Any famous Allied Tank Commanders?

Yossarian

Forum Resistance Leader
I have been researching the armored conflicts in the Second WW. And have run across names like Otto Carius , and Michael Wittman and their exploits for the Germans.

However I am wondering are their any famous Allied Tank or Vehicle commanders worth noting as well? I am not so interested in Generals or even high ranking field officers. I am looking for vehicle commanders and their crews.

Thanks again

-Yo.
 
Lt. Colonel Creighton Abrams

Lt. Colonel Creighton Abrams – Top WWII Tank Commander for the United States – Using M4 Sherman tanks, Abrams and his crew are credited with destroying an estimated 50 German armed fighting vehicles. Abrams military career continued on through the Korean War and Vietnam War
 
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I have been researching the armored conflicts in the Second WW. And have run across names like Otto Carius , and Michael Wittman and their exploits for the Germans.

However I am wondering are their any famous Allied Tank or Vehicle commanders worth noting as well? I am not so interested in Generals or even high ranking field officers. I am looking for vehicle commanders and their crews.

Thanks again

-Yo.

1st lt. Lavrinenko Dmitriy Fyodorovich (Russia)
Colonel Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters (Canada)
General Pierre Billotte (France)
Lieutenant Ion S. Dumitru (Romanian serving with Russia)
Joe Ekins (Britain - claimed the tank of Wittmann)
Chief Warrant Officer Lafeyette G. Pool (USA)
Roman Orlik (Poland)
Sergant Douglas Kay (Britain)

+ A truck load of Russians.
 
Cool stuff thats a good bit of leading information.

Interesting case with Lieutenant Ion S. Dumitru. Fought with both the German occupiers and the Russians?

It's situations like this that makes me wonder how many Eastern Europeans felt especially countries like Ukraine. Having one invading army replaced by another. I wonder if Dumitru ever felt like he was fighting truly for his own country?


This should keep me busy for a while. Thanks again guys
 
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Romania "switched sides" after the soviets occupied them.


I know I know, yet I always wondered how Romanian servicemen felt about that instance in the War.

Especially Soviet opinion into the Cold War.

Then again Understanding his situation I suppose it would have been logical to do so.
 
Romania

Cool stuff thats a good bit of leading information.

Interesting case with Lieutenant Ion S. Dumitru. Fought with both the German occupiers and the Russians?

It's situations like this that makes me wonder how many Eastern Europeans felt especially countries like Ukraine. Having one invading army replaced by another. I wonder if Dumitru ever felt like he was fighting truly for his own country?


This should keep me busy for a while. Thanks again guys

Romania had a mutual defense alliance with Germany. Mainly to protect the oilfields at Ploesti and allow troops in as a staging point for Operation Barbarossa.

However they were an independent ally of Germany, not a conquered nation of Germany like say Poland, France "non-Vichy" or the Ukraine. Romania sent it's 3rd and 4th armies to fight along side AGS for operation Barbarossa. They fought in many famous battles: Sevastopol, Stalingrad, Crimea.

Their mutual enemy was the USSR until the summer of 44 when Soviet forces moved into Romania and a complicated series of events took place that ended up with Romania becoming a satellite of the USSR.
 
Romania had a mutual defense alliance with Germany. Mainly to protect the oilfields at Ploesti and allow troops in as a staging point for Operation Barbarossa.

However they were an independent ally of Germany, not a conquered nation of Germany like say Poland, France "non-Vichy" or the Ukraine. Romania sent it's 3rd and 4th armies to fight along side AGS for operation Barbarossa. They fought in many famous battles: Sevastopol, Stalingrad, Crimea.

Their mutual enemy was the USSR until the summer of 44 when Soviet forces moved into Romania and a complicated series of events took place that ended up with Romania becoming a satellite of the USSR.

Ah I see know, although the whole Romanian population may not agreed, the Germans must've had littler difficulty walking into Romania when the war really began to heat up.

However like much of Europe I am sure many unfortunate citizens there got caught in the crossfire.

He certainly was lucky, Dumitru could have easily rotted away in Soviet Prison camps had he not escaped. I suppose it was go communist or die at that point.
 
Romania had a mutual defense alliance with Germany. Mainly to protect the oilfields at Ploesti and allow troops in as a staging point for Operation Barbarossa.

However they were an independent ally of Germany, not a conquered nation of Germany like say Poland, France "non-Vichy" or the Ukraine. Romania sent it's 3rd and 4th armies to fight along side AGS for operation Barbarossa. They fought in many famous battles: Sevastopol, Stalingrad, Crimea.

Their mutual enemy was the USSR until the summer of 44 when Soviet forces moved into Romania and a complicated series of events took place that ended up with Romania becoming a satellite of the USSR.

Lets not forget that there were problems between the Russians and Romanians as early as 1939 and that the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact acknowledged Russian interest in regaining Bessarabia from the Romanians.
 
Romania

Monty,
That's why I stated their mutual enemy. While Germany's military was busy in the west Russia used the opportunity to seize modern day Moldavia. Since it put the Soviets closer to Ploiesti. I didn't remember that this move was allowed in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact as was the seizure of the Baltic states.
BTW that's an interesting point Moldavia was a part of Czarist Russia and was given to Romania in post WW1 Europe.
 
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