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Quantity has a quality of its own. T-34, which was superior to most German tanks like pzkpfw 3/4 when it was introduced, was produced in vast numbers, around 8
by jabl 6y ago
Quantity has a quality of its own.
T-34, which was superior to most German tanks like pzkpfw 3/4 when it was introduced, was produced in vast numbers, around 80000. German designed a competitive tank with the Panther, but only about 6000 were made, and they were beset by reliability problems.
Add in the production by the Western allies, such as 50000 Sherman tanks, the surprising thing is that Nazi Germany didn't collapse faster.
Don't know about modern hardware. Certainly Soviet hardware has a reputation for reliability in adverse conditions. OTOH the first Gulf war was a pretty damning indictment of the warfighting ability of Soviet armour.
- arethuza 6y agoI have seen a description of the allied fighting in Normandy that concluded that it doesn't matter if your tanks are 6 times better if your enemy has 10 times the number of tanks.
- jabl 6y agoIn Northern France much of the tank action IIRC was at very short range, due to lots of hedgerows. In such an environment where all tanks are able to reliably hit and penetrate all others, numbers become the dominant factor. In more open country, tank armour and punching power make more of a difference.