Why Btonze Age?

[Minimalist]

It just came to me.  The Renault ZT.  2-man crew, machine gun armed.  Generally exterminated during the Battle of France.

[The Grand Nudger]

All armored vehicles are infantry support, even today Abaris.  If it cant haul my ruck it's fucking worthless.   

[abaris]

All armored vehicles are infantry support, even today Abaris.  If it cant haul my ruck it's fucking worthless.   

But designed for different purposes and employed for different purposes. Also, and that's the point I'm trying to make, the allies at the start of WWII still fought WWI, whereas the Germans fought WWII right from the start. The secret for their early successes.

[The Grand Nudger]

They didn't actually...that's the myth of german superiority.  By the start of WW2 proper they had nearly a decade of "modern" combat experience and their designs changed to reflect that. The maligned panzer of conversation, for example, was a decimating weapon system in the 30's. It's many variants were great at behind the lines urban duty as well, simple stuff like oppressing the populace, long after they'd become obsolete @ the front.

WW2 was a war of industrial sandbagging, and the Nazis -never- learned to fight it. They went down and out still hoping that a wonderweapon would save them, which was a key factor in their defeat, as allied vehicles advanced past columns of abandoned armor.

[abaris]

They didn't actually...that's the myth of german superiority.  By the start of WW2 proper they had nearly a decade of "modern" combat experience and their designs changed to reflect that.

Yes, but still commuincating with flags between armored units and refueling in a long line, instead of the german on the fly system, using trucks by the roadside. Apart from the strategy of indepent tank units being implemented, apart from some rare cases.

[The Grand Nudger]

The flags still work when everything goes to shit.  The Nazis tried to get too fancy, and paid for it.

[Minimalist]

All armored vehicles are infantry support, even today Abaris.  If it cant haul my ruck it's fucking worthless.   

But designed for different purposes and employed for different purposes. Also, and that's the point I'm trying to make, the allies at the start of WWII still fought WWI, whereas the Germans fought WWII right from the start. The secret for their early successes.

The biggest mistake an army can make is to prepare to fight the last war rather than the next war.

[abaris]

The flags still work when everything goes to shit.  The Nazis tried to get too fancy, and paid for it.

Later on, for sure. But early on, radio communication along with refueling on the fly, gave them more than an edge. According to all military historians. French brass really wasn't on top of their game at the time. Apart from a select few like Gamelin and the obvious De Gaule, who wasn't but a colonel back then. But one of the first to notice the significance of independent tank units.

[abaris]

The biggest mistake an army can make is to prepare to fight the last war rather than the next war.

Which was one of the major advantages the German had at the start of WWII. Their old military elites gone and the necessity to rethink their whole strategy.

[Gawdzilla]

After the IV's arrived the I's were relegated to lesser roles, some being assigned to occupation forces for policing use.

They were also subject to wild modifications. Such as howitzers mounted to the chassis.

Sturmgeschutzen, "storm guns". Cheap(er) because there's no turret. The confiscated Czech tanks (as Panzerkampfwagen 38(t)) were popular for that. The (t) is because the German word for Czechoslovakia starts with a "t".