired, it was recommended to fire at tanks from a distance of no more than 100 meters. The strong recoil also impeded accurate shooting. All this did not allow Takgever-18 to become a sufficiently effective anti-aircraft equipment. If we add to this the lack of tactical methods of using "armor-piercing", it becomes clear why there were only 7 French tanks on their account. For five months of 1918, 15800 pieces of the first anti-tank rifles were produced. Only 4800 got to the front "

TTD table is poorly reflected. Shotgun caliber 13mm.

[gla172]

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[m262]

But all the same, the losses of the British tanks were more than substantial: 100 tanks out of 417 on the offensive of 8-10 km. Even if half of the tanks are broken, we must pay tribute to the German VET.

[alicante11]

But all the same, the losses of the British tanks were more than substantial: 100 tanks out of 417 on the offensive of 8-10 km. Even if half of the tanks are broken, we must pay tribute to the German VET.

In general, IMHO, the merits of the Tanks near Amiens are greatly exaggerated. A few months earlier, the Germans themselves, without the help of such "saucepans", tore the front of the allies like Tuzik a heating pad. The problem of the Germans was in the collapsed rear and poor quality and a small number of reinforcements and reserves. On the front line, the Germans were forced to use Landwehr units along with the front-line units. Moreover, this landwehr was no longer the one that in the 14th drove the Russian guard in East Prussia. And the age composition and the quality of training fell dramatically, and there was no stamina and discipline. People were tired of the war and were propagandized in the rear. Even in combat units, returning vacationers became problems for commanders. Nevertheless, the warheads of the unit quite normally withstood both gases and tank attacks. But the landwehr fled not so much from the English cans as from the barrage of French guns, which the French learned to master skillfully, accompanying their chains very closely. Or they got out of the shelters too late to take positions after passing the rampart of fire, getting immediately captured by the allies who took positions. And they were much less resistant to gases, since they had no experience in countering gas attacks. Naturally, the Allies made the main strikes in those areas that were occupied by the unstable parts of the Germans, as a result of which they were able to quickly break through these "weak links" and even reach the artillery positions, which led to huge losses of German artillery. In general, the development of the operation is well described in the "Disasters of WWI".

[ALEA IACTA EST]

The photos of the German guns were especially impressive. Real "gods of war".

[Bayonet]

Quote: ALEA IACTA EST

The photo of the German guns was especially impressive.

"Fat Bertha"

[RiverVV]

Did the Germans already apply camouflage coloring on the technique (second photo from the bottom)? Did not know...

[sabakina]

male tank Iron Duke

1. What does a male tank mean?
2. If there is a male, then there is a female ... And if a male tank and a female tank meet, will the earth tremble?

[Slobber]

Male - in a tank tower a cannon. Female - in the tank tower machine gun.

[sabakina]

Thank you, I didn’t know ...

[kalibr]

And there were hermaphrodite tanks: from one side a machine gun and a gun, from the other - only two machine guns.

[zadorin1974]

The "male" tank had cannon and machine-gun armament, while the female only had machine-gun armament.

[Cat man null]

Quote: sabakina

2. If there is a male, then there is a female ... And if a male tank and a female tank meet, will the earth tremble?

IMHO something like this:

[gla172]

SU-100 power, still in service with several armies is worth it !!!!!
And the film is excellent .... especially the moment where "Malezhkin" mechvoda makes you lead ....

[Cap.Morgan]

http://s017.radikal.ru/i429/1508/aa/501d67a4c355.jpg
This is a real tank. The ingenious scheme is still preserved.

[gla172]

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[Sasha75]

And here is Smolensk Cathedral 1941.

[Sasha75]

Also Smolensk Cathedral 1941

[Jääkorppi]

Highly recommend - Tank Museum in Password (Finland) !! You can take a train from Helsinki !! You can see and feel everything with your hands !! I was especially impressed with how the Finns used our T - 60s until the 26s !! They are on the go there now !! So it's not a bad technique, but someone who uses it like that !!

[Cap.Morgan]

The forty-six tank T 26 pierced at a distance of 500 m with armor-piercing 42-mm armor, and with a sub-caliber as much as 112 mm. That is, it could fight with most German tanks.
The armor of the car certainly leaves much to be desired, but the tank is small, try to get into it.
The armor of the thirty-four shell of the German 88 mm gun did not hold either.

[Jääkorppi]

You can also look at Renault World War I

[Coboklo]

He placed one photo on the screen saver to always remember the cunning of the Anglo-Saxons.

[Denimax]

Field artillery could well fight such tanks. It doesn't matter which projectile hits, it will be OFS or shrapnel. A blank of 75 mm will be sewn onto the fly. Only this artillery was not suitable for firing at moving targets. Although you can call them mobile with a stretch. The infantry also moved.