Grenadiers Tank Destroyers

The_Chieftain: VI. IN ATTACK 8. In any tank attack the enemy antitank offense must be neutralized. To accomplishthis the elements of the antitank defense will be subjected to attacks from enemy tanks, the air, and motorized or foot infantry. To meet these attacks the grenadier battalion must be taught to attack aggressively at every opportunity.   VII. IN DEFENSE 9. In the defense the grenadier tank destroyer battalion is trained to deploy across the axis of approach of the hostile tank attack and wait in ambush. As the hostile tanks approaches within range they will be attacked and destroyed. Use of concealment and cover is essential. 10. The battalion likewise is trained to cut its way out of an encirclement should it be completely surrounded by enemy forces.   VIII. PURSUIT 11. In pursuit the grenadier battalion has a very limited field of action and should not be used in operations of this kind.   IX. WITHDRAWALS 12. In withdrawals the grenadier battalion will be charged with stopping the forward advance of hostile tanks and light mechanized forces.   X. SPECIAL OPERATIONS 13. In special operations the grenadier battalion has its greatest scope of action, such as jungle warfare, night operations, street fighting, combat in woods, as an advance element in a river crossing and for penetrating terrain which is inaccessible to the heavy tank destroyer units.   XI. RADIO COMMUNICATIONS 14. Radio communications are maintained by the battalion with higher echelons by means of one SCR-506 radio within the battalion headquarters. The battalion maintains contact with the companies by the use of SCR-508 radio. Companies maintain contact with the platoon through the SCR-510 radio. The attached medical detachment of the battalion is equipped with the SCR-510 as is the transportation platoon of the battalion headquarters and headquarters company. The commanding officer of the battalion headquarters company has available another SCR 506 radio for communication throughout the battalion and with attached aerial observation. This requires a total of four SCR-506 radios, one SCR-508, and thirteen SCR-510 radio sets for the battalion.   PROVISIONAL TANK DESTROYER BATTALION (Grenadier) ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PROPOSED ORGANIZATION   ADVANTAGES: 1. Simplicity of organization. 2. Minimum of training time and' simplified training. 3. More adaptable for surprise operations than any other ground organization. 4. Tonnage of rolling equipment for overseas shipment is only 98 tons as compared with 1150 tons in the heavy tank destroyer battalion. 5. Tremendous fire power. As well as close range grenade fire power there is medium range .50 cal. MG and . 30 cal. rifle fire 6. Ample antiaircraft fire within the battalions, for defense against low-flying airoraft. All weapons have a dual mission andgunners are trained to .fire on aerial as well as ground targets. Ground targets are primary. 7. Ease and rapidity with which this battalion can disperse or·concentrate. 8. Ease and rapidity with which it can effect concealment or move to available cover. 9. Ease and rapidity of deployment. Each fire unit (killer car) is trained to act independently as well as collectively. 10. Small initial cost of equipment. 11. Simplified supply and field maintenance. 12. All equipment in the battalion is now in mass production. 13. Activation of new units rapid and simple. 14. Minimum of technical training required. All men coming from replacement-training centers will have received the requisite technical training . 15. The equipment of this organization is standard in other organizations, therefore its transfer or conversion to other units or vice versa is simple. 16. It occupies a small bivouac area. Each vehicle and its crew is independent for tactical operations, defense against aircraft, and in messing, and therefore is in readiness to move from bivouac to combatin a minimum of time. 17. The organization and equipment as well as the primary and secondary weapons are preminently suited for jungle warfare, street fighting, and for clearing wooded areas of hostile tanks or other mechanized units. 18. No rail shipment for long overland travel required. 19. It provides the best single means of hunting, finding and destroying tanks. 20. When deployed it presents a very small and unprofitable target from the air. 21. Great mobility and speed over roads and across country. 22. It utilizes a minimum amount of rubber, rubber being a critical item in the organization of new units. 23. Local .Protection is inherent in the organization and weapons. 24. It has a wide and varied scope of action for reconnaissance missions. 25. Suited for surprise night operations where speed and comparative silence of running vehicles are essential. 26. The weight of one machine gun grenade is· 2 ¾ pounds as compared with 37 pounds for the 3” gun.   DISADVANTAGES: 1. It lacks long range fire power. 2. Like all other organizations it is vulnerable to infantry attacks. 3. Its scope of action in desert or prairie warfare is limited Now, we may laugh a little bit now at the concept of dealing with German tanks with a swarm of jeep-mounted troops armed with AT rifle grenades, but in fairness to the man, the idea was not entirely without merit, especially in restricted terrain. On the other hand, we're still talking about some 300 men, one and a half rifle companies, whose job is not to take and hold ground. It seems highly likely that if such an organisation were actually to be fielded, that they would immediately be given cavalry jobs, not tank destroyer jobs. And one probably would also get involved in internecine politics about if they truly are TD soldiers or Infantry soldiers. (Bear in mind, the Colonel writing this up was an infantryman). Further, an infantry company can probably do as good a job: The grenadier TD battalion would almost certainly require the use of covering infantry given the ranges they'd be operating at, and if you havd infantry that close, why not use their own AT rifles to take care of the tanks anyway? There were a number of attemps made to create Tank Destroyer vehicles based around the Willys 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles mounting the 37mm gun, which one can argue is no better and no worse than lads armed with rifle grenades. It depended very much on range and individual grenadier accuracy. The 4x4 shown below is the 37mm GMC T2 (Modified), the 6x6 the 37mm GMC T14.   In the end, of course, the 37mm GMC T21 based on the tougher Dodge chassis was selected for the role, entering service as the 37mm GMC M6. Only to be promptly discarded as useless as the armor and armament of tanks started racing upwards. No indication is found in the archives as to how much approval LTC Negrotto's proposal received. As ever, my Facebook page remains here, my Youtube channel here, and Twitch stream (Every Tuesday, and occasional evenings) is here.