Osprey Elite 124 : 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. 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 antitank combat, illustrated with photographs, diagrams and colour plates showing how weapons were actually employed on the battlefield. Text by Gordon Rottman with illustrations by Steve Noon.

Contents

• 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