What on earth....

he attached photograph rather reminds one of a garbage can on wheeels-or a tank for le prerchauns...A friend photographedputside the Military Museum., in Buenos Aires ..First he showed several of us the photo, then iut an episode of a 1960s documentary series called " World War One: narrated by Robert Ryan..and lo and behold..!this was apparently a French attempt to overcome artillery shells and machine gun fire.. Several French soldiers are actually shown crawling inside these weird, man-powered contraptions in a practice run....Obviously, the idea never caught on..

Having said this; does anyone know whether there was an official designation for these tin cans....??

 

it is a infantry shield
this one is at the Patton Museum at Ft. Knox, Kentucky

 

so the question is: how in the hell can you move, avoid been shot and fire at the enemy at the same time?

 

My guess?? you don't..now, can you imagine trying to advance through the mud or crawl out if a shell crater with one of these?... l have no idea how much they weighed either...

 

the sorry part is i can not find any detail or spec of this gizmo, so my answer is as good as yours

 

The lack of info is an obvious attempt to erase all traces of such a ridiculous, miserable idea and an obvious crime against humanity ? hahahaha ! THe whole sorry thing would sound like like a bad joke if it wasn't for that documentary that l mentioned....

"They send one of your guys to the hospital, you send one of theirs to the morgue! That's the Chicago Way"

 

Why do I think that if this contraption had an Iron Cross on it, everyone would think it was the greatest thing since sliced bread?

 

Sliced bread is evil!

 

I've seen a picture of a German using a similar metal shield, but no one's hailing it as the best thing since sliced bread!

 

Hey Roel, You don't think like infantry It was an useless piece of junk no matter who designed it...

 

can you share that pic?

 

No, it was in a book somewhere... Sorry.

Scaramouche: it seems like you are talking to Danyel Phelps, not to me. In any case, I'm sure the message was meant sarcastically to express the feeling that liking German stuff is almost a fetish among some.

 

at least can you name that book?

 

Well, you're right. blame it on sleep deprivation. and l do have a fetish for some German stuff- Deustches bier !

 

Any soldier advancing behind this odd armored shield on wheels will probably attract fire from elephant guns (used by British in WWI against German snipers behind armor plates), or other larger caliber weapons, that usually means a terrible death.

 

or fall pray to the common hand grenade, not to speak of the artillery fire...

 

Or get the shield stuck in mud/barbed wire/uneven ground...

 

Or get shot in the leg at an angle from someone who can see him crawl behind that thing at a distance...

 

Chalk it up to another war time inspired brain fart.

 

Well, an armoured shield that allows your soldier to move forwards without being shot (but can still shoot at the enemy) must have sounds like a great idea to the generals in their Chateaux 200 miles behind the lines. And I'm sure it worked fabulously when tested in a delightful summer meadow...
:roll: