Fallen sentinel : Australian tanks in World War II PDF
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Australian Tanks in World War II www.bigskypublishing.com.au Australian Tanks in World War II www.bigskypublishing.com.au PETER BEALE Copyright © Peter Beale 2011 First published 2011 Copyright remains the property of the author and apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publishers. Big Sky Publishing Pty Ltd PO Box 303, Newport, NSW 2106, Australia Phone: (61 2) 9918 2168 Fax: (61 2) 9918 2396 Email: [email protected] Web: www.bigskypublishing.com.au Cover design and typesetting: Think Productions National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Beale, Peter. Title: Fallen sentinel : Australian tanks in World War II / Peter Beale. ISBN: 9781921941023 (hbk.) Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Subjects: World War, 1939-1945--Australia--Tank warfare. Tanks (Military science)--Australia--History. Tank warfare--History. Dewey Number: 358.180994 THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY HISTORY COLLECTION Winning with Intelligence Judy Thomas Duntroon Darren Moore The Warrior Poets Robert Morrison The History of the Royal Australian Corps of Transport 1973–2000 Albert Palazzo Defenders of Australia Albert Palazzo The Fight Leaders D. Butler, A. Argent and J. Shelton Operation Orders Pat Beale Little by Little Michael Tyquin Red Coats to Cams Ian Kuring Bowler of Gallipoli Frank Glen Vets at War Ian M. Parsonson Only One River to Cross A.M. Harris The Fragile Forts Peter Oppenheim Hassett: Australian Leader John Essex-Clark Persian Expedition Alan Stewart The Chiefs of the Australian Army James Wood Never Late Gordon Dickens To Villers-Bretonneux Peter Edgar Madness and the Military Michael Tyquin The Battle of Anzac Ridge 25 April 1915 Peter D. Williams Doves Over the Pacific Reuben R.E. Bowd The Lionheart David Coombes Battlefield Korea Maurie Pears Chemical Warfare in Australia Geoff Plunkett A Most Unusual Regiment M.J. Ryan Between Victor and Vanquished Arthur Page Country Victoria’s Own Neil Leckie Surgeon and General Ian Howie-Willis Willingly into the Fray Catherine McCullagh Beyond Adversity William Park Crumps and Camouflets Damien Finlayson More than Bombs and Bandages Kirsty Harris The Last Knight Robert Lowry Forgotten Men Michael Tyquin Battle Scarred Craig Deayton Crossing the Wire David Coombes Do Unto Others Alan H Smith TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: National Security and Tanks Chapter 2: Australians and Tanks in World War I Chapter 3: A Long Sleep and Two Wake-up Calls Chapter 4: Hasten Slowly — 1941 Chapter 5: To the Barricades — 1942 Chapter 6: The Storm Recedes — 1943 Chapter 7: To the Islands — 1944–45 Chapter 8: Wasted Effort Appendices: 1. Tanks Imported for use by Australian Armoured Units 2. Australian Tank Production: Chronology Endnotes Bibliography Index PREFACE The role of the tank in the First World War was clear. It was a recently developed weapon to crush barbed wire and knock out enemy strongpoints, particularly those containing machine-guns, and it achieved these two objectives successfully. By 1918 the performance of the heavy tanks had improved and was continuing to improve, and the lighter Whippet tank had also deployed successfully. The sudden end to the war on 11 November 1918 put tank development and the formulation of doctrine very much on hold. This had two effects on the Tank Corps. The first was that resources to develop new tanks were very limited, and the second was that there was no opportunity to test changes to tank doctrine in real battles against hostile forces. Tank development went in all directions, and a large number of designs were proposed, many going no further than the drawing board. There were several views on the best way to use tanks, but evaluation was considerably hampered by uncertainty about the type of tank that would be available, a scarcity of resources to conduct exercises, and no opportunity for battle experience. Up to 1939 any formulation of tank doctrine by the Royal Tank Corps was purely theoretical. Tank doctrine had to be learnt the hard way in World War II and, most of the time, it was unsuited to the reality of the war. Major General Pip Roberts served at many levels of armoured command after 1939. In 1944 he was commanding the 11th Armoured Division, and commented that it was not until the third battle in Normandy that they finally got the doctrine right. Illconsidered doctrine had resulted in the loss of many battles and the slaughter of tank crews and soldiers from the arms they were supposed to be supporting, particularly the infantry. The Australian Army’s experiences with tanks in the First World War were mixed: very bad at Bullecourt and good at Hamel and some later battles. Between the wars, the Australian tank arm was a very small component of the Army, and there was no officer of sufficient rank or experience to advise Army Headquarters concerning what could or should be done in respect of tanks. This book traces the development of the Australian Armoured Corps, the design and production of its own Armoured Cruiser tank — the Sentinel — and the employment of tank units. It examines the projects to create an armoured division and build the Sentinel, both of which were slow in starting, but once commenced proceeded with exceptional speed and skill. As with all projects, timing is vital. Delay in starting may mean that the project outcomes are achieved too late to be of value. The 1st Australian Armoured Division never saw action, and the Sentinel tank project was abandoned, even after some brilliant design and production efforts. There were several reasons for its abandonment, including the outbreak of war with Japan, the slow start to both projects, and the baleful influence of British tank doctrine. The question remains as to whether anything could have been done to prevent this waste of time and resources. A second, more pertinent issue concerns what the Australian Army has learned from this experience that will assist in the conduct of future operations. Answers to these questions form the central theme of this book.
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