Battle of the Bulge:
The German Ardennes Offensive starting in late December 1944, popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge, was the last major German offensive on the Western Front in World War II. It was intended that the German army would split the Allied line in half, capture Antwerp, sweep north and encircle and destroy four Allied armies, thus forcing them to negotiate for peace.
Although unsuccessful, it nevertheless tied down huge amounts of Allied resources, and a slow response to the resulting gap in their lines erased months from their timetable. An alternative analysis is that the offensive allowed the Allies to severely deplete the cream of German army outside the defenses of the West Wall and in poor supply state, greatly easing the assault on Germany afterward. In numerical terms, it is the largest battle the United States Army has ever fought.
M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman was the primary tank produced by the United States for its own use and the use of its Allies during World War II. Production of the M4 Medium tank exceeded 50,000 units, and its chassis served as the basis for numerous other armored vehicles such as tank destroyers, tank retrievers and self-propelled artillery. In the United Kingdom, the M4 was dubbed the Sherman after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, following the British practice of naming its American-built tanks after famous American Civil War generals. Subsequently the British name found its way into common use in the US. Following WWII, the M4 medium tank was used by the US until the end of the Korean War. Many nations continued to use the tank in both training and combat roles into the late 20th century.
When the Sherman first saw combat in 1942, its 75 mm M3 gun could penetrate the armor of the German tanks it faced in North Africa at normal combat ranges. However, immediately following the invasion of Normandy, it was discovered that the 75 mm M3 gun was completely ineffective against the front of the German Panther and Tiger I tanks at typical combat ranges. The 75 mm M3 gun was thereby rendered obsolete, and the European Theater of Operations quickly demanded deliveries of the Sherman armed with the 76 mm M1 gun, as well as tanks and tank destroyers carrying the 90 mm M3 gun
The Sherman's armor was effective against most early war tank guns, the frontal thickness was the gun mantle at 91 mm, frontal turret 76 mm, and frontal hull 63 mm. The Sherman's frontal armor was designed to withstand a 50 mm gun, which was a common German anti-tank gun and the gun on the Panzer III medium tank during the North African Campaign in 1942.
The Sherman tank was comparatively fast and maneuverable, mechanically reliable, easy to manufacture and service, and produced in many special-purpose variants, whose capabilities differed greatly. It was effective in the infantry support role. The Sherman performed well against World War II Japanese tanks, Italian tanks, and the German standard tank of the time, the Panzer IV medium series. However, the typical Sherman was significantly inferior in both armor and armament to the German Tiger heavy tanks, Panther "medium" (heavy by US standards) and some of the tank destroyers fielded by the Germans in 1944.
When the US encountered German tank units containing large numbers of Panther tanks in 1944 high US losses sometimes resulted. However, Panther and Tiger-equipped units frequently suffered defeats. Shermans defeated heavier tanks by use of superior tactics, or by using upgunned Shermans working with tank destroyers such as the M36 Jackson (with a 90 mm anti-tank gun) and the M18 Hellcat (a mobile, fast tracked vehicle with the same 76 mm gun).
The majority of losses of Shermans were not from battle with other tanks, but rather from mines, aircraft, infantry anti-tank weapons and, on occasion, friendly fire. Although American tanks were less powerful than their German counterparts,US armoured forces ultimately triumphed because of numerical superiority, a more consistent supply of fuel and ammunition, and the allied air superiority (with aircraft being the biggest danger to the lines of supply for German tank units).
Nonetheless, the fact that the Sherman tank was significantly inferior to the German Panther has remained a subject of sometimes bitter controversy and recrimination to this day. Sherman crews had been told prior to Normandy that the Sherman was the best tank in the world but this was patently untrue as demonstrated during that campaign.
