Panzers: the Heavies, Superheavies and their derivatives

[fju]

Defence of the Reichstag, Berlin 1st May 1945

On the 30th April, Unterscharfuhrer Georg Diers and his crew of tank 314, were ordered to take up a defensive position at the Reichstag buildings. This was one of only two remaining King Tigers belonging to Heavy SS Tank Battalion 503 in Berlin. By that evening they had knocked out about 30 T34's, and the following day led a successful counterattack against the Kroll Opera House directly opposite the Reichstag. Their efforts though, merely postponed the inevitable and by the end of the day the order was given to abandon the position and prepare to break out of Berlin.

Ever wonder what would have happened if the Hermann Goering Division had been sent to Rommel before El Alamein instead of coming when Rommel was at the end of his long retreat?

Franz

[David C. Clarke]

Hi Franz, I don't think it would have mattered, I think the decisive factor in North Africa was the inability of the Axis to control the Med. shipping lanes. Logistics, IMHO, were the downfall of DAK. Best Regards, David
P.S. Love the Tigers in Berlin. If I had to fight in Berlin against the Red Army, I'd take a Tiger II over any other mount.

[fju]

Love the Tigers in Berlin. If I had to fight in Berlin against the Red Army, I'd take a Tiger II over any other mount.

Hi David,

I love the Tiger II anywhere, but like you say they really make a 'statement 'in Berlin.

I will soon have some good material, in the meantime here is anther perspective:

It is the Fall of 1944. Germany is in retreat on all fronts. The Allies maintain complete air superiority. Fuel shortages are critical. On the outskirts of Jameppes, Belgium, a squad of Waffen SS Panzergrenadiers has come across a King Tiger tank which has run out of fuel and been abandoned by it's crew. The squad comes under fire and the soldiers will have to fight it out on their own. For Germany, these are desperate days.

Franz

[David C. Clarke]

Hi Franz, nice picture! One question though, I thought that virtually all
Tiger IIs with the early turret (the so-called "Porsche" turret) had zimmerit? Best Regards, David

[fju]

Hi Franz, nice picture! One question though, I thought that virtually all
Tiger IIs with the early turret (the so-called "Porsche" turret) had zimmerit? Best Regards, David

David, You lost me. What is zimmerit?

Franz

Panzers In Berlin

by Paul Renwick Farley

The print depicts the last elements of Germany's finest gathering for the final battle - the Panther medium tank, arguably the best tank in it's day, the formidable "King" Tiger, the redoubtable Pak 88mm, and wheeling overhead the war's ultimate fighter aircraft - the Me-262. In an almost surreal touch the Brandenburg Gate frames this scene, like the proscnium arch to a Wagnerian Opera it will bear silent witness to the coming Gotterdammerung.

The artist has captured the very essence of the Mk V Panther tank. Shown here is the late model Ausf G Panther, the most advanced tank design of its day; this one has been enhanced with the experimental FG 1250 infra-red night vision sight. Panther 122 belonging to Panzer Division 29 Muencheberg would be pitted against much superior Russian forces of Marshal Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front in its final assault on Berlin across the river Oder at the Seelow heights a month later in mid April.

The King Tigers of SS schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 and the Pak 88s both veterans of the Eastern campaign and finally the retreat before the Russian juggernaut would make their last stand in front of the Reichstag, and in the first week of May, fire the last shots in anger in Berlin.

Above the lifting ground fog a Schwarm of Me-262's of JG-7 shatters the morning quiet as they head out to meet yet another raid by the heavies of the US Army Air Force

[David C. Clarke]

Hi Franz, zimmerit was a paste applied to the vertical surfaces of most German tanks to prevent magnetic mines from sticking to the tank. When it dried it had a concrete-like texture. It came in a multitude of patterns (created by using a a hand tool on the zimmerit before it had dried) and was often applied at the factory. It was prevalent from 1943 to, I believe, September of 1944. Best Regards, David (Look at early 1944 pictures of StuGs or Panthers or late model Tiger Is and you'll see the zimmerit.)

[David C. Clarke]

http://www.panzerworld.net/Zimmerit.htm

Hi Franz, try that link for zimmerit patterns. Best Regards, David

[Marcus]

Franz,

When posting images from other sites, please remember to give credit to the site in question.

/Marcus

[fju]

Franz,

When posting images from other sites, please remember to give credit to the site in question.

/Marcus

How about if I just direct people there via hyperlink?

Franz

[Christoph Awender]

thats what you should do.... it should be clearly visible where the image(s) come(s) from. If you do that by description of the Foto including the URL or a link where it is clearly visible that the image comes from there.

In the above threads you used images from the site: http://www.milartgl.com/ without giving credit to their site.

So please do so in future.

regards,
Christoph

[b_c_ries]

When you study events involved in the battle for Berlin you must remember that Marshal Georgi Zhukov was reckless with his forces and was more concerned about Marshal Ivan Koniev beating him to Berlin than about the Nazis being able to stop him. Therefore, Zhukov was willing to make poorly planned attacks over unsuitable terrain to win the race and astute Nazis were able to utilize this to their advantage ie: Seelow Heights in which Soviet losses were more a result of poor tactics than of inferior equipment.