World War II and Kentuckians: Voices of a Generation
Campaigns
The Warriors
Women in War
The Homefront
The Enemy
Introduction
The United States Armored Divisions became synonymous with battle strength during World War II. American Sherman tanks streamed across the hedgerows to engage German Panzers, and their destructive power was awe-inspiring. A home on wheels to the tank crews and gunners who operated them, the tanks also protected and defended the infantrymen who were never far away.
Above:
An American armored column passes by a road on its way eastwards towards the Third Reich.
Click here to see the National Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor at Ft. Knox Ky.
Armored warfare had been introduced prior to World War II. During the First World War, armor was used with little effectiveness by British, German and French forces. The primary problems included maneuvering on terrain unsuitable for tanks and design flaws.
During the inter-war years of the 1920s and 1930s, German engineers and strategists began developing newer and faster tanks. The slow lumbering machines of the past war were quickly discarded. Innovative generals such as Heinz Guderian, Gerd von Rundstedt and Hasso von Manteuffel saw not only the possibility of a new type of warfare, but the future of warfare itself. These new machines and tactics would quickly prove themselves as the Wehrmacht swept over Europe during 1939-1942.
Above:
General Heinz Guderian, often called the father of modern tank warfare.
Life inside of a steel machine was different for each man. Some didn't mind it as much as others. Veteran Frank Snowden recalled:
"We would go out overnight, we had to dig a hole every time we stopped. We slept in the tank, they were pretty good sized in there. There was supposed to be five in there but four could get along just fine."
Above:
A wartime illustration depicting the inside of a US Sherman tank.
Combat for American crews was much different than the movies. Many soldiers discovered that American armor was seriously outclassed by the superior offensive power of its German counterpart.
Click here to hear Mr. Snowden tell of an encounter with the Waffen SS Panzer Divisions during WWII.
Frank Snowden
PFC 12th Armored Div
Ever present dangers posed a constant threat. Mr. Snowden recalls a paticular incident in which his tank was hit:
"Them old 88's (Cannon). Let me tell you, they got after you. Only thing bad about them was they just went up and down, where as we went 360 degrees. We got hit one afternoon, we went back to the ordnance where they were fixing them. We got back before dark. He ran at 80mph, they would run the 80, thats what they were geared at."
Winchester veteran Coleman Hatton recalls his experience as a tank driver during the opening days of June '44:
"Me and this lieutenant were up in this place all night long. I had my radio on and my battery ran down on my tank. I got up the next morning and my tank wouldn't start. I called him up and asked him to come jump my tank. He came over and jumped it and I was sitting right behind this big tree. I got it started and was backing up, scootin' around and I started off through this big field and them Germans started shooting that big tank, I think it was that big 88mm. They had too much lead on me and I could just feel every minute, that thing is gonna hit me right in the back end. Every time it would shoot I could see it, they had too much lead on me. I had that thing wide open going across that field. There was one boy with me and he was just a squalling and carrying on. I said there ain't nothing we can do but try and get out of here! I finally got out of there and this lieutenant turned around and said lets go back up there and I said I ain't going back up there! Well he went right back up to where we were and they never shot at him one time!"
Above:
Coleman Hatton
Tech Sgt 4th Class
D Company - 12th Armored Division
