Original subtitles

[Music]

The south of England on a sunny summer's

afternoon, an exhibition of tanks and

armored vehicles draw the crowds.

These military vehicle enthusiasts and a

fascinated public take great pleasure

from the vehicles of 50 years ago. Fun

is had by all, rides are given, and the

tanks once more rumble through their

paces.

In this tranquil setting, it's easy to

forget that these machines were once the

harbingers of death in the most terrible

conflict known to man.

The brutal realities of the battlefield

can bring out the very worst aspects of

human ingenuity.

The best minds are used for the worst of

purposes as scientists and engineers

strive to dream up new ways to kill,

maim, or terrify their enemies. As any

small advantage is relentlessly

exploited in the desperate search for

the vital winning edge.

Sometimes fear alone is enough to

overcome an enemy. This was certainly

the case with flamethrowing tanks.

These gruesome weapons had their main

tank guns replaced with a flamethrower,

which could fire a jet of flame for up

to 50 yards.

This was not a particularly accurate or

even an effective weapon, but both sides

used them in World War I.

They were designed to be used to winkle

infantry out of strong defenses, pill

boxes, and bunkers. But the main weapon

was fear. The flame gun fired an

inflammable mixture from a 100 L tank,

which was enough to fire 82 second

bursts of flame.

A flamethrowing tank is nothing more

than a tank that should resemble uh a

regular tank. And the reason they wanted

them to resemble uh regular tanks is you

just don't want to stand out on the

battlefield. Uh if you stand out,

particularly with you have a full load

of jellied gasoline on board, that's not

a good thing to to have. I guess the

most effective use of flame tanks was

that used by the United States Marine

Corps in the Pacific against the

Japanese. The Japanese would get into

these reverse slope defenses. They would

not come out. you you couldn't get them

out by uh any method other than to use a

flamethrower. And if you can put that

flamethrower behind armor, so much the

better.

To the infantrymen crouched in their

foxholes, even the smallest tanks

project an aura of invincibility,

rolling relentlessly onwards, they seem

like an unstoppable armored juggernaut,

the very essence of armored might.

They appear so invulnerable and

impersonal. It's easy to forget that

inside the vehicle there are men just

the same as any others with the same

fears and emotions which run through

every soldier on the battlefield.

In many respects, these emotions are

heightened because the tank gives the

protection of its armor but imposes a

host of other restrictions on its crew.

Inside the tank, visibility is severely

limited.

The interior is cramped and noisy.

The crew are acutely aware that their

vehicle is a prime target for every

enemy weapon on the battlefield.

With their own stocks of fuel and

ammunition aboard, they knew that one

hit can turn the tank into a blazing

inferno.

There is also the danger that

infantrymen might get close enough to

attack with anti-tank weapons from

unseen hiding places.

The main sources of danger for tank

crews in battle. U chiefly the lack of

visibility from inside a tank. If you

can imagine, you've got narrow vision

slits that allow you to see a very small

area directly in front of that slit. And

you've got a number of those around the

vehicle, but there are always blind

spots um for most armor of the period.

They don't move an awful lot quicker

than a man running. And a man running

with any sort of anti-tank device is

going to be able to outmaneuver you at

any phase of the battle.

Under favorable circumstances, placed in

good positions with their strong frontal

armor facing the enemy, the crews of the

German tanks of World War II had good

cause for confidence.

These Panthers of the later war years

could withstand most guns on the

battlefield from all but the closest

ranges.

[Music]

This is the massive Jag Tiger which saw

action in 1945.

It still bears the scars of battle. We

can clearly see on this surviving

vehicle where Allied shells have hit but

failed to penetrate the armor.

Once infantry tank hunting teams got

close to the tanks or enemy tanks were

able to maneuver into a position to fire

at the weaker sides or rear of the tank,

the picture changed dramatically.

The allconquering armored hull could

just as soon turn into a steel coffin.

The drivers of these American tanks also

have a good field of vision as long as

they keep their heads fully exposed

outside the vehicle.

When the commander stood in the open

hatch of his tank, he too enjoyed an

excellent view of the battlefield.

But when the bullets started to fly, the

commander and driver had to retreat

inside the vehicle, closing their

hatches behind them.

Once the tank was battened down, the

crew had only a very limited view of the

outside world. With their diesel engines

roaring and weapons firing, the heat

generated inside the tanks was

oppressive. In battle, the noise, the

smell of sweat, smoke, fear, and cordite

can only be imagined.

