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A section of men who work together can be a thoroughly efficient
tank destroyer team. Here again the prime requisites are fire
power and cunning to out-think the enemy. Make your objective
the tank driver. Hunt him as you would a beast. Ambush him, lie
in wait for him; remember that he's cooped up in a big, roaring
vehicle and that his vision is so limited that he is practically
blind. He's big - you can't miss seeing him. You're small - if
you are properly camouflaged, he'll never see you. Don't get
excited. Wait for your prey. Let him come right to you. The noise
of his motors will never hurt you and the closer he comes the
closer he is to sudden death. If the enemy tank driver passes
within 20 feet of you, he is cold meat, for his guns can't operate
at that range. Get close. Let him have it where it hurts most.
Kill him and don't ever entertain a single thought of mercy.
The enemy will have no mercy on you. It's kill or be killed.
Remember that the German who yells "Kamerad" and throws
his hands up over his head probably has a grenade in either hand.
Let him have it and he'll be a good German.
Where will you hit him, and how? There are dozens of ways.
Give him a rifle grenade in the suspension system. A standard
hand grenade may do the job, but the rifle grenade is more accurate
and will pierce armor. Use a bazooka if you have one. Its spalding
action will throw tiny bits of red hot metal whizzing around
the inside of that tank like shrapnel. Use a molotov cocktail.
That's made up of gasoline and oil mixed in a glass bottle. Smash
it against his turret so tht the gas will spill down through
the back deck ventilators and run all over his red hot motor.
Right then and there your tank will burst into flame - and there
are no German soldiers who choose to roast alive. They'll pop
out of the nearest exit. Remember that you are trained to be
a killer. Mow them down.
The prime mission is to stop the tank. If you blow off a part
of the suspension system, a chunk of track or a bogey wheel,
the tank stops and you can destroy it at your leisure with prepared
charges. Or, your artillery can then drop a couple of shells
where they can do the most good.
To a well-trained American tank destroyer soldier, a tank
is nothing more than a big steel coffin. It's a sucker for punishment.
Even a fifty caliber slug will gum up suspension systems and
may weld the turret solid if it is placed right. .30 caliber
rifle and machine gun fire will effectively put periscopes and
small arms slits out of action, and an open hatch is an invitation
for an American grenade. Take all of these things into consideration
when you hunt the German. He's been doing pretty well for the
past three years but his luck is running out now. From here on
in it's your show. The American tank destroyer soldier has been
given the best of instructions. He knows infantry tactics and
armored force techniques. He's been well schooled in commando
warfare, in explosives, mines, and in the latest methods of close
quarter fighting. If the German thinks he knows how to kill he
has a big surprise coming. The black cats of Tank Destroyer Command
must have no mercy, no compunction against the use of garrot
or knife. When you see a German soldier, waste no time. Kill
him as quickly as possible. Cut him down. Let someone else take
the prisoners. Your job is the motto of the TD's. Remember it:
Seek, Strike, Destroy.
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