Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought- provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

Category: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War  -- See latest WWII news here. See also 'WW2 Tanks: T34, Panther, King Tiger', 'Nazi Uniforms', 'Medals: Most Decorated Soldiers', 'Military Models', 'Anti-Tank weapons'.

Battle tanks: Obsolescent or still important - Lessons from World War II
Even after the Nazi blitzkrieg victories, the use of battle tanks was badly understood by the Allied militaries. British generals attempted to use tanks as independent "land cavalry" forces - As a result, tanks fell victim to German 88mm guns. Bernard Montgomery was the first Allied commander to integrate the use of tanks with artillery and infantry, as the German blitzkrieg generals Erich von Manstein and "Hurrying" Heinz Guderian had done. A classic example of the abuse of tanks was Herman Hoth's Fourth Panzer Army at Stalingrad in 1942. Hoth's previously invincible tanks were destroyed by General Vassily Chuikov's 62nd Army in close quarters fighting in the ruins.     [ upi :: 2008-02-29 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Lester K. Zick - Decorated World War II tank gunner who saw D-Day
Lester K. Zick, a WWII anti-tank gunner who wrote of his experiences landing with the 29th Division on D-Day, died at 89. In 1941, he joined the 175th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division. On May 30, 1944, his anti-tank company was loaded aboard a landing ship tank and, on June 6, 1944 at 6:30 a.m. they headed toward Omaha Beach. ... Zick also tells of an incident when a U.S. enlisted man on horseback murdered 2 POWs. "He then took out his pistol and shot the two Germans prisoners in the back of the head." Once his men were frustrated to dig foxholes because French villagers had buried hundreds of dishes for safekeeping.     [ baltimoresun :: 2008-02-18 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Platoon sergeant of the 745th tank battalion earned 3 Silver Stars
Ed Ireland enlisted in the Army in 1942 to be part of a tank battalion: "I walked everywhere as a kid, and I didn't want to walk anymore." He was assigned to the 745th tank battalion, part of the assault force that stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day. He saw many battles: "I was a platoon sergeant... Our tank exploded. I was on fire. I was thrown from the tank and landed in a watery ditch... I lost two men in that explosion." He was also shot twice; once a bullet went through helmet and grazed his scalp. Another time his tank destroyed 3 enemy tanks. But in one of those battles, he lost one leg and the use of the second, making him a double amputee.     [ southtownstar :: 2008-01-14 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Building replica WWII battle tanks keep teens off the streets in Siberia
Siberian grandfather Vyacheslav Veryovochkin, with a passion for military history, desires to pass his enthusiasm on to the next generation. So he's instructing his grandson how to build replica tanks from World War II. He is the only man in Russia building working replicas of tanks and armoured cars. He started to make them a few years ago: "My grandson was growing up ... I made an armoured car with him and his friends as a project. So they were here doing this, not hanging around in the street." From being a hobby, it has taken on a life of its own. Having been purchased by a collector, some of the models will appear in films.     [ russiatoday :: 2008-01-05 ]

Stolen World War II tank - Bulgarian army major, 2 Germans arrested
Bulgaria's police apprehended two Germans and a Bulgarian army major over stealing a vintage tank by Maybach. In November the group dug up the old German battle tank from the time of the World War II, put in the ground near the southern Bulgarian border in order to be used as a stationary gun. In December they attempted steal another buried up Maybach near the town of Yambol but the police stepped in. Military experts said there are few tanks of the same type in the world still outside the military museums and the thieves could gain a good profit by selling the machines to collectors.     [ iht :: 2007-12-19 ]

