Fallen sentinel : Australian tanks in World War II

288 Pages·2016·6.24 MB·English

by  Beale

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: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
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.