The “Big Three” of WW2 met at Yalta in February 1945. At their first business meeting on 4th February there was some discussion of the forthcoming attacks from West and East on Germany’s heartland. Stalin mentioned that in the recent Russian central campaign 9,000 tanks were used.
“He would like to know how many tanks the “ [Western] “Allies expected to employ?” (Ref.1).
The top brass did not know but waffled about how many armoured divisions they had. However, Winston Churchill spoke up:- “Ten thousand”.
“A large number” commented Stalin. Was there a faint suggestion there of dis-belief? (Ref.2).
The official record of the meeting, Ref. 1, states:- “…it was made clear to Marshal Stalin that there are nearly 10,000 Allied tanks in the European Theatre”.
This Contribution No.22 provides the evidence of the tank situation at that date, assuming that units had been brought up to establishment before the next attack.
Allied Tanks*1
European Theatre (ETO)
Early 1945
21st Army Group (British; Canadian; Polish; Czech)
| Armoured Divisions | Independent Brigades | GHQ Battalions | Tank Destroyers | Sub-Total | Grand Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units | 6 Note 1 | 10 Note 2 | 12 Note 3 | |||
| No. in Unit | 246 | 160 *2 | 12 | |||
| Total | 1,476 | 1,476 | 144 | |||
| 3,096 |
12th & 6th US Army Groups (US; French)
| Armored Divisions | Independent Brigades | GHQ Battalions | Tank Destroyers | Sub-Total | Grand Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units | 18 Note 4 | 36 Note 5 | 25 Note 6 | |||
| No. in Unit | 263 *3 | 72 | 36 | |||
| Total | 4,988 | 2,592 | 900 | |||
| 8,480 | ||||||
| 11,576 |
*1 Defining a Tank as an “Armoured Fighting Vehicle with tracks and gun mounted in a turret with 360 degrees traverse”.
This therefore includes Tank Destroyers such as M10 Achillies but excludes Archer. In 21st AG it excludes light Tank M3 Stuart used for reconnaissance with the turret removed to lower the silhouette and reduce weight.,
*2 The Czech Brigade had only 36 tanks.
*3 The 2nd and 3rd US Armored divisions retained the earlier 390 tank establishment.
The Notes are given on P.2.
Conclusion
Churchill was not bluffing or guessing but had been well-briefed. He was capable – as was Stalin – of thinking strategically and still able to look into details. Roosevelt did not choose to.
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Note 1. 6 Armoured Divisions:– 7, 11, Guards, 4 Canadian, 5 Canadian, Polish.
79 is counted by its Brigades..
Table of Organisation Ref3. The Canadian and Polish are assumed to be the same as British.
Note 2. 10 Independent Brigades:– 1 Assault RE, 4, 6 Guards, 8, 30, 31, 33, 34, 2 Canadian, Czech
Note 3. 12 Tank Destroyer Batteries:– 2 per Armoured division, Ref. 4.
Note 4. 18 Armored Divisions:–
16 ” Light”:- 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 20. 1 French, 2 French, 5 French.
2 “Heavy”:- 2,3.
The French are assumed to be same Table as US.
Note 5. 36 GHQ Battalions:– Ref. 4. 70,701,702,707,709,712,714,717,735,736,737,738,739,740,741,743,744,745,746,747,748,749,750,
753,756,759,761,771,772,774,777,778,781,782,784,786.
Note 6. 25 Tank destroyer Battalions:- Ref. 6.
602, 609, 628, 629, 634, 636, 645, 654, 656, 661, 702, 703, 704, 705, 771, 773, 803, 806, 809, 811, 813, 814, 818, 827, 893.
“Pure Tanks”
If the count was limited to “Pure tanks”, with closed turrets, i.e. not including Tank Destroyers, the Total would have been 10,582.
Seated: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
Standing: Left to Right: Alexander; Ismay; Brooke; Cunningham; Unknown; King; Portal; Leahy; Marshall.
Only Churchill knew the answer to Stalin’s question about tanks.
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References
- The Conferences at Malta and Yalta: Uncorrected galley proof No. 518 US State Department 1945.
- The author has been unable to re-trace these remarks by Churchill and Stalin, which have certainly been reported.
- Victory in the West Vol 1 L. Ellis HMSO 1962.
- https://nigelef.tripod.com/anti-tank.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separate_tank_battalion#Units
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tank_destroyer_units_of_the_United_States_Army