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Adinnieken said:

Well, the German tanks were designed to fight other tanks, not to mention the Germans were radio equipped allowing them to coordinate battles more easily.  The main battle tank at the outset of the war for Germany was the Panzer III which utilized a 50MM compared to a 47MM of the French Char B1 or the 37MM gun of the R35.  French tanks were largely defensive weapons, or technically outdated.  

I don't understand how on one hand you say they're prepared, when everything they prepared for was to fight WWI.  Granted, hindsight is 20/20, but the fact remains that German aspirations, just like those of Japanese were pretty evident.  It's one thing to say the British should have known, they aren't land locked to Germany, but the French were right there.   They witnessed Germany's capability with the Spanish Civil War, yet the weapons they developed to fight "the next war" were only incremental to what was available in WWI.

I agree that tactically, the Germans were light years ahead of anyone else.  They listened to experts in the US and Britain about the importance of air power, were as neither the US nor Great Britain heeded that same advice.  Not to mention they saw before any other European power did of the time, the importance of the tank in battle rather than simply in a support role.


Actually, most of German PzIII tanks in that period where armed with 37mm gun - there is common misconception that superiority of German tanks won Battle of France, when it was their superior tactics, leaderships and communications, and proper use of air superiority. For more info http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aNKw3dbwoM