Just suppose i'm a general in charge of a WWII army,How fast could i expect my spearheads to travel in a day if it travelled unapposed?I
2007-01-05 09:02:15 · 4 answers · asked by ? 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
OK I SLIPPED UP,ADDITIONAL DETAILS
I was thinking a full german semi motorised army circa 1941/42,with recon,armour,artillery,signals etc.,mainly traveling along road networks. in leaps and bounds and covered on both flanks with air support.
Talking at least 2 corp minmum.
2007-01-05 16:10:28 · update #1
Let's assume your Army is in North West Europe during WW2. Most of WW2 was fought by infantry on foot. Many soldiers walked all the way from Normandy into Germany in 1944-1945. A well rested soldier with full field equipment could be expected to walk at about 3 mph on a lengthy sustained march. The same soldier could be expected to do about 5 mph under duress for about 2-3 hours but would be pretty much spent after that. This assumes flat terrain.
Much of North West Europe is not flat and roads at the time would have been poor. My experiences in hiking through the Black Forest in my late teens would lead to believe that a WW2 soldier would have been lucky to cover 10-15 miles per day because of the terrain.
2007-01-05 09:51:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It would depend on troop compositions, supplies, vehicle support, Intel, weather and a lot of other factors.
If you had perfect condition but had only foot infantry and no vehicles, probably 10 miles.
With vehicles obviously you could go farther. maybe 20-30 before supplies became a concern.
Also terrain is important, obviously snowy hills would slow an advance much more than flat grasslands or roads.
It is really difficult to hammer down a number because it also depends on the general, Patton was known for bold fast movements, where his men could move insane distances with little time. While some one like Monty, tended to move a little more cautiously.
2007-01-05 17:13:17 · answer #2 · answered by Stone K 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Too many options here for my liking. What transport do they have, how much equipment do they carry, what is the terrain like, is it mountainous, flat, desert, do they have to fight their way forward? You couldn't give a definitive answer on the info you have supplied. If you were a general you would get all your troops killed I feel.
2007-01-05 17:50:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Are they on foot? mechanized? Do you have access to rail heads? What is the weather like? Terrain?. Are they rested?
Too many variables.
2007-01-05 17:07:30 · answer #4 · answered by jh 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