Tank veteran's memories
Louis Baczewski keeps his faded WWII tank driver's license with him all the time. His memories are tied to it. On Veterans Day, he dons his U.S. Army dog tags and wears them proudly, remembering a younger man who achieved the rank of sergeant and drove a tank with the 3rd Armored Division, 33rd Armored Regiment, D Company. He survived the Battle of the Bulge when many others didn't, including his tank commander - and his assistant driver got killed by a German sniper. During the Battle of the Bulge his unit lost 15 battle tanks. The entire 3rd Armored Division lost 163 light and medium tanks. He saw a tank in front of his explode, burning the men inside to death.     [ bnd :: 2007-11-12 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Veteran recalls the Normandy Invasion - Amphibious Sherman tank
On June 6, 1944, D-Day, Stanley Maher was in a life and death struggle. He was an Intelligence Regimental Non Commissioned Officer for the Fort Garry Horse 10th Canadian Armed Regiment during the amphibious phase of the Normandy invasion. "I was put into a Sherman tank that had been rigged with a snorkel, so ... it could roll along the bottom and still breathe, but it could only go in 8 feet of water." The Allied ships pulled as close to the beaches as possible, opened up their bellies to let dozens of tanks roll into enemy waters. "The ramp opened up, we hit the bottom of the ocean and the next thing I knew water was pouring into the tank from everywhere..."     [ lookoutnewspaper :: 2007-11-07 ]

World War II Sherman tank gunner
Ross Parsons operated both the 17-lb big gun and a 300 Browning machine gun - and he was one of the fortunate ones. Many of his army comrades lie in military cemeteries, victims of World War II tank and infantry battles of 1945. His battle tank, a Sherman, never got hit. "We were very lucky." The push into Nazi Germany started in Feb. of 1945. The German resistance stiffened as they pushed for the Rhine River. They fought through two forests, the Reichswald and the Hochwald, facing artillery and even naval guns mounted on rail cars. "That Hochwald was a dirty business. They shelled us with 10 inch naval guns. It was pretty hard on the infantry."     [ lakesideleader :: 2007-11-07 ]

George Jenkin won Military Cross within 24 hours of Normandy landing
In June 1944 the East Riding Yeomanry (ERY) were among the first armoured units in action on D-Day. The next day 3 Troop, B Squadron, commanded by George Jenkin, was supporting a company of 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) in an attack on Cambes-en-Plaine. On the way there his troop was engaged by a Mark VI Tiger Tank and two Mark IVs. After one of them had been knocked out, he advanced towards the village... "The place was swarming with Germans." He destroyed a half-track, an AA carrier, 3 ammunition lorries. Later Jenkin dismounted from his tank, but could not return because of snipers. While talking to anti-tank officers, he spotted 2 Mark IV tanks...     [ telegraph :: 2007-08-17 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

World War II 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion members have reunion
11 veterans, out of the 650 men that served in WWII as part of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion, gathered June 14-17 to share their war experiences. They fought in 5 of the 6 European campaigns and were often recognized as the "fightingest battalion during WWII." Equipped with M-8s, M-18s and other armed vehicles, they helped take down Adolf Hitler's Panzer Corps and clear the way for victory. "We were going back to find a lost vehicle where one of our M-8s got stuck on a mission to give relief to the 101st Airborne Division. We came across some Germans... and they started firing on us. Our major, Gabriel McNair was hit in the face..." tells James Holcomb.     [ savannahnow :: 2007-07-06 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Midnight breakout out from WWII Budapest in King Tiger tank
Joe Senzig served as tank commander in the Wermacht's Panzer command: first of a Panther medium tank, then later of 63-ton King Tiger tank. In the wake of the loss at Stalingrad, German Panzer units struggled to retreat across eastern Europe, pursued by Soviet soldiers. Finally, encircled by Soviet armored units at Budapest, 13 battle tanks attempted a daring midnight breakout toward the American 3rd Army. Senzig's Tiger tank would emerge as one of 4 tanks to complete the 15-mile run for survival. The burning wreckage of the 9 tanks lighted the roadway like bonfires at a Nuremberg rally. He survived the war, including a Soviet sniper's bullet which grazed his head.     [ daily-journal :: 2007-05-22 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Kiwi tank men came close to success at Cassino in World War II
Ron Crosby's book, Albaneta; Lost Opportunity at Cassino, details a little-known opportunity for C Squadron of the 20th Armoured Regiment to launch a surprise attack on the Germans, and seize the monastery on Monte Cassino. The reason Operation Revenge was not successful was because the tanks were not supported by infantry and armour. "There is no doubt that the Germans were initially taken by surprise, but without the infantry they (the tanks) were a sitting duck." The C Squadron tanks, with the aid of the 4th Indian Division, managed to build a road that would carry battle tanks to a strategic position overlooking enemy-held territory.     [ stuff :: 2007-04-17 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

