American tanks used aircraft engines, planes used avgas, and the jeeps ran on gasoline as well. The German tanks had diesel engines. Is there some way to turn gasoline into diesel or do we just file this under the amazing huge number of WTH moments in this movie?
shareIn this movie's world, tanks run on fuel. There are no specifics needed!
--If they move, kill 'em!
Actually, in real life the Germans did go after at least one fuel depot during the battle (although the Panzers were knocked out by a US antiaircraft battery equipped with the same 90mm guns with which some tank destroyers and the soon to be deployed M26 Pershing were armed, and not by rolling down burning gasoline barrels at them).
German tanks also ran on gasoline. The "German tanks are diesel" myth was thanks to Karl Malden as Omar Bradley in Patton!
You lose. German tanks used gasoline. Tiger, gasoline. Panther, gasoline. PzKw I, II, II, and IV, gasoline. Other models, gasoline. And American tanks used different kinds of engines; yes, some were airplane radials; but others were V-8 road engines, and all of them used gasoline, just like the German tanks did.
Soviet tanks were the ones that used diesel engines.
If you knew the history of the real Battle of the Bulge, you would know the Germans were severely limited on fuel supplies, and did indeed go after Allied fuel stores out of necessity (unsuccessfully in the main).
Agreed. The film admits it is not entirely historically accurate when attempting to depict a dramatic story. One of the key concepts I think it did manage to convey was the severely depleted nature of the German fuel supplies.🐭
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