raharris1973
Well-known member
How many of the alleged vices of the French did the Czechs replicate versus avoid?
Aficionados of a possible Czech-German war in 1938 point to multiple things the Czechs possessed including some hills/mountains, fortifications, decent quality tanks, artillery, and aircraft, and military industry that were superior to what the Poles had in 1939, alongside with the Germans having a year less of their own production, and not having all that Czech gear.
That creates tantalizing hints of a favorable outcome for the Czechs and an unfavorable outcome for the Germans.
Meanwhile, aficionados of the 1940 campaign point to France shortchanging itself significantly by having insufficient troop training from an insufficient period of service, and poor tactical communications from insufficient distribution of radio sets. It is passe to argue that the Germans had better tanks - nobody says that anymore.
But couldn’t these discussions benefit from cross-pollination? The Wehrmacht obviously had less combat experience and fewer lessons learned in 1938 than in 1940, but was its service terms and rigor of training comparable in both years at the troop and officer levels? Were Wehrmacht tactical units connected with as dense radio networks in 1938 as 1940? Was command culture any less micro-management-y
As for the Czechs in 1938, they had some good tanks, artillery, terrain, and fortifications. The French did too in 1940. What was the term of service in the Czech army and reserve training requirements? Were they longer and more rigorous than the French? Was tactical radio any more widely employed within Czech forces in '38 than French forces in '40?
Even though the Germans were nowhere as well armed in fall 1938 as in 1940 or even 1940, and obviously they were less combat experienced, they could have pretty strong chances based on superior training, delegation of weapons control and command authority, tactical radio (I am not sure on that though) against the Czechs if the Czechs were following rigid French style command structure with limited junior officer initiative, and French levels of training regardless of some better tanks and the presence, on parts of the border, of fortifications and mountains.
Aficionados of a possible Czech-German war in 1938 point to multiple things the Czechs possessed including some hills/mountains, fortifications, decent quality tanks, artillery, and aircraft, and military industry that were superior to what the Poles had in 1939, alongside with the Germans having a year less of their own production, and not having all that Czech gear.
That creates tantalizing hints of a favorable outcome for the Czechs and an unfavorable outcome for the Germans.
Meanwhile, aficionados of the 1940 campaign point to France shortchanging itself significantly by having insufficient troop training from an insufficient period of service, and poor tactical communications from insufficient distribution of radio sets. It is passe to argue that the Germans had better tanks - nobody says that anymore.
But couldn’t these discussions benefit from cross-pollination? The Wehrmacht obviously had less combat experience and fewer lessons learned in 1938 than in 1940, but was its service terms and rigor of training comparable in both years at the troop and officer levels? Were Wehrmacht tactical units connected with as dense radio networks in 1938 as 1940? Was command culture any less micro-management-y
As for the Czechs in 1938, they had some good tanks, artillery, terrain, and fortifications. The French did too in 1940. What was the term of service in the Czech army and reserve training requirements? Were they longer and more rigorous than the French? Was tactical radio any more widely employed within Czech forces in '38 than French forces in '40?
Even though the Germans were nowhere as well armed in fall 1938 as in 1940 or even 1940, and obviously they were less combat experienced, they could have pretty strong chances based on superior training, delegation of weapons control and command authority, tactical radio (I am not sure on that though) against the Czechs if the Czechs were following rigid French style command structure with limited junior officer initiative, and French levels of training regardless of some better tanks and the presence, on parts of the border, of fortifications and mountains.