World War II still haunts Ira Williams - With 3rd Armored Division
Article no longer available from the original source.
Ira Williams served with the First Army in the 3rd Armored Division, the Spearhead Division. It led the American Army and liberated France, Belgium and Nazi Germany's western frontier. He has many military-related stories. Some are sad. Some will never be told. Once he captured 8 Germans with an empty 22-caliber rifle. "We lost so many, including my division commander, a 3-star general," he said, recalling the battle in which the Germans inflicted heavy casualties, including Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose, 3rd Armored Division commander. The 3rd Armored Division's "Spearhead in the West (1941-1945)," which documents the division's battles, is dedicated to Rose.     [ thelancasternews :: 2007-03-29 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

134th Ordinance Battalion: Keeping Patton's tanks rolling in WWII
Article no longer available from the original source.
John McNaull was a new recruit when the 12th Armored Division was formed at Camp Campbell, Ky., in 1942. The new unit was shipped out to England. "All our tanks and equipment were sent ahead to France, but General George S. Patton grabbed them. So we had to be re-equipped." McNaull, a sergeant overseeing an 18-man maintenance team in the 134th Ordinance Battalion, said his job was simple: "Keep 'em running. Any way you can." The tank mechanics worked under appalling conditions - welding under canvas so German fighter plane pilots wouldn't spot the sparks. Sometimes they did. So did enemy gunners with their 88s: "You could hear those things coming."     [ centralohio :: 2007-03-06 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Spearheading the 12th Armored Division's drive without insignia
Dolore "Bus" Trudeau had firsthand knowledge of what Gen. George Patton was up to in World War 2. Trudeau and his fellow soldiers were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for spearheading the 12th Armored Division's drive across the Saar Palatinate to the Rhine River in March of 1945 as part of General Patton's plan to halt the German advance and secure a bridge. Secret mission: Patton ordered that soldiers remove all shoulder patches and vehicle markings and were thereafter known only as the Mystery Division. The battle began at Trier on March 18 "with orders to leave "enemy strong points for the infantry to mop up.     [ daily-journal :: 2007-02-06 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Interview with World War II Panzerman from 2nd Panzer Division
Service in the Panzerwaffe would ensure that Rolf Hertenstein would work with engines and be a member of an elite branch of the service. He was assigned to the 2nd Panzer Division, commanded by Major General Heinz Guderian. He was part of the armored force that rolled across the Polish border in Sept 1939 and demonstrated the power of Germany's mechanized tactics. After the lightning campaign of conquest in the 4th Panzer Regiment, he attended officer training school in Wünsdorf. In an interview with World War II Magazine, he discusses his days with the Panzerwaffe and the Wehrmacht's first victories.     [ historynet :: 2007-01-24 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Old Soviet battle tank T-34 still tops for durability
The Soviet T-34 tank, introduced to Stalin by Mikhail Koshkin in 1940, still holds the first place in the Military Channel's Top 10 tanks list. Koshkin, who died in 1940 from pneumonia caught during the tank's test-drive, created a very reliable and simple-to-build design, which balanced the firepower, armor and mobility. In WWII, his concept proved to be victorious. At the first battles with German tanks, the T-34 came as a total shock to the Nazis. A single T-34 could be built in about 40 hours, and it became the most-produced tank of the war. The first time Koshkin, Red Army soldier at the time, saw tanks (british Mk Vs) was in 1919 in Arkhangelsk.     [ masslive :: 2006-12-14 :: Vintage Military Vehicles (AFV) & Battle Tanks ]

