The German offensive in the spring of 1918 put all defensive questions into the background. This period, however, produced a new weapon, the German anti-tank rifle.
This rifle was first captured during the battle of Hamel on July 4. It had only just been issued to certain divisions; other divisions were equipped with it later on.
This weapon was 5 ft. 6 in. in length, it weighed 36 lb. and fired single shots, using A.P. ammunition of ·530 calibre. It was too conspicuous and too slow a weapon to be really effective against tanks, though it could easily penetrate them at several hundred yards range. Its chief disadvantage was that the German soldier would not use it; not only was he not trained to do so, but he was afraid of its kick, and still more afraid of the tanks themselves. It is doubtful if 1 per cent. of the anti-tank rifles captured in our tank attacks had ever been fired at all.
The French counter-attack between the Aisne and the Marne in July, followed by the British victories of Amiens and Bapaume in August, struck through the opacity of the German General Staff like a bolt from out the blue, with a result that a complete volte face was made as regards tanks. The instructions now issued gave anti-tank defence the first place in every project; the eyes of General Ludendorff were now opened, and, realising the seriousness of the tank problem, on July 22 he wrote as follows:
“The utmost attention must be paid to combat tanks—our earlier successes against tanks lead to a certain contempt for this weapon of warfare. We must, however, now reckon with more dangerous tanks.”
This is a more human document than those subsequently issued by the German Chief of the General Staff. Ludendorff now clearly realised that anti-tank defence had been neglected; he probably realised also that this neglect would be difficult to explain to the army and the public, which, as a result of failures, were about to become far more critical of their leaders than ever before.
It is not clear, however, whether Ludendorff realised a still more serious aspect of the tank problem, namely, that it was now too late to organise an efficient defence against the “more dangerous tanks.” Such a defence might have been created before these tanks were available in effective numbers; it could not be organised now unless the pressure the Allies were now exerting could be relieved. This was impossible, for the motive force of this pressure was the tank.
The steps which the German General Staff now took to combat the tank are interesting. Special officers were appointed to the staffs of Groups of Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Brigades, whose sole duty it was to deal with anti-tank defence within these formations. The field gun was at length recognised as the most efficient anti-tank weapon available. These guns were organised as follows:
(i) A few forward and silent guns in each divisional sector—outpost guns.
(ii) Sections from batteries in reserve were allotted definite sectors. On a tank attack taking place, they would gallop forward and engage any tank entering the sector allotted to the section. These sections of guns proved the backbone of the German anti-tank defence.