§ Sir S. Reedasked the Secretary of State for War whether, in the pursuit of the enemy from Falaise to Holland, he is satisfied that the Cromwell and Sherman tanks were found fast, reliable and easy to manoeuvre; and how far the actions in Normandy confirmed the Russian experience that the antidote to the tank is the self-propelled gun and not the heavy tank.
§ Sir J. GriggJudging by results I should say that the Cromwell and Sherman tanks proved eminently effective in the rôle for which they were designed. These tanks, of course, played a great part in the very rapid advance from the Orne to the Scheldt, the Albert Canal and beyond. As regards the second part of the Question, there is no single antidote to the tank. This antidote is to be found in a suitable combination of all kinds of arms and weapons including, of course, some of those fired from aircraft. Incidentally, our heavy tanks achieved considerable success both in Normandy and in Italy.