Not only is it a claustrophobic world,

unbearably noisy and uncomfortably

cramped, but the severely restricted

view made it difficult to spot targets

or to defend against enemy tank hunting

teams.

The tank which is batten down for better

condition.

To see anything at whole is extremely

difficult, especially for the driver. He

only got very low set slots to look out

and he can see very little. He has to

rely on the commander to a great deal

who is sitting higher and he got vision

slots in his turret to look all around

and he could advise him if there's any

trouble ahead. In World War II, these

tank hunting teams were trained to move

up close to enemy tanks to disable them.

Occasionally, they would climb onto

vehicles themselves and set anti-tank

mines or drop grenades into exhaust

outlets and any open hatches.

As it was designed to fire over long

ranges, the main gun of the tank was

useless at close quarters.

To combat against infantrymen who got

too near the vehicle, tanks were

equipped with grenade dischargers which

could be operated from inside.

Frequently, however, teams of infantry

got close enough to climb onto the

vehicles. themselves.

In those circumstances, the crew of the

tank had to either clamber out and

engage the enemy with small arms or rely

on supporting infantry and the other

tanks in his unit to spray his vehicle

with machine gun fire to kill any

infantry clambering aboard.

The turret of a tank is very much like a

mobile pillbox with only the minimal

openings for weapons. The armor gives

protection but severely limits

visibility.

In desperate situations, there was a

small opening called a pistol port.

There are several ways of defending

yourself. First of all, of course, if

the infantry is silly enough to come

from the front, you just run over them

with your trucks. On the other hand,

normally they would come from behind and

from the side. And to defend yourself

against approaching infantry from the

side, you got a certain opening in your

turret which is known as a pistol port.

You you punch out a plug which opens the

hole, poke your pistol through or your

machine gun and open fire on either side

and that should keep them at bay. And of

course the early Russian tanks, for

instance, also had a pistol port at the

rear against approaching infantry from

there.

Tanks of all nations tended to mount at

least one or two machine guns for close

quarter defense. Some tanks in fact

mounted as many as six. But in addition

to these uh smoke projectors which could

lay a smoke screen, mine layers, grenade

launchers, and even light mortars could

be built onto tanks for close quarter

protection against infantry or anti-tank

gun crews.

Germans used a a cement-like paste

called zimmerred all over the the sides

of the vehicles that would be um

reachable by anyone attacking the tank.

Um and it its purpose was to stop

magnetic mines being attached

at longer ranges. There were other

dangers. Concealed anti-tank guns with a

chief menace. One wellplaced shot could

blast a tank to fragments. These guns

were difficult to spot and could be

camouflaged very easily.

In order to give tanks protection

against enemy guns, they need as much

armor as possible. Ideally, every inch

would be covered in thick steel plate.

However, the crew need to be able to see

out of a tank, so vision slits and

hatches had to be allowed for. The

engines need air intakes, and exhaust

pipes need to allow the fumes to escape

from the engine.

These weakly armored parts of the tank

are where it is most vulnerable, and

they were the favorite aiming points for

lurking anti-tank guns.

From the confines of a tank, anti-tank

guns were often impossible to find until

it was too late.

As the war progressed, the caliber and

power of anti-tank guns increased from

the relatively weak 37 mm gun seen here,

which was used in the first years of the

war,

to the awesome power of the high

velocity 88 mm.

The 88 was originally designed as an

anti-aircraft gun which needed to

generate enormous power to fire a heavy

shell thousands of feet into the air.

When the German infantry discovered that

this powerful gun could also be used to

fire over a flat trajectory against

tanks, a devastating new weapon was

born.

The massive velocity of its

armor-piercing shells spelled death for

thousands of Russian and Allied tanks

during the years from 1939 to 1945.

The German 88 as we see here

was basically designed as anti-aircraft

gun and u during the early days of the

war they found out that was very

successful against pinpoint the targets

bunkers and such alike and of course

against tanks.

direct sides were added which you don't

have on an anti-aircraft gun usually

were added and several other changes

done to the gun and it turned out

eventually to be just about the most

successful tank and anti-tank gun there

ever was

throughout the war. The 88 was the most

feared adversary for all of the tankmen

in the Allied armies. The only drawback

of this awesome weapon was that it was

very cumbersome and needed to be towed

into action. But once it was deployed in

concealed and camouflaged positions, it

was a deadly mess.

