American Tankers Fired The First Pershing Shot In Combat Then Realized They'd Brought to A Gunfight скачать в хорошем качестве

American Tankers Fired The First Pershing Shot In Combat Then Realized They'd Brought to A Gunfight

February twenty-sixth, nineteen forty-five. Village of Elsdorf, Rhineland, Germany. The diesel engine of M26 Pershing number thirty-eight idled at the western edge of a devastated German hamlet. Inside the turret, Sergeant Nicholas Mashlonik studied the approaches through his commander's periscope, searching for movement among the shattered buildings ahead. His crew had nicknamed their forty-six-ton machine "Fireball" – a name that would prove grimly prophetic in ways none of them anticipated. Mashlonik commanded one of only twenty Pershing tanks shipped to Europe for combat evaluation. The T26E3, as it was still officially designated that morning, represented America's answer to three years of desperate pleas from Sherman tank crews who'd watched their shells bounce harmlessly off German Panthers and Tigers. The Pershing mounted a ninety-millimeter gun – nearly twice the caliber of the standard Sherman's seventy-five-millimeter main armament. Its frontal armor measured one hundred and two millimeters thick, sloped at forty-six degrees to maximize effective protection. On paper, the specifications promised American tank crews could finally meet German heavy armor on equal terms. The reality Mashlonik and his crew were about to discover would shatter that comfortable assumption and expose a devastating truth about American tank development. The most advanced tank in the United States Army's inventory, rushed to the battlefield after years of bureaucratic delays and doctrinal disputes, was still fighting the previous war. The Germans had moved on. If you're enjoying this deep dive into the story, hit the subscribe button and let us know in the comments from where in the world you are watching from today! Task Force Welborn, under Lieutenant Colonel John Welborn, had orders to seize Elsdorf as part of the larger push toward the Rhine River. The village sat astride a critical road junction, and German forces had prepared defensive positions throughout the hamlet. Fireball took point position for the American advance – both an honor recognizing the Pershing's superior capabilities and a calculated risk by commanders eager to evaluate their new weapon under actual combat conditions.