The map of the route his tank company took after D-Day
Floyd Rice was a part of Company F, 36th Cavalry Recon Squad, an armored company with 17 battle tanks. On the D-day beach the commander advised to dig foxholes. The ground was hard and the foxholes were only a few inches. When the German forces bombed the area, the men took shelter under the tanks. "We dug no more foxholes." During the first days the company lost 13 of their 17 tanks in battle. Later a sniper shot one of his men in the arm when he was standing in the tank turret. When he replaced the wounded man, he was grazed by a bullet. At that point, he cut loose with the 50 caliber machine guns and "quieted the snipers down."     [ californiademocrat :: 2006-11-20 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Soldier led 10th Armored Division tanks into Nazi Germany
George Sutherland was in the vanguard of Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army atop his light tank fighting his way into Nazi Germany. A staff sergeant in command of a reconnaissance platoon of 5 battle tanks, he spearheaded the 10th Armored Division. The shooting war for him began with the capture of Metz. Then his unit got in a shootout with a German unit. "I spread my tanks out in a line and advanced toward the woods firing our 75-mm guns... There was so much enemy fire coming at us, I pulled my tanks back... behind me I saw a Jeep pull up, Gen. Patton got out of the Jeep wearing his ivory-handled revolvers. He walked up to me and said, 'Who's in charge of these pea shooters?'"     [ sun-herald :: 2006-10-30 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

With the 750th Battle Tank Battalion during World War II
Michael Altamura served with the 750th Tank Battalion during World War II. The battalion suffered 357 casualties out of 600 men. After spending 3 1/2 years in the battalion, he resented Americas who had not experienced battle. "The sanitized post-WWII movies with John Wayne, Errol Flynn and other war heroes were a farce and didn't portray how we fought, lived, died or felt in combat." Soldiers viewed their trenches as "our already dug graves." His best friend, Sgt. Eddie Oryll, gave his own life to save Altamura's. While they were stopped to repair their battle tanks, Oryll realized that a Luftwaffe plane flying overhead had just released cluster bombs...     [ azcentral :: 2006-09-17 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

The soldiers of the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion
Article no longer available from the original source.
The 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion played an important role in beating the Nazi regime Southern Bavaria and Austria. Along the way, they apprehended gestapo agents, recovered Nazi loot, fired 76,231 rounds of ammunition, destroyed 106 enemy weapons, neutralized 137 strongpoints, and earned 525 decorations and awards. The men of the 629th were trained on M-10 tanks, but switched over to M-36 tanks, which had greater accuracy and "hitting power," and was the most powerful anti-tank weapon in the U.S. at the time. Each tank held five men who rotated positions of driver, assistant driver, gunner, assistant gunner, and tank sergeant.     [ mlive :: 2006-08-29 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Sherman tank gunner during WWII in 7th Armored Division
Lloyd Hull has no idea if he ever killed anyone while firing the big gun on his Sherman tank during World War II. He was a member of the 7th Armored Division, landing well after D-Day, and taking part in the Battle of the Bulge. He was member of the 736th Tank Battalion and a gunner for an M4 Sherman tank: "It was a 76 mm, but nowhere as good as that German 88. Now there was a weapon." Hull noted that infantrymen would always be happy to ride the tanks or shelter behind their armor. "But when fighting started, they'd jump off and move away. They never wanted to be inside a tank while the fighting was going on and I would have jumped off too if I could have."     [ mansfieldnewsjournal :: 2006-07-24 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Estimating number of tanks Nazi Germany produced
By 1941 the allies knew that their tanks had been superior to German Panzer tanks in combat, but they were worried about the new marks IV and V (Panther). They had very little idea of how many tanks Nazi Germany was capable of producing, and intelligence estimates were unreliable. The statisticians had one key piece of information, which was the serial numbers on captured mark V tanks. They believed that the Germans, being Germans, had logically numbered their tanks in the order in which they were produced. They estimated that the Germans produced 246 tanks per month. Intelligence said 1,400 per month. After the war records showed that production was 245 per month.     [ guardian :: 2006-07-22 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

