Editing M3 Stuart (section)

===Obsolescence and replacement===
When the U.S. Army joined the North African Campaign in late 1942, Stuart units still formed a large part of its armor strength. After the disastrous [[Battle of Kasserine Pass]], the U.S. quickly followed the British in disbanding most of their light tank [[battalion]]s and reorganizing medium tank battalions to include one company of light tanks, where the Stuarts mostly performed the traditional cavalry missions of scouting and screening; for the rest of the war, most U.S. tank battalions had three [[company (military unit)|companies]] of M4 Shermans and one company of M3s or M5/M5A1s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryresearch.org/17-25%2018Nov44.pdf|title=T/O&E 17–25 Tank Battalion (18 November 1944)|access-date=18 June 2016 |work=militaryresearch.org}}</ref>
[[File:MundaTankMine.jpg|thumb|A Marine Captain inspects an un-exploded [[Type 99 mine]] attached to his M3A1 Stuart during the [[Battle of Munda Point]] in August 1943]]

In Europe, Allied light tanks were given cavalry and infantry fire support roles since their light main armament was not competitive against heavier enemy armored fighting vehicles. However, the Stuart was still effective in combat in the [[Pacific Theatre of World War II|Pacific Theater]], as [[List of Japanese tanks and armoured vehicles of the WWII period|Japanese tanks]] were both relatively rare and were lighter in armor than even Allied light tanks.<ref>Hunnicutt (Stuart) p. 475 M2A4 had 1" thick armor/p. 478 M3 had 1{{fraction|1|4}}" thick armor</ref><ref>Zaloga (Japanese Tanks) p. 29 plate D, "Type 95 had 12&nbsp;mm thick armor"</ref> [[Imperial Japanese Army#The Second World War|Japanese infantrymen]] were not well equipped with [[anti-tank]] weapons, and as such had to use close assault tactics. In this environment, the Stuart was only moderately more vulnerable than medium tanks.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
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Though the Stuart was to be completely replaced by the newer M24 Chaffee, the number of M3s/M5s produced was so great (over 25,000 including the 75mm HMC M8) that the tank remained in service until the end of the war, and well after. In addition to the U.S, UK and Soviet Union, who were the primary users, it was also used by France (M3A3 and M5A1), [[Republic of China (1912–49)|China]] (M3A3s and, immediately post-war, M5A1s) and [[Josip Broz Tito]]'s [[Yugoslav Partisans|Partisans in Yugoslavia]] (M3A3s and few M3A1).

With the limitations of both the main gun (see below) and armor, the Stuart's intended combat role in Western Europe was changed significantly. Light tank companies were often paired with cavalry reconnaissance units, or else used for guarding or screening, and even used in supply or messenger roles for medium tank units.{{efn|"At approximately 1720 hours on June 1st (the light tank) company... was called upon to move to the vicinity of 032465 (Velletri) to form an armored guard for the 85th Division C.P.. Three other light tanks of the company were used as liaison between the medium tanks companies of the regimental command post. This use of light tanks proved to be the most effective way of maintaining communication between the tanks and infantry regimental headquarters."<ref>{{citation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107021540/http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/p4013coll8/id/3422/rec/17 |archive-date=7 November 2019 |url= http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/p4013coll8/id/3422/rec/17 |author=Headquarters 760th Tank Battalion |title=Operations in Italy 1944 |page=108 |work=Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library}}</ref> }}

==== Limitations of the 37mm gun ====
On 9 December 1944, the [[759th Tank Battalion (United States)|759th Tank Battalion]] advanced on a hill near [[Kreuzau|Bogheim]] but was subjected to a counter-attack by German forces, including a heavy self-propelled [[assault gun]], which took "over 100 direct hits" at ranges as low as {{convert|75|yd|m|abbr=on}} with "no appreciable damage".<ref>{{cite report |archive-date=17 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917135704/http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p4013coll8/id/3930 |url=http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p4013coll8/id/3930 |title=After action report, 759th Light Tank Battalion, July 44 through March 45 |date=4 May 1945 |page=27 |access-date=19 June 2017 |via=Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library}}</ref>

In January 1945, a report to General Eisenhower concluded that the Stuart was "obsolete in every respect as a fighting tank" and that it would not "turn the German fire [n]or [would] the 37mm gun damage the German tanks or SP guns".<ref>{{cite book|last=Zaloga |first=Steven J.|title=US Armored Divisions – The European Theater of Operations, 1944–45|series=Battle Orders 3|year=2004|publisher=Osprey |isbn=978-1-84176-564-8|page=34}}</ref>