MODERN WAR

Grey River Argus, 8 November 1939, Page 8

MODERN WAR

FIGHTING MACHINES. By Major S'. Wiki (Military ' Correspondent, holder of the Medal ■ of Valour, who has had wide exper ience of the use of mechanised weapons). The Polish war has provided the first full-scale experience of th? “lightning war.” It has been seen in partial operations in China, and during stages of the Spanish, war, but never before as the operation of a strategic concept covering a national campaign. It has been rendered possible only by the development of mechanisation over the last decade. The brilliant successes won by the German mobile columns on the Polish plains have attracted world-wide attention, and everyone is asking on what they have been based. In an earlier article I drew attention to the revolution in warfare orought about by its industrialisation. This has .provided automatic weapons and a vast stream of munitions to supply them; the tactical result has been an immense increase in firepower in the front line, which in turn has had startling results on strategy This all-pervading fire-power has naturally increased the strength of the defence, driving both sides underground into static warfare. The attack has therefore been forced to seek methods of overcoming and breaking through this defensive fire. From this necessity lhe tank developed. The tank is simply an armoured mobile device for carrying units of attacking fire-power through the defence’s position and protecting them while they destroy this position. One is reminded of the gunner’s definition of any vessel of H.M. Navy:—• “An armoured gun-platform at sea. “Similarly, the tank is a speciallymobile armoured gun-platform on : land. Its success in breaking up the j trench-warfare of 1918 is well known. I But counter-weapons rapidly evolved (They are the land-mine, the heavy grenade, and the anti-tank gun, pulling them in increasing order of effectiveness. The land-mine is the most deadly—if the tank touches it. But it is difficult to sow then? so thickly’ over a wide area as to completly bar passage. The extra-heavy hand grenade is very dangerous to tanks, but can only be used from short range. It developed from the famous dynamiteros of the Asturias, who dug themselves one-man rifle-pits, coolly waited un- | til the fascist tanks were within a dozen yards, and lighting their sticks of dynamite from their ever-glowing cigars, hurled them between the grinding caterpillars and ducked while the tank blew up. When the tank-crews grew too watchful, they often waited until the tank had passed over their heads and threw their bomb under its rear. Most effective of . all is the light, mobile, rapid-firing anti-tank gun. firing a shell that can put out of action any’ tank under 50 tons. It Is

{effective up to 2.000 .yards and deadly (under half-a-mile, and without specI ipl measures no tank attack can hope jto succeed against a defence with over 15 such guns to the mile. The armour-piercing qualities of its shell land the latter’s incendiary and ex- ' plosive effect in the cramped interior of the tank have almost provided the final answer to the tank. |. But not quite. What are the “special measures” I have already referred to? First, the use of cover-scrub, forest, slopes—enabling tanks to, approach so near the defence that they can rush its lines without heavy loss. Second, night-attacks; here search- - lights, verey-lights and star-shells to a large extent provide a reply, though searchlights can often be shot out and the defence blinded. Third, and most effective under all circumstances cover can be created by the tanks themselves by the use of smoke. Smoke will be one of the main weapons in modern war, and except in the highest winds it renders the tank an irresistible offensive | force. | Two other defensive weapons hav? a certain interest, The world’s press has in recent months carried photos 'of long rows of concrete spikes, pyramids, or iron rails, projecting from roads or stretching across-country along the European frontiers! Their object is to prevent thp passage of tanks, and • perfectly effective thev are until artillery destroys them nt selected points. The second minor weapon is the anti-tank rifle firing an armourpiercing bullet. This proved so effective in the Spanish war that l it completely stopped the further production of light tanks for assault purnoses and made the Italian Command reverse its tactical concepts. Many European Staffs, like the Italian, had , been mass-producing whippet tanks in the belief that their speed would enable them to rush defences and 'make a break-through. The effectiveness of the anti-tank rifle has provied so high that the light tank is now 'relegated to special types of scouting land nothing under 20 tons is considered of much use for assault.