The hero who wiped out Hitler's tank ace Michael Wittmann
As a German war hero, he was in a deadly class of his own - having destroyed nearly 300 enemy panzers and guns. So astonishing were Michael Wittmann's exploits that he was feted throughout the Third Reich by the Nazi propaganda machine. So when the highly-decorated Waffen-SS tank ace met his death in the Normandy in August 1944, several Allied units claimed the distinction of having killed him. But now the man who really finished off the most successful tank commander of the Second World War has finally been revealed - Joe Ekins. Astonishingly he had only ever fired five practice rounds before the encounter with Wittmann near St Aignan de Cramesnil.     [ dailymail :: 2006-06-26 :: Waffen SS: Combat Divisions, German Soldiers ]

WW2 Red Army: Female T-34 tank driver in the battle
When the war began Alexandra Rashchupkina volunteered, but she was rejected. She had her hair cropped, put on man's uniform and applied again - passing. After driving course she was moved to Stalingrad where she learned to drive a tank. She survived her first air raid: "Instead of being happy to be alive I was worrying about my new uniform, all turned to rags," she smiles. No one in her regiment ever suspected a thing: "You don't get undressed often on the frontline." In Feb 1945 her secret was revealed. The Soviet tanks were ambushed by Nazi troops. Her tank caught fire, she wounded and a serviceman saved her from the burning machine.     [ mosnews :: 2006-06-17 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

King Tiger tank from the Normandy campaign arrives Museum
A rare German tank - a veteran from the Normandy campaign of World War Two - has gone on public display at the Tank Museum for the first time since its capture. The German King Tiger (Sd Kfz 182 Tiger II) was captured after a tank battle in Nothern France in August 1944. It was issued to 1 Kompanie of SS Panzer Battalion 101 in the summer of 1944 and was commanded by an Obersharfuhrer Franz. The King Tiger was the largest and most feared German panzer of World War II. It gained a fearsome reputation as a formidable opponent: Mounting an 88mm gun and with virtually impenetrable armour to its front it has since become recognised as the most powerful tank of the war.     [ 24hourmuseum :: 2006-06-01 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Combat hero Dietz : Sherman tanks and panzerfaust squads
Elements of the 38th Infantry Battalion, spearheading the 7th Armored Division, approached the town of Kirchain. GI Jankowski in Dietz's 12-man squad was aboard the third Sherman tank in a line when a German soldier "stood up and fired a bazooka at the lead tank. We all scrambled off the tanks. Then I saw Dietz running and firing into the foxholes. He was grabbing the mines and throwing them off the bridge. As he stood up to signal that the route was clear he was killed by an shot from the left flank." Medal of Honor citation credits Dietz with wiping out 3 two-man panzerfaust (bazooka) squads and leaping into the water to disconnect explosives wired to the bridge.     [ zwire :: 2006-05-29 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

WWII tank killer to be honored later this month
Back in 1942, John "Jack" Francis III was just another young soldier enlisted in the Army tank corps. A year after he found himself in Sicily where Allied troops were fighting the Axis powers. During a patrol Cpl. Francis single-handedly wiped out two heavy German 88-mm cannons with his own 37-mm tank-mounted gun. Cpl. Francis, once handy with a tractor on farm, was "a wizard with the light tank." Having shipped out of Italy, Cpl. Francis participated in the invasion of Normandy, and was seriously wounded after his tank suffered a direct hit by a German bomb. Incorrectly assuming he had been killed, other crewmen in the tank left him behind to make their escape...     [ eastbayri :: 2006-04-21 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