[Music]

Anti-tank guns were just one of the many

hazards faced by the tankmen.

As the war progressed, all sides

developed lightweight portable anti-tank

weapons of steadily increasing killing

power.

[Music]

The allies had the bazooka and the

Germans had the deadly Panzer Foust and

Panzer Shrek. These weapons were only

effective at relatively short ranges,

but they gave infantry teams a tank

killing capability which made even the

strongest tanks vulnerable.

[Music]

These German soldiers are stalking

Allied tanks through a French village.

They are ready to engage with their

panzer fasts. They first allow the

leading Allied tanks to rumble past

before carefully choosing their victim.

[Music]

The tank is destroyed. A huge investment

in engineering, time, and resources has

been claimed by a single soldier with a

simple weapon.

[Music]

Infantry anti-tank weapons worked on the

principle of the hollow charge, which

was designed to melt through the armor

of the tanks and explode inside the

vehicle.

In order to defeat these weapons in

Allied hands, the Germans found steel

skirts would use up the energy of the

missile in penetrating the steel outers,

leaving the tank itself unharmed.

They may have looked cumbersome, but

they worked in practice and became

standard issue for all medium tanks from

1943 onwards.

A lot of the the German vehicles,

especially later on in the war, as more

powerful Allied tanks came about, um had

thin layered extra armor called Chzen.

Um, this well has the double advantage

of of maybe deflecting an armor piercing

round, but more particularly it would

dissipate the power of a hollow charge

shot. It hasn't got great velocity, so

if it burns a hole in the side of of an

armor sheet that's outside the tank, um,

it it's very good protection for inside.

The fiveman crew was the standard for

all German medium and heavy tanks.

The crew of a Tiger consisted of the

commander who was in charge of the

vehicle and selected targets.

He also fired the turret machine gun.

Next came the gunner who sat next to the

commander and targeted his enemies

through his gun sights.

In many respects, he was the most vital

member of the crew.

In battle, every shot had to count.

The flight of a shell is affected by

many factors, including wind direction,

rain, snow, and other atmospheric

conditions.

The gunner had to gauge the range to the

target, allow for any climatic factors,

and compensate for the speed of any

moving targets which were more difficult

to hit.

One miss could allow an enemy tank to

get in the first vital shot, which

spelled death in the tense tank jewels

of World War II.

The main 88 mm arament of a Tiger was

aimed and fired really as a result of a

team effort. It was the job of all

members of the Tiger's crew to use their

vision devices to identify potential

targets and to report them to the

commander. The Tiger commander would

then prioritize the target and would

give orders to engage it. The gunner

would traverse the Tiger's turret using

a hydraulic uh system controlled by a

foot pedal and would then aim the gun

using a binocular telescope site and

would then fire the gun using an

electrical ignition system.

The difference between tank guns of the

Second World War and today is is that

frequently today's tank guns are

stabilized so that as you're driving

along you can fire as you go. The tank

guns at the time wouldn't allow for

that. You had to stop the tank, allowing

yourself to be vulnerable to being shot

at and

lay the gun on on the target and fire.

Positioned on the opposite side of the

turret from the gunner was the loader.

He did the heavy manual work of loading

the gun.

The loader was responsible for selecting

the correct type of ammunition from the

ammunition bins which were included in

the Tiger's uh structure and using an

automatic or semi-automatic loading

system to load the gun. After each

engagement, he also had the laborious

job of emptying the shell cases and

restocking the tank with the cumbersome

rounds for the main gun.

Inside the hull towards the front of the

vehicle sat the driver.

[Music]

On his right was the radio operator who

fulfilled the vital communications

function. He also manned the hull

machine gun.

The usual practice was for the crew of a

tank to paint a white ring around the

gun barrel for every enemy tank

destroyed. Some crews were so successful

in this practice that a thick white ring

had to be painted representing 10 kills.

The most successful commanders proudly

carried an array of kill rings like so

many strutting peacocks.

With the noise inside a tank,

communication is very difficult to

communicate with other vehicles is

almost impossible.

The German engineers solved the problem

by an internal intercom, which linked

the crew and allowed them to communicate

via headphones and microphones.

