The following brief report by American observers in Tunisia, from Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 27, June 17, 1943, describes German tactics for using antitank guns in combination with panzers. [DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from the U.S. War Department publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.]

GERMAN USE OF AT GUNS WITH TANKS An American army observer in Tunisia reports that German tanks habitually operate in conjunction with AT guns, as has long been their practice. The employment of these weapons is not always the same, but when units encounter enemy tanks they should expect AT guns. One German maneuver wherein the enemy launched a flank attack with tanks against our forces is described as follows (see sketch): As the enemy armor drove into the flank, its objective our supporting artillery and then our infantry, AT guns, including 88-mm, were "peeled off" and went into position to protect the German tanks from the counterattack of our tanks and/or tank destroyers. On other occasions the Germans used their often-tried stratagem of sending forward a number of tanks which would then withdraw in an attempt to lure our armor into range of their AT weapons. This is the same stratagem which the Germans used with such success against the British tanks during the heavy fighting prior to the British withdrawal to the El Alamein line in June 1942.

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