For sale: 70 military vehicles and artillery pieces
When John Belfield takes his pride and joy for a cruise down his driveway, his neighbour complains that his house shakes. A 50-tonne Centurion main battle tank will have that effect. His arsenal includes WWII Matilda tanks with flame-throwers, an AC1 Sentinel and AC3 Thunderbolt tank, an M3 A1 Stuart tank, anti-aircraft guns, a mobile radar unit, a white half-track armoured vehicle and a Saracen armoured personnel carrier. His weapons are surrounded by searchlights, bugles, uniforms and gas masks. Plastic soldiers fight historic battles within glass cases.     [ theage :: 2006-04-14 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Reunion of the "light brigade" - secret project of WWII
During WWII the Butler Valley was the site of a secret government training camp the Army had declared the middle of nowhere. Their mission was to conduct experiments on one of the most secret projects of WWII, second only to the atomic bomb. Soldiers who talked about it were threatened with death. The secret weapon was the Canal Defense Light, a high-intensity light mounted in the turret of an M3 tank. Its purpose was to exploit Germany's vulnerability in night combat. U.S. troops hoped to disorient the enemy. "It was considered to be the decisive weapon of the war," says professor Roger Baty.     [ azcentral :: 2006-02-28 :: Weapons, Guns & bombs of WWII ]

Hitler's favorite tank sits rusting on a dumping ground in the Russian province
According to Mr. Speer's memoirs, Hitler was closely following the combat baptism of the new tanks. He demanded an hourly report on the situation. Hitler flew into a rage when he found out that the attack was a disgrace. He demanded all tanks should be smashed into pieces so that the enemy could never get a hold in the German secret weapon. The Germans managed to blow off four tanks. However, the Soviets had already removed two tanks using tractors. Soviet designers painstakingly examined the specimen and learned the important combat specifications of the Tiger by the summer of 1943.     [ Pravda :: 2005-09-29 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Canadian soldier taking on three Panther tanks in Italy
Oct 22 1944, the right flank of Seaforth Highlanders company came under attack from three Panther tanks of the German 26th Panzer Division. Ernest Alvia "Smokey" Smith, armed with a PIAT anti-tank weapon, gathered up his team and took up a position alongside the road. The PIAT was a highly effective "tank-stopper", but only at close range. As the Panther advanced, its machine guns raking the position with fire, Smith's companion was badly wounded. Smith stood up and fired his PIAT, stopping the Panther in its tracks. A group of 10 German soldiers leapt from the tank and attacked Smith's position with machinegun fire and grenades.     [ guardian :: 2005-08-12 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

Diary of a 10th Armored Division veteran
"What was it like in combat?" The three "Fs" come to mind: Fatigue, frustration and fear! Fatigue from lack of sleep because it was almost impossible to find a comfortable place to sleep. Add to this the enemy harassment and fire, every half hour all night long. Only 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night drained one's stamina. For me, it caused headaches. Frustration: Everything you do is stymied by mud, snow, fog, wind, rain, freezing cold or intense heat. Fear: We all agonized over the possibility of death. Men had legs and arms blown off, received wounds and lost their sight or hearing. Those killed instantly were the "lucky" ones. Fear shadowed us constantly.     [ fdu :: 2005-04-29 :: War & Weather History ]

Rommel's journal entries from 1940 Blitzkrieg
General Erwin Rommel led the 7th Panzer Division as it crashed through the Belgian defenses into France, skirting the Maginot Line and then smashing it from behind. This was a new kind of warfare integrating tanks, air power, artillery, and motorized infantry into a steel juggernaut emphasizing speedy movement and maximization of battlefield opportunities. Rommel kept a journal of his experiences. In this excerpt, he describes the action on May 14 as he leads a tank attack against French forces near the Muese River on the Belgian border: "Rothenburg now drove off through a hollow to the left with the five tanks which were to accompany the infantry..."     [ eyewitnesstohistory :: 2005-04-10 :: Desert Fox Erwin Rommel ]