German practice at the time was to use a

throat mic, which um had two little

microphones up against the side of your

throat, and you would press those

whenever you wanted to speak to the rest

of the crew. If you then switch the

radio set over, that also allows you to

broadcast to the rest of your unit. Um,

the headset has a a pair of headphones

on, so it muffles a little bit the sound

of the engine, but it's a very very loud

engine. Anyway,

for communications between the tanks

themselves, all German machines were

equipped with radios.

In the early war years, there were no

such refinements on the Russian side. In

a T-34, strangely enough, as good as the

tank was, even from its very beginning,

the communication was very poor.

because it had no radius which is a

normal way of doing things. The T-34

actually the early ones the commander

had to get out of his turret at least

halfway and wave two flaxs about one red

and one green one I believe and give

signals like ships at high seas you see

that's how they change directions or

whatever he wanted them to do which was

very primitive and it didn't work very

well it was only much later for instance

the tank behind me the T34 stroke 85 the

bigger one had proper radio and radio

contact within in each crew member and

of course to headquarters as well.

The superior communications gave the

Germans a great advantage which

compensated for their very real

disadvantage in armor quality.

During World War II, most German tanks

started the conflict at a disadvantage.

[Music]

The puny 37 mm gun was initially used to

equip the Panza 3s, which were then

Germany's main battle tanks.

The same 37 mm gun was also carried by

all of the Czechmade 38T tanks, which in

1940 were Germany's most numerous tanks.

These guns were insufficient to

penetrate at all but the shortest range.

And even the upgrade to a 50 mm gun,

such as those carried by these Panzer

3s, was still not really sufficient.

Only the 75mm gun of the Panza 4 and

Sturmgut's battalions were really suited

to the demands of the modern

battlefield. But even then it had its

limitations.

The short barrel of the 75 mm gave the

shells only a limited velocity which was

effective against the thinly armored

tanks of the early war years but proved

to be totally inadequate when the

Germans met the superior Russian tanks

during 1941.

The T34 at its time was by far away the

best tank the the world had ever seen.

It was absolutely second to none.

The shape is followed even to this day

the outline of a tank. It was the mother

so to speak of all modern tanks. It was

just right in every respect. The gun,

the armor, the speed, the lot.

To compensate for the low quality of the

guns, the Germans further extended their

technological lead by introducing

special command tanks, which had the

main guns removed to make room for

additional radio equipment.

Command tanks are basically factory or

battlefield conversions of ordinary gun

tanks which are used by relatively

senior tank commanders, squadron,

company, battalion or regiment

commanders to observe and to coordinate

the actions of their subordinates on the

battlefield.

Command tanks generally mount extra

radios, wireless sets for these

purposes. And in order to incorporate

these extra wireless sets and sometimes

extra wireless operators, something

usually has to be removed from the tank.

Generally speaking, this is either

ammunition, which is extremely bulky, or

the main armorament of the tank itself.

Obviously, removing either in

particularly the latter considerably

disadvantages a command tank on the

battlefield.

The cohesion which came from a smooth

flow of commands was one of the obvious

reasons that the inferior German tanks

of 1941 and 1942 were able to overcome

the superior T-34s and KV1s.

[Music]

These command tanks soon drew special

attention and attempts were made to

disguise them with dummy guns. A command

tank is frequently without a main gun.

So that um it was made to look a little

bit like a the appropriate tank with a a

length of wood or pipe. Even where a

dummy gun was used. However, usually the

extra wireless antenna which were

installed on the tank to make the extra

wireless sets work effectively were

another way with which the enemy could

identify enemy command tanks and knock

them out.

This disconcerting factor was not

mitigated by the rigid German practice

of numbering their tanks in sequence.

Starting with the commander's vehicle,

which frequently carried the number 1

displayed prominently on the turret, a

shore invitation to enemy gunners.

[Music]

By 1943, a command vehicle was no place

to be. Infantry had by now developed

extra killing power in the form of

magnetic mines, bazookas, and the

panzerasts.

These deadly weapons could all blast

through the armor of a tank. But the

Russians found that the simple expedient

of a bottle filled with petrol, lighted,

and thrown onto the engine decks, could

disable even the largest tanks. Their

tank hunting teams soon became very

adept at wielding this single improvised

tank killing device.

The tanks which the Russians stalked so

effectively were designed to do two jobs

on the battlefield.

The first was to engage and destroy

other tanks.

[Music]

The second was to attack infantry and

artillery targets.

In essence, the successful engagement

and destruction of enemy tanks was a

matter of the simple application of

brute force.

