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Exactly
What works in simulations don't work in the real thing.
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Unfortunate friendly fire
McNair while he did make a considerable difference in the us military including combined arms he did do some controversial matter too.
Overall, I consider him a net negative. He was a big fan of towed Anti-tank guns, vs SPG-- he spiked a number of GMCs that would have been useful, vs the overly heavy towed 3" and underpowered 57mm that struggled in Italy and France.Then his whole incorrect take on Tank Destroyers.
His idea with towed AT was retrograde, that they should also charge towards the sound of the guns in Napoleonic fashion to setup would-be killboxes, towed either by lightly armored halftracks or high speed tractors.
One of the reasons US ATG units had such high casualties in Italy and France.
These tactics worked in the 1941 maneuvers against Devers, due to rules in place, that ATguns could only be destroyed by overruns, not by simulated HE or MG fire. Germans didn't play by those rules.
In 1942, Marshall forced McNair to include the GMCs that General Bruce wanted over towed guns when FM18-5 was being formedNeither did many field commanders in those exercises. They saw through the error of the umpires & developed other doctrines. As it was only 12 Towed TD battalions were formed, out of 60+. Well before 1944 the decision to stop organizing the towed TD battalions was taken.
One of the reasons US ATG units had such high casualties in Italy and France.
To be fair, everyone's ATG units everywhere had high casualties.
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