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Post by Yan Taylor on Jan 16, 2014 5:33:09 GMT -6
Well Chuck as Napoleon himself once said “Time spent on reconnaissance is never wasted’’
The British decided in 1943 to beef up their Armoured Recce Regiments as they thought that Armoured Cars alone were too light, the Cars were grouped at Corps level as I mentioned before.
The military wanted the Armoured recce units to be able to act in three squadrons (each being able to operate independently), these Squadrons would then operate in an advance role and be able seize and hold key points until relieved by the main body. They could also act as a flank guard when any rapid advance was achieved.
This however was not a successful venture, and the units didn’t perform well, the Cromwell tanks were not designed for this type of work, so they actually kept the Armoured Recce Regiments as used them as a forth Tank Regiment with addition of Challenger Tanks mounting the excellent 17 pdr, and returned the Armoured Car Squadrons to their proper role.
Ian.
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Post by quincannon on Jan 16, 2014 9:59:29 GMT -6
Ian: The U S Army spent a lot of time and trouble making our recon assets heavier post war, thus the ten or twelve ACR's we formed including those in the RA and the Guard. I suppose they were OK for Europe. but toward the end they more resembled just another armored brigade, and lost sight of what they were intended to do.
It is a personal opinion but for me recon units should be as light as possible, containing just enough power to get them out of trouble when necessary. Their mission is to find, not fight. Finding is the focus.
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Post by AZ Ranger on Jan 17, 2014 6:58:12 GMT -6
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