Elementary physics tells us that force

equals mass times velocity. For the job

of destroying other tanks, the tank

needs to be able to fire the heaviest

practicable shell at huge speeds. This

produces enough force to punch through

the armor of an enemy tank.

[Music]

Explosive power alone has little value

against the thick armor of a tank.

[Music]

What gives the missile its penetrating

power is the enormous velocity which

punches through the armor of enemy

vehicles.

Armor-piercing rounds very simply tend

generally to be solid shot. By which I

mean a shell which is essentially metal

with a very small explosive charge and

which relies upon a very high velocity

and the enormous pressures and heat

created by a round impacting on armor in

order to burn their way or melt their

way through uh the armor of say a turret

or a tank generally and to splatter

around inside either destroying

equipment or killing or injuring the

crew. Very occasionally, it was found

that armor-piercing shells were

traveling so fast they passed straight

through enemy tanks and through the

other side without damaging the vehicle

or its occupants.

A variety of high explosive anti-tank

rounds were therefore developed which

were designed to first penetrate the

armor of an enemy tank then explode

inside the vehicle. This fine balancing

act was rarely achieved in practice, and

it is debatable whether the small amount

of explosive contained in the shells was

much more effective than the massive

kinetic impact of a high velocity round.

Against infantry and field guns, the

tank needs to be able to fire a high

explosive round. Here, the speed of the

shell is less important. What matters is

the weight of explosive packed into the

warhead. The bigger the shell, the

bigger the explosion.

To reach over walls and intervening

obstacles, a plunging trajectory is the

best method of attack against infantry

hiding behind obstacles in buildings and

trenches.

High explosive shells, generally

speaking, have a hollow uh cone and into

which high explosives is inserted. And

the point of these is to detonate and to

throw out a a lethal uh stream of metal

splinters, which are particularly useful

against infantry out in the open. Of

course, high explosives are also useful

for destroying non-armored targets

because of their explosive force.

With the space taken up by the main gun,

the crew, and the engines, there is

surprisingly little room in a tank for

the ammunition, which was vital to

survival on the battlefield. Most tanks

could hold enough shells for around 90

shots, tightly packed into every

conceivable space.

Most commanders favored a mix of 40%

high explosive and 60% armorpiercing,

but it was often a matter of a personal

assessment of the likeliest target to be

faced on a given mission.

Getting the balance right was a crucial

decision. Armor-piercing rounds were

useless against infantry, and high

explosive would not penetrate tank

armor. Having a large stock of the wrong

kind of ammunition effectively left the

tank impotent.

These anti-tank gunners are attempting

to clear infantry from a building

without the benefit of high explosive

rounds.

In slow motion, we can see the straight

trajectory and high speed of the shell,

but the effect on the building is

minimal. A high explosive round would

have been devastating.

[Music]

In battle, many experienced crews could

fire one round every 5 seconds. So, not

surprisingly, ammunition supplies could

quickly become exhausted, rendering the

tank helpless.

[Music]

At this delicate juncture, the tank

commander was faced with a crucial

choice. Either leave the field to rearm

and refuel or await resupply in the

field.

The bulky tank ammunition could not be

transported on foot and required a

vehicle to resupply the tanks.

[Music]

Trucks were too vulnerable to be sent

into the fighting area. So the Germans

developed a special turretless tank

called a munition schleer to carry out

the dangerous job of ammunition resupply

on the battlefield.

To ensure that ammunition supplies were

used wisely, German tanks were forbidden

from firing on the move. The prescribed

tactic was to strictly engage enemy

targets from a static position. This

made aiming much easier, giving the

gunner the best chance as he lined up

his target on the middle triangle of his

gun site.

To help him in his task of judging the

flight of his shells, they were equipped

with a tracer element, which produced a

trail of bright light to help pinpoint

the path of the shell as it flew towards

its target.

The tank crews prayed that their first

shot would hit, turning the enemy

vehicle into a flaming mass as the fuel

and ammunition exploded.

[Music]

A miss could mean their own destruction

by return.

The prospect of the awful death of men

trapped in a burning tank haunted the

tank crews. It was a nightmare prospect

which dogged their every moment.

In all of the major tank battles of

World War II, from Poland through North

Africa and into Russia, the black

columns of smoke from burning vehicles

can be seen hanging on the horizon like

gathering storm clouds. All too often,

they marked the funeral ps for their

hapless crows.

