In the aftermath of the Great War, which saw the introduction of the
tank, the more far sighted military leaders realised that the future of warfare
hinged on a balance of mobility, firepower and protection.
Tanks would need to be accompanied into battle by supporting arms,
specifically infantry, artillery and engineers. An all fully-tracked field army
was thought to be too expensive, so the semi-tracked support vehicle (commonly
called a half-track) was born. The half-track concept was embraced by the
French, the US and most
notably Germany.
The Germans commissioned numerous types of half tracked tractors,
which were classified by the weight of their towed load. These vehicles were
designated Sonderkraffarzeug (special motorised vehicle), abbreviated as SdKfz.
Without these vehicles the Blitzkrieg would not have been possible.
These front-wheel steering vehicles with tracked drive transformed
the fighting quality of the armoured divisions. They carried the infantry
alongside the advancing Panzers and brought guns and pontoon-bridge sections.
The half-track also became the preferred reconnaissance
vehicle.
