Soviet 746th Tank Regiment

[helbent4]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

83rd ID had as many motor vehicles (captured and U.S.) as the 2nd Armored Division on their right flank. They had a race from the Rhine to the Elbe, and both wanted to be first into Berlin when the order to halt on the Elbe came.

The 83rd ID wasn't the only American unit to use captured German equipment: Third Army had several provisional artillery battalions using captured German guns against their former owners.

Matt,

Seems plausible, and I can buy the use of German transports (trucks/Kubelwagens) and light armour. Despite anecdotes stating the Americans used German tanks, I still can't quite credit it. I'm not disagreeing with you in particular, just voicing some personal skepticism.

My logic is that at that stage of WWII units like the 83rd were struggling to keep up with the pace of advance into Germany. They were literally outrunning their own supply lines and therefore couldn't easily get replacement vehicles for their tank crews. Fair enough. Using captured armour would keep up the rapid pace of advance because it is available. Despite the far superior combat ability of German tanks they would be a nightmare to maintain and supply, thus slowing down the division overall and defeating the main reason for using captured armour in the first place.

Tony