Red Army's war-winning weapons like T-34 tanks are up for sale
Russia is to sell thousands of Second World War tanks, machineguns and cannons in an attempt to raise funds and remind the world of its pivotal role in defeating Hitler. The company is tempting collectors with a selection of weapons that includes Maksim machineguns, 76mm ZiS-3 field guns, PPSH sub-machineguns and T-34 tanks, the backbone of the armoured columns that drove the German army out the Soviet Union in 1944.     [ telegraph :: 2005-02-03 :: Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War ]

60th anniversary of the Kursk Battle - Tiger and Panther tanks
The Battle of Kursk lasted 50 days, between July 5 and August 23. The tank fighting that took place in the course of the battle was unprecedented. July 12 tank combat outside Prokhorovka is the greatest tank battle of the WW2, it involved 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns. Hitler amassed 50 of his best units, including 16 tank and motorised divisions, and collected the newest materiel, Tiger and Panther tanks, Ferdinand self-propelled guns, Heinkel 129 bombers, and Focke Wulf 190A jets. On the Soviet front Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Vasilevsky were in command. The Red Army outnumbered the enemy by 1.4 times and had double the amount of guns and mortars.     [ pravda :: 2003-08-19 :: Kursk : Largest Tank Battle of all time ]

Stopping Rommel's Panzer divisions - Brigadier Sir Rainald Lewthwaite
Brigadier Sir Rainald Lewthwaite had a distinguished career with the Scots Guards. At the start of March 1943, the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards formed part of a slender line of troops which had been hurried forward to face a threatened counter-attack by Rommel's Panzer divisions at Medenine. The battalion position extended for 2,000 yards with the ground rising for about 300 yards in front. There had been no time to lay a minefield. The objective of Rommel's Panzer divisions was the high ground behind the battalion position, dominating the Medenine plain. If they took it, the Eighth Army's position would be untenable; if they failed, the days of the Afrika Corps might be numbered.     [ telegraph :: 2003-06-17 :: Desert Fox Erwin Rommel ]

Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Gibbon: Leading a tank attack near Tobruk
Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Gibbon was awarded a DSO for leading a tank attack near Tobruk in 1941, and a Bar for escaping from a German PoW train in 1943 and leading a group of officers to safety in Yugoslavia. On Nov 29 1941 Gibbon was commanding "A" Squadron of the 44th Royal Tank Regiment, attached to the New Zealand Division. As part of the first phase of Auchinleck's "Crusader" operation, which lifted the siege of Tobruk, the New Zealanders joined the garrison and were soon deployed on the gravel ridge of Sidi Rezegh; they were attacked from three directions by the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions and an Italian unit.     [ telegraph :: 2002-04-04 :: North Africa & Italian Front ]

The Real Rommel - Bio of Panzer commander "Desert Fox"
Erwin Rommel, the "Desert Fox", was a German war hero whose exploits during the WWII are the stuff of legend. He appears to have been the archetypal "good German", an apolitical soldier and cunning military genius. But he had a secret love affair that almost ruined his career - and he was more political than his fans would like to believe. In 1937, Rommel published The Infantry Attacks, a book based on his war experiences. It appealed to Hitler, and Rommel was put in charge of his bodyguard. In February 1941, after the successful campaign against France, Rommel was sent to northern Africa, and led the Afrika Korps.     [ channel4 :: 2001-04-10 :: Desert Fox Erwin Rommel ]

See also

'WW2 Tanks: T34, Panther, King Tiger'

'Nazi Uniforms'

'Medals: Most Decorated Soldiers'

'Military Models'

'Anti-Tank weapons'.

What's new - recent & interesting categories.

Although the articles linked from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich 1933-1945 and World War II in the News are reviewed and specially selected, they do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, who is not responsible for the content of any external sites. This service is © Joni Nuutinen 2005-2008. All rights reserved.