Tanks were a huge aspect of ground fighting during the war. One of the first tanks used was the Italian M 13/40, which was unreliable and slow at best, therefore this tank did not last long in battle. Axis forces dubbed this tank the mobile coffin for its weak armor plate and all other small tanks defeated it. Allied forces later came to depend on the British Matilda. It had a 2-pound turret gun and a top speed of 15 mph, which was certainly considered quite fast for a tank in 1941. The British Matilda also had a 78mm armor plate and could stand most heavy fire. This tank ruled the grounds, but Axis engineers were busy developing a b

Nearing the end of the war Ally forces finally fashioned a tank superior to the Panzer III. This tank boasted a 30mm turret gun, and a 75mm gun mounted on the hull; this tank was named the Grant Tank. "It could go through all other tanks like butter" (Collier 90). This tank was so successful because of its extremely thick reinforced steel plate. Though these tanks ruled the ground, the water was another story.

With officers frequently hiding away in enclosures, it was dangerous to send troops in after them. Usually armed, these men would kill or injure several men before brought to justice. For these hideaways the flamethrower was made. "This weapon is simply pressurized gasoline and oil being lit while sprayed" (Collier 77). Shooting this into caves quickly absorbs all available oxygen, suffocating its victims. The flamethrower sounds very cruel, but in truth, it rarely comes in contact with its enemies. This weapon was one of the last developed in the war, but Hitler had a few tricks to come.

Throughout the war Hitler had vengeance weapons planned in case defeat was certain for him. When defeat was apparent Hitler sent out his V-1 vengeance rockets, which were not rockets at all, but exploded over a large area. Theses rockets were usually shot down because they flew only 300 mph, and when shot across the English Channel, proximity fuses were shot at it which blew up all around it, causing it to explode mid-air. Hitler knew that to get any real vengeance he had to produce a better rocket, and with that German engineers went straight to work. In only 2 months these engineers had created a real rocket. This V-2 rocket traveled 3,000 mph, and was virtually impossible to shoot down. Though this creation was impressive, it was too late for Hitler, and the launch pads were simply bombed, and so soon after Hitler fell.

With all the infantry troops easily sent overseas by Allied forces, the Axis power had to devise a way to stop them. U-boats or submarines had been invented years earlier, but did not have the firepower to sink any large vessels. Axis engineers finally devised a way to sink these large ships. The answer was the fused torpedo, which would hit with a tremendous force, but not explode for approximately twenty seconds, almost doubling the damage done (Steinberg 134). These torpedoes could be fired from most all u-boats, and could sink even the largest of ships. This method was very effective for Axis forces, but soon the Allies also had this technology. The seas then became extremely important to control, because if the seas were controlled, the large vessels could send troops anywhere.

Both Axis and Ally forces used many kinds of aircraft. Bombers were the most popular for quick damage. B-24's were the main bombers used by Ally forces early in the war, but their accuracy definitely needed improvement. 480 B-24's had dropped 1,285 tons of bombs in France. This attack was completely ineffective and costly. The attack killed only French civilians and their livestock (Keegan 46). Many other attacks devastated their own troops, enraging them, and even sometimes opening fire on them. "Opened fire on their own

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Approximate Word count = 2142
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)