Historically, what methods have irregular forces used to disable tanks?
Upvote:-1
Let me add that Ukrainian government is currently publishing on Internet simple recipes for making Molotov c**ktails. Another method used by unarmed civilians is to create road blocks from any available material. The main immediate goal is to stop the tanks, even if you cannot destroy them. Destroying fuel tankers is also a very effective mean since a tank without fuel is of little use.
Historically, all kinds of methods were tried, among more exotic ones, delivering of explosives to a tank by specially trained dogs (I know that this was used by the Soviets in WWII from the first-hand sources). But the primary modern tool is a hand-held cumulative grenade launcher; they are cheap and portable.
Upvote:4
The first tanks were designed to be proof against rifle fire and rifle-caliber machine guns. Countermeasures included field guns (out of the scope of the question) and anti-tank rifles, either a larger caliber or standard calibers with armor-piercing bullets. Another option were larger-than-normal grenades, e.g. by wiring several heads to a Stielhandgranate.
Between the world wars, tanks got tougher, and anti-tank cannon around 37mm were introduced (also out of the scope of your question). Anti-tank rifles were still in use at the beginning of WWII, but they were increasingly ineffective. At the end of WWII shaped-charge weapons were developed (also out of scope for your question).
The usual measure for forces without an arms industry was the Molotov Cocktail, a firebomb made of gasoline, a bottle, and some other components. Tanks have since become more resistant to flame, but a burning puddle seeping into the air intakes remains a bad thing.
When one stands next to a tank, and one hasn't been shot by the other tanks in the platoon, it is also an option to try and jam the tracks. Rocks, concrete, or iron bars might damage track elements and running wheels of a moving tank. That may be an option if unsupposed tanks are sent against a demonstration, and not allowed to shoot indiscriminately. It is not a good plan in battle.
And regarding those supposedly abandoned tanks, one way to deal with tanks is to shoot at their fuel trucks. Russian tanks have a road range around 500 km with extra fuel drums. In battle, off-roads, the range is much lower.
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