The German and American armies both had large numbers of half-tracks but how were they use? Were they mainly an offroad supply truck or were they an artillary hualer?
Were they used to assualt locations or did the just drop the infantry off and pick them up after the assualt?
In the American Army, halftracks were used for as many roles as their German counterparts. As a result of the heavy portrayal of the Germans' use of halftracks, the extensive role of the halftrack in the United States Army is somewhat overshadowed. Like the Germans, infantry transport was the role the American halftrack was used most. Other variants included prime movers, antiaircraft vehicles, command vehicles, and self-propelled artillery; the majority of American halftrack variants have at least one German equivalent. There were many variants that only the Germans had, however, such as a mobile bridge and a flamethrower.
The halftrack was primarily used by the armored infantry battalions of the armored divisions in order to impart mobility to their troops. One halftrack was allocated to each infantry squad, and each machine gun and mortar squad had their own halftrack as well. Each armored infantry battalion had 72 halftracks. Halftracks were also used for other roles in the division like command and control, supply, and as armored ambulances. This resulted in a seemingly absurd number of halftracks per division; the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions each had 163 M2 Halftrack Cars and 441 M3 Halftracks (604 total) The "light" armored divisions (all other ones) had 448 total. The United States, unlike their German counterparts, suffered from no shortage of halftracks, and were not forced to substitute trucks to move their armored infantry.
A somewhat sad occurrence due to the development of the halftrack was the heavy losses suffered by the armored infantry battalions. Since armored infantry were more mobile compared to regular infantry, and hence could get into combat faster, they were often moved quickly from engagement to engagement without sufficient rest and as a result incurred serious casualties and combat exhaustion. During the multi-day attack on Hürtgen, Kleinhau and Bergstein, (in Germany) the 47th Armored Infantry Battalion, 5th Armored Division, started with 750 men. At the end of the battle about a week later, the Battalion could muster only 58 unwounded effectives.
Here, I will list the variants that the United States Army used operationally, and what they were used for.
First, a simple table that shows the production of these variants.
Vehicles that were later converted to other types are counted only once, in their initial configuration. The T10E1 and T48 are excluded for the purposes of this exercise since the US didn't use them operationally. Because of this they are technically outright production, and are calculated as such.
| Variant | Number built |
|---|---|
| M2 | 11,415 |
| M2A1 | 1,415 converted from existing M2 |
| M4 MMC | 572 |
| M4A1 MMC | 600 |
| M15 CGMC | 600 |
| M15A1 CGMC | 1,652 |
| Total | 14,839 M2-based vehicles |
| Variant | Number built |
|---|---|
| M3 | 12,391 outright + 108 converted from T30 |
| M3A1 | 2,862 outright + 2,209 converted from existing M3, 1,360 from existing M3/M3A1 GMC, 281 from existing 57 mm GMC T48, and 90 from existing 105 mm HMC T19 |
| M3/M3A1 GMC | 2,203 |
| M13 MGMC | 1,106 |
| M16 MGMC | 2,877 outright + 628 converted from existing M13 MGMC and 109 from existing T10E1 |
| T19 HMC | 324 |
| T30 HMC | 500 |
| Total | 22,653 M3-based vehicles |
The M2 Halftrack Car
The first type of halftrack used, and arguably the most important even though it gets overshadowed by its "big brother" the M3 and was produced less, is the M2. The M2 was intended as a prime mover for artillery pieces; there are two large ammunition bins behind the driver's compartment.
It could seat nine passengers and a driver. A number, usually no more than 2-3, of .50 and .30 caliber machine guns could be mounted on a skate rail around the troop compartment. There was no rear door. The M2A1 did away with the skate rail and put a .50 caliber M2HB machine gun in a pulpit mount behind the driver, but still didn't have a rear door. 1,415 were converted from the basic M2.
4Δ-22F refers to the 22nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion of the 4th Armored Division
During WWII, the M2 and M2A1 were used as a prime mover for the 57 mm antitank gun M1 in the infantry divisions alongside the Dodge WC truck, and were used to haul the machine gun and mortar squads of the armored infantry battalions.
M2 variants:
M4 Mortar Motor Carriage:
An 81 mm mortar was placed in the troop compartment firing rearwards. it was used in the headquarters companies (mortar platoon) of tank battalions. 572 were constructed.
M4A1 Mortar Motor Carriage:
The M4A1 was simply an improved M4 that had the mortar pointing forwards instead of rearwards. 600 were built.
M15 Combination Gun Motor Carriage:
The M15 was an M2 half-track mounting a 37 mm M1A2 cannon and two water cooled .50 caliber M2 machine guns. 600 were built.
M15A1 Combination Gun Motor Carriage:
The M15A1 (called the "M15 Special") simply moved the 37 mm cannon above the now air-cooled .50 caliber machine guns. It served alongside and superseded the M15 in service. 1,652 were built.
The M3 Halftrack
The most numerous halftrack the Americans used during the war was the M3/M3A1. 12,391 M3 were built outright, and 108 were converted from the 75 mm HMC T30. 2,209 existing M3s were converted to M3A1s, in the same vein as the M2A1, with the pedestal machine gun moved to a pulpit mount at the front right of the troop compartment. Several thousand more M3A1s were built from the ground up or converted.
It could seat a driver and 12 infantrymen, and its armament consisted of a single .50 caliber M2HB machine gun (in this case, there's a .30 caliber machine gun mounted on the pedestal) Up to three additional .30 caliber machine guns, both air and water-cooled, could be fitted on pintles around the troop compartment.
