The Youtube video thread!

[Nutso]

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

[Nutso]

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

[JudgeKing]

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Bravery doesn't equal bulletproof.

[Graham Kennedy]

If you're in a tank force, would you really go charging into an infantry force like that? I'm given to understand that tanks are very vulnerable to infantry attack if they are unsupported by infantry of their own. I would have thought they would stop on or just in front of that little ridge and use machine gun fire en masse. Dense infantry formations really do not enjoy running straight at dozens of machine guns.

But I'm no General.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I think at about 5:50 of that video is the textbook scenario of, "Oh, crap!"

[Coalition]

If you're in a tank force, would you really go charging into an infantry force like that? I'm given to understand that tanks are very vulnerable to infantry attack if they are unsupported by infantry of their own. I would have thought they would stop on or just in front of that little ridge and use machine gun fire en masse. Dense infantry formations really do not enjoy running straight at dozens of machine guns.

But I'm no General.

The first force was pursuing a single soldier, and didn't realize the enemy was that close. After they crossed the ridge the flank forces should have turned to the sides and strafed with machine guns, giving the center room to maneuver. Unless the trailing tanks were close enough that the front tanks knew that stopping to turn would lead to a traffic jam. At that point it was pretty much just rush forward and screw up the Japanese formation as much as possible.

The second force at least heard the shots (and saw the smoke) so they knew where the fight was. They came in relatively ready.

Overall, this is why you give your forward scouting formations some recon assets so they can give their bigger buddies a heads up. Perhaps in this case the overall idea was tank shock, where they hit the Japanese force with a strong cluster of tanks, to break formations in case of contact. A smaller Japanese force might have folded quite well, not sure about the size of this Japanese force (it had light field artillery with it). Not to mention no sane commander expects his opponent to have dedicated suicide units.

[Griffin]

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

What's scariest about this one to me? The crab seems to know what the knife is for!

[JudgeKing]

Here is Turkish Star Wars.

[Atekimogus]

If you're in a tank force, would you really go charging into an infantry force like that? I'm given to understand that tanks are very vulnerable to infantry attack if they are unsupported by infantry of their own. I would have thought they would stop on or just in front of that little ridge and use machine gun fire en masse. Dense infantry formations really do not enjoy running straight at dozens of machine guns.

But I'm no General.

Well..that clip was rubbish in so many ways. That being said.....I see nothing preventing them from rushing the infantry since all they have are infantry weapons. The guns that are shown in the beginning stop firing or are destroyed, so they have virtually no anti-tank capability left.

Those are supposed to be BT-5 or BT-7 tanks and we talk 1938/39 here. Even those BT tanks should be proof against infantry weapons. (However russian doctrine had them attacking buttomed up and BT tanks didn't have an AAA-MG on the turret-hatch iirc, so that is also rubbish).

So...I would say until the advent of RPGs tanks are not that much in danger from infantry attacks. German tanks suffered greatly in 41/42 from russian anti-tank rifles but even then only at close range. After the introduction of skirts or switching to tanks proof against them infantry again become more or less a non-factor to tanks. (Well....if you are suicidal you can always try getting on tanks, jamming turrets with rebars, throwing molotov-cocktails, planting mines etc. but that is as much a danger to the infantry as it is to the tank.)

Recently read "Tigers in the Mud" from Otto Carius, a german tank ace. Very informative. The order of what is a danger to you seemed to have been: Hidden AT-gun>tanks>artillery>planes>>>>>>>>>>>>>infantry. As for the clip....yeah..you are right. If they'd just stopped at the ridge and opened up........it would have been far more effective. (but less dramatic)

Have you seen "Fury"? Exactly the same. We have tanks rushing each other....never would have happened. All you do rushing an enemy tank in that time is botching the aim of the gunner. But......for a movie that would have been too boring.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Yup, 'rule of drama' trumps realism most of the time.