World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Tactics

The battlefield interaction between infantry and tanks was central to combat on most fronts in World War II (1939-1945). The first 'Blitzkrieg' campaigns saw the tank achieve a new dominance. New infantry tactics and weapons - some of them desperately dangerous - had to be adopted, while the armies raced to develop more powerful anti-tank guns and new light weapons. By 1945, a new generation of revolutionary shoulder-fired AT weapons was in widespread use. This book explains in detail the shifting patterns of anti-tank combat, illustrated with photographs, diagrams and colour plates showing how weapons were actually employed on the battlefield.

Gordon L. Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969-70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments before retiring after 26 years. He was a Special Operations Forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas.

The tank threat Early war anti-tank defense doctrine Characteristics & capabilities of AT weapons: AT rifles, AT rocket launchers, AT hand and rifle grenades, AT hand mines, improvised weapons (e.g. 'Molotov cocktails') Infantry AT tactics Late-war tank improvements New AT weapons and 'tank-hunter' tactics Specifics of national weapons and tactics: USA, Britain, Germany, USSR, Japan Tables of weapons and capabilities