It was initially loathed by its first users in North Africa, who heavily criticized its thin unsloped armor, calling it a "Purple Heart Box", but it came into its own during the campaign and proved its worth. The M3 and M3A1 served as the standard halftrack of the armored infantry battalions, and was also used to tow the 3-inch Gun M5 of the towed tank destroyer battalions. This must have been quite a sketchy task as the gun weighed more than the M3 was authorized to tow!
M3 Half-track variants:
M3 Gun Motor Carriage:
This was the US's first powerful tank destroyer, mounting a 75 mm French field piece complete with shield in the rear compartment. It suffered heavy losses in North Africa until being replaced in the battalions with the M10 Tank Destroyer in 1943.
M3A1 Gun Motor Carriage:
The M3A1 simply used an earlier type of gun shield. 2,203 M3 and M3A1 were built. 1,360 of the M3 and M3A1 Gun Motor Carriage were converted to the personnel carrier M3A1 described above.
M13 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage:
The M13 was an M3 halftrack chassis with a Maxson turret mounting two .50 caliber M2HB machine guns. It was only ever used in combat at Anzio and was withdrawn as too lightly armed. 1,103 were built. 628 were converted to the M16 MGMC; the M13 was replaced by the M16.
M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage:
The famous "Kraut mower" or "meat chopper" consisted of an M3 halftrack chassis with a better Maxson turret mounting four .50 caliber M2HB machine guns. Its high rate of fire was devastating against low-flying aircraft and infantry alike. The M15, M15A1, and M16 served together in the self-propelled type of Antiaircraft Automatic Weapons battalions attached to the armored divisions. A battalion consisted of 32 M15 and/or M15A1, and 32 M16.
2,877 were built outright, 628 were converted from the M13 MGMC, and 109 were converted from the experimental 20 mm GMC T10E1.
T19 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage:
A 105 mm howitzer mounted on the basic M3 halftrack. The size and recoil of this piece strained the M3 chassis to its absolute limits. It primarily served in North Africa, although some served in Sicily, Italy and as late as the invasion of Southern France in 1944. 324 were built; 90 were later converted to the personnel carrier M3A1.
T30 75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage:
The T30 mounted a 75 mm pack howitzer in the rear compartment. 500 were built, and it was used in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Infantry and armored infantry regiments had in their cannon companies six or nine T30s respectively; they were removed from foot infantry use in March 1943 when the cannon companies switched to towed pieces. The T30 continued in use in the armored units until M8 HMCs became available. 500 T30s were built; 108 were converted to the personnel carrier M3.
Sources:
American Tanks and AFVs of WWII, by Mike Green
M3 Infantry Half-Track, by Steven J. Zaloga
US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944–45, by Steven J. Zaloga
47th Armored Infantry Battalion
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/HuertgenForest/5ADinHF.pdf
M2 and M2A1 Half-track Car
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/halftrackm2.html
M4 and M4A1 Mortar Motor Carriage
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/81mmmcm4.html
M15 and M15A1 Combination Gun Motor Carriage
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/mgmcm15.html
Half-track personnel carrier M3 and M3A1
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/halftrackm3.html
M3 and M3A1 Gun Motor Carriage
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/75mmgmcm3.html
M13 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/mgmcm13.html
M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/mgmcm16.html
T19 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/105mmhmct19.html
T30 75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/75mmhmct30.html
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_T30_75mm_HMC.html
They were both and everything in between!
The American M2 and M3 series and the German Skdfz series proved themselves to be quite adept and modular in a total war situation. They were used as prime movers alongside trucks, ambulances (tracked vehicles being more trustworthy in muddy conditions) and of course troop carriers.
While I'm loathe to describe Halftracks being troop-carriers as their main purpose, since Armored formations were very much in the minority, this was their design purpose. Every infantryman in a US Armored division would be mounted in a M3, while every first battalion of a German Panzergrenadier unit would be mounted in Skdfz. 251/1s. The halftracks were not meant to be battle platforms, but rather 'battle taxis' that could move an armored infantryman forward to a dismount position and get them there safely and quickly. Their armored engine and tracks meant that where Tanks could go, so too could their accompanying infantry.
Halftracks were rarely used for 'hot dismounts' in assaults, but it is not unheard of. The Americans developed an M.O of hammering towns with sharp, short artillery barrages, causing the German defenders to seek cover in buildings until the very moment of dismount -- whereupon the barrage would lift and the Americans would be in and among the defenders before they could disrupt the dismount. The Germans too could and often would do this out East, especially in areas where the open terrain provided little shelter to dismounted infantry from artillery and small-arms fire. Make no mistake however, the use of this tactic was not putting great faith in the armor of these vehicles, but rather relying on their relative speed.
The Americans and Germans also used the chassis to create self-propelled howitzers and anti-aircraft guns again providing the Armored formations with small, inexpensive support vehicles that could keep up with them in every sense of the phrase. Curiously, the Germans even developed flamethrower halftracks.
I would like to point out that the german army did not have large number of haltracks, at least compared to the american army.
In fact the german army, and any other army in the world other than the americans at the time, made more use of horses than trucks and halftracks, the americans were the only ones that by WWII had fully mechanized their army despite the popular perception of the german mechanized war machine, which comes more from their practice of concentrating their armor and mechanized infantry in divisions.
That said, while armoured half tracks were used mostly for fast deployment of troops, horse carriages, trucks and above all trains would be used to resupply and movement of equipment such as artillery.