On Tue, 2 Feb 2010 09:25:54 +0100, "Michele"
wrote:
>> Hitler seems to have largely given up on paratroop operations after
>> Crete though had he intended to equip Rommel with infantry he would
>> have done better to send more trucks than paratroopers who are
>> relatively immobile once on the ground.
>
>Yes, if one did have spare trucks that would have been a good idea. Also
>note the usual logistical bottleneck. men and light equipment are easier to
>send. In a pinch they can be deployed by air, and they are a more manageable
>payload by ship. Trucks are more difficult, and every additional truck you
>send also needs additional fuel, of course, which is even more difficult,
>and so on.
>
Also (as was shown in spades at Arnhem) with trucks you can use
heavier anti-tank weapons than are readily man-packable.
Were the German airborne troops in North Africa issued with heavier
weapons than their usual air-droppable kit?
No one denies they were darned good infantry - the question concerns
their equipment. |
