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Panzerjäger Brigade Upper Silesia
''Panzerjäger'' (German: literally "armor hunter", more broadly "anti-tank") is a term used for an anti-tank vehicle (self-propelled anti-tank gun), as well as anti-tank units. The term was first used in the Wehrmacht (German armed forces, 1935–45), and also post-war by the German Federal Republic Bundeswehr. The term ''Panzerjäger'' was used in the Bundeswehr as a designation of rank. Wehrmacht Development From 1940, the troops were equipped with vehicles produced by mounting an existing anti-tank gun complete with the gun shield on a tracked chassis to allow higher mobility. The development of ''Panzerjägers'' into the fully protected armored vehicle designs began before the war with the -designated armored artillery vehicles, the initial German turretless tanks to use completely closed-in armored casemates, and continued until 1944, resulting in the fully enclosed "hunting tanks", purpose-built heavy-gun tank destroyers. These usually used upward extensions of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assault Gun
An assault gun (from , , meaning "assault gun") is a type of armored infantry support vehicle and self-propelled artillery, mounting an infantry support gun on a protected self-propelled chassis, intended for providing infantry with heavy direct fire support during engagement, especially against other infantry or fortified positions, secondarily also giving some armored protection and anti-armor capability. Assault guns were pioneered by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the 1930s, initially being self-propelled guns with direct fire in mind (such as the Soviet SU-5-1), with Germany introducing the first purpose-built (and purpose-named) assault gun, the , in 1940. Concept, doctrine and design The concept of the assault gun can be simplified into: a protected self propelled infantry gun, intended for the infantry brigades, in order to give infantry: mobile heavy direct fire capability against protected enemy positions and threats, which can move with infantr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzerjäger I
The I (English: "tank hunter mark I") was the first German ("tank hunter") to see service in the Second World War. It mounted the Czech 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38 (German designation "4.7 cm (t)") anti-tank gun on a converted open-topped Panzer I chassis. It was intended to counter heavy French tanks like the Char B1 ''bis'' that were beyond the capabilities of the 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun and extended the life of the obsolete Panzer I chassis. A total of 202 Panzer I chassis were converted to I standard in 1940–41, and were employed in the Battle of France, in the North Africa campaign and on the Eastern Front. Design and production The Panzer I turret was removed and a fixed gun shield added to protect the armament and crew. The anti-tank gun was mounted on a pedestal in the fighting compartment after wheels, axle and trails were removed, but retained its original gun shield. It normally carried 74 antitank and 10 HE shells. Alkett and contractors built 202 vehic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urban Warfare
Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and the complexity of the urban terrain. Urban combat operations may be conducted to capitalize on strategic or tactical advantages associated with the possession or the control of a particular urban area or to deny these advantages to the enemy. It is considered to be arguably the most difficult form of warfare. Fighting in urban areas negates the advantages that one side may have over the other in armor, heavy artillery, or air support. Ambushes laid down by small groups of soldiers with handheld anti-tank weapons can destroy entire columns of modern armor (as in the Battle of Grozny (1994–95), First Battle of Grozny), while artillery and air support can be severely reduced if the "superior" party wants to limit ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Explosive Shell
A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell can hold a tracer. All explosive- and incendiary-filled projectiles, particularly for mortars, were originally called ''grenades'', derived from the French word for pomegranate, so called because of the similarity of shape and that the multi-seeded fruit resembles the powder-filled, fragmentizing bomb. Words cognate with ''grenade'' are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages. Shells are usually large-caliber projectiles fired by artillery, armoured fighting vehicles (e.g. tanks, assault guns, and mortar carriers), warships, and autocannons. The shape is usually a cylinder topped by an ogive-tipped nose cone for good aerodynamic performance, and possibly with a tapered boat tail; but some specializ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in defilade" if it uses natural or artificial obstacles to shield or conceal itself from enfilade and hostile fire. The strategies, named by the English during the Hundred Years' War, use the French '' enfiler'' ("to put on a string or sling") and '' défiler'' ("to slip away or off") spoken by English nobility of the time. Enfilade fire—gunfire directed against an enfiladed formation or position—is also commonly known as "flanking fire". Raking fire is the equivalent term in naval warfare. Strafing, firing on targets from a flying platform, is often done with enfilade fire. It is a very advantageous, and much sought for, position for the attacking force. Enfilade A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interservice Rivalry
Interservice rivalry is rivalry between different Military branch, branches of a country's Military, armed forces. This may include competition between army, land, Marines, marine, navy, naval, Coast guard, coastal, air force, air, or space forces. Interservice rivalry can occur over such topics as the appropriation of the military budget, prestige, or the possession of certain types of Military technology, equipment or Military organization, units. The latter case can arise, for example, when a navy operates naval aviation units, which can be viewed by the air force as an infringement of its traditional responsibilities. For the most part, interservice rivalries may only be limited to administrative or internal functions, and the branches may otherwise have warm relations and a willingness to work together when necessary, with the rivalries usually only manifesting as in-jokes and light-hearted stereotypes (such as, in the United States Armed Forces, the stereotype that Crayon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corps
Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered General Jean Victor Marie Moreau to divide his command into four corps. The size of a corps varies greatly, but two to five divisions and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 are the numbers stated by the US Department of Defense. Within military terminology a corps may be: *an military organization, operational formation, sometimes known as a field corps, which consists of two or more division (military), divisions, such as the I Corps (Grande Armée), , later known as ("First Corps") of Napoleon I's ); *an administrative corps (or Muster (military), mustering) – that is a #Administrative corps, specialized branch of a military service (such as an artillery corps, an armoured corps, a signal corps, a medical corps, a marine corps, or a corps of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (1935–1945)
The German Army (, ; ) was the Army, land forces component of the ''Wehrmacht'', the regular armed forces of Nazi Germany, from 1935 until it effectively ceased to exist in 1945 and then was formally dissolved in August 1946. During World War II, a total of about 13.6 million Wehrmacht foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts served in the German Army. Only 17 months after Adolf Hitler announced the German rearmament programme in 1935, the army reached its projected goal of 36 Division (military), divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938 four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Armed Forces, Austrian Army after the Anschluss, annexation of Austria by Germany in March. During the period of its expansion under Hitler, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground and air units into combined arms forces. Coupled with operational and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waffen-SS
The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. With the start of World War II, tactical control was exercised by the (OKW, "High Command of the Armed Forces"), with some units being subordinated to the (Command Staff ''Reichsführer-SS'') directly under Himmler's control. It was disbanded in May 1945. The grew from three regiments to over 38 division (military), divisions during World War II. Combining combat and police functions, it served alongside the German Army (1935–1945), German Army (''Heer''), ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police), and other security units. Originally, it was under the control of the (SS operational command office) beneath Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. Initially, in keeping with the raci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzergrenadier
(), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning ''Armoured fighting vehicle, "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is the German language, German term for the military doctrine of mechanized infantry units in armoured forces who specialize in fighting from and in conjunction with infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) – that is, armoured troop carriers designed to carry a mechanized squad of six to eight soldiers into, during and out of combat while providing Direct fire, direct fire support for those troops. The doctrine originated primarily in Nazi Germany during World War II and is today used by name in the countries of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden. Doctrine combat is conducted in close cooperation with IFVs. Each squad has its own designated IFV during battle. Combat can be conducted either from within the vehicle via portholes in the walls or hatches on the roof etc., so-called ''mounted combat'', or from outside the vehicle in its vic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
A Panzer division was one of the armored (tank) divisions in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the ''Waffen-SS'' formed its own panzer divisions, and the ''Luftwaffe'' fielded an elite panzer division: the Hermann Göring Division. A panzer division was a combined arms formation, having both tanks (, , usually shortened to ""), mechanized and motorized infantry, along with artillery, anti-aircraft and other integrated support elements. At the start of the war, panzer divisions were more effective than the equivalent Allied armored divisions due to their combined arms doctrine, even though they had fewer and generally less technically advanced tanks. By mid-war, though German tanks had often become technically superior to Allied tanks, Allied armored warfare and combined arms doctrines generally caught up with the Germans, and shortages redu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