[Music]

Death or injury could come to the tank

crews from a myriad of sources. It was

not always necessary to even damage the

vehicle. One other everpresent danger

for tank crews were metal splinters

caused by hits on the outside of a tank.

[Music]

As the outside velocity of the impact

was converted into violent internal

energy, these deadly fragments were

blown from the inside of the turret

where they would fly around the inside

of the tank, slicing through the bodies

of the crewmen packed together in their

claustrophobic world.

[Music]

In many early tanks, such as these 38T

Czech tanks in German service, there was

a further danger. The rivets used in the

construction of the tanks were

particularly dangerous. The violence of

a hit on the outside of the tank would

cause the heads of the rivets to

ricochet around inside the vehicle.

This was also a major problem for the

British tanks of the early years, which

were also of riveted construction rather

than cast steel, and many horrific

injuries were caused by flying rivets

from shots which had not actually

penetrated the tank.

Another

everpresent danger for tanks was less

spectacular, but equally deadly.

Anti-tank mines could be placed in great

numbers to protect a defensive position.

These mines would support the weight of

a man without detonating, so infantry

teams often passed by unsuspecting.

But as soon as the weight of a tank was

present, it exploded with tremendous

force.

Although tanks were sometimes destroyed

by mines, the most frequent result was

that they lost a track. This resulted in

crews having to leave their vehicle to

attempt to repair these massive iron

tracks in the heat of battle.

[Music]

The job of testing for mines and

clearing a path through them was the job

of the pioneer sections. Occasionally,

this ritual task was overlooked.

[Music]

At the vital battle of Kursk, General

Hines Good Gudderion, the inspector of

armor in the German army at the time of

the crucial battle, was left livid with

rage. His new Tiger tanks had rolled

into action through uncleared minefields

with the result that many of his most

effective machines, the spearhead of the

army, were rendered immobile by a threat

which could easily have been anticipated

and cleared.

As the war continued, each surviving

tank in the German Panza divisions

became an increasingly valuable asset.

As battlefield losses rose, the war

ravaged German factories, which were

being pounded day and night by Allied

bombers, could no longer keep increasing

the supply of war vehicles to match

those destroyed.

Although production rose year on year,

during the crucial years of 1943 and

1944, losses of tanks rose even faster.

But provided it wasn't actually blown

apart or completely gutted by fire, many

battle damaged tanks could actually be

repaired and brought back into service.

For the Allies, with their limitless

supplies of men and material, this was a

less pressing issue, but for the

Germans, it was a vital matter.

It was a source of great frustration to

many German tank crews that Hitler

himself placed a priority on the

production of new tanks over the supply

of replacement parts and engines.

In many cases, old tanks could easily

have been brought back into service at

the front line with a regular supply of

spare parts and engines. This would have

been easier and more efficient than

manufacturing than shipping a complete

new tank all the way from Germany.

In the desert war, RML's tenuous supply

line was even more difficult. It became

essential to recover as many damaged or

broken down vehicles as possible.

While this was also a factor in British

thinking, it was a less pressing issue

as the eighth army was comparatively

well served with replacements.

Control of the field after the battle

was vital for Raml.

It allowed the Africa Corps to salvage

allied and enemy machines alike.

Controlling the battlefield after a tank

battle battle is finished is vital for

either side. The chief reason for this

is that most of your vehicle casualties

are recoverable. If you've got a small

hole through the middle of your tank,

it's usually made a mess of whatever's

inside. But the more common type of tank

casualty would be um a missing track

link, damaged tracks, dam damaged

suspension that's prevented the tank

from moving. um most of those tanks very

easily recoverable with just half an

hour's work.

In Russia, it was becoming equally vital

for the Germans to keep control of the

battlefield after an engagement.

[Music]

The mechanically simple Russian T-34s

could often be salvaged.

German crews like these frequently drove

captured T-34 tanks into action.

During the course of the war, 40,000 T34

tanks were manufactured. More than

double the capacity of the entire German

tank industry.

By 1943 in Russia, as in North Africa,

it had become an overriding necessity

for the Germans to retain control of the

battlefield. Otherwise, tank losses

could never be made up.

[Music]

With the huge weight of the later war

tanks, such as these Tigers, immobilized

tanks could often only be moved by the

power of another Tiger.

The heaviest tractor in the German army

was the 18ton F3. But it took three of

these harnessed together to move one

broken down Tiger. And in the midst of