[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by Preston327

The problem inherent in German armor is that toward the end they traded speed for armor and firepower. The result was a tank that could screw you up if it hit you, but that you could bracket and beat the crap out of because it couldn't get out of its own way. This is why the T-34 and our own Sherman did so well against it; the Allied R&D people understood the need for balance.

I'm not sure I would say that the Sherman did well against the German armor. It was decent but the German armor was superior in almost every way. The main problem with German armor was the fact that it was, well German. They over engineered the hell out of it, and it was hard to produce as a result. The 34 and the M4 were both easy to mass produce and easy to train people to use.

I will give credit to the Germans where its due though: first to use bona fide assault rifles in combat, I believe the first to use paratroops effectively, first jets, and of course their innovations with rocketry. It's scary to consider that had they been headed by a competent leader toward the end all that could *very* well have given WWII a few more years if not a different outcome altogether.

The Germans were a great force, and if Hitler didn't try to fight a war on two fronts, he would have won. He also violated one of the very few laws of European combat. YOU DO NOT ATTEMPT TO INVADE RUSSIA. Especially during the winter. Not a single person who tried it succeed in winning. Though they weren't the first to effectivly use airborne troops. They were the first to make use of them, but the Fallschirmjäger suffered insane causalities in their first mission against the British, and Hitler stopped using them.

The problem they had was attrition; they simply couldn't keep up the quality training and keep churning out the weapons of war as it dragged on and their industrial base was broken.

Agreed on that point, especially when it came to material. Also like I mentioned before, most of the German equipment really wasn't designed to be easily mass produced.