What I'd like to see next for CM

[themaltese]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Berlichtingen:

Sorry, couldn't let this one pass. The French did not have better tanks (a common misconception). What they had was better armor and bigger guns. What they didn't have was 3 man turrets (or even 2), viable communication or mechanical reliability ('cept the Somua and possibly the H-39). These factors far outweigh armor and gun. Also, France is slated for CM4 (2 being Russian Front and 3 the Med)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree with you in part. True, reliability is an important issue, but it's only just slightly less important than armor thickness and gun quality. If reliability were as important as you suggest, then would you also believe that the Sherman was a superior tank to, say, something like a Tiger (which was plagued with mechanical problems)? ***As a side note, I feel that the most superior tank of WWII was clearly the Panther. It had an even balance of armor, reliability, and gun quality.

As for the French... Both Guderian and Rommel (in describing the German run across France) were completely forthcoming about their PZ I, II, and III's inability to stand against the French R and H series tanks. This fact led to German troops developing quite innovative tactics in defeating French armor until the introduction of PZ IVs. Here are some quotes of interest from Guderian's "Panzer Leader" and David Fraser's "Knight's Cross: ...Rommel" that further elaborate both your and my views of what made the French tanks superior to the German PZ I, II, and IIIs.

Guderian: "France possessed the numerically strongest tank force in Western Europe... We thus faced superiority in numbers, to which was added the fact that the French tanks were superior to the German ones both in armour and in gun-calibre, though admittedly inferior in control facilities and in speed."

Rommel: "The German armour overall was heavily outnumered by that of the French army; nor were French tanks technically inferior. The battle would be decided by the skill and energy of the leaders of the panzer divisions, and by the courage and stamina of their troops."