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Tank Hack Ensured Farmland Didn't Thwart the Invasion of Europe
szczys writes: Ingenuity reigns supreme when trying to overcome obstacles standing in your way. So was the case during the Allied invasion of Europe during WWII. Land features in the Normandy bocage region were especially difficult for tanks to navigate. The obstacles were earthen dikes topped with mature trees originally put in place to contain livestock. The solution was to reuse materials from the Axis' own anti-tank measures to build a tank attachment to cut through the obstacles. The Allies were able to take the Axis by surprise as it was assumed the armored divisions wouldn't be able to break through this area.
This was on the History Channel, "Band Of Brothers", etc.
The latest generation needs their chance to learn it, just as my generation did.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
Yep, it's an awesome improvised hack. I'm a WW2 history aficionado, so of course I'd heard about this before.
For all the unbelievably thorough preparations made for the allied invasion, historians and laypersons alike have always found it fascinating or puzzling that apparently no thought was given to the potential tactical disadvantages the bocage (hedgerows) would have on the allied advance, or how the allies might try to cope with it. It took a lone Sergeant in the Army tank corps to come up with a reasonable solution to the problem. I suppose nothing tends to motivate you like facing a potentially lethal situation.
I'd rank it up there with the CO2 scrubber hack on the Apollo 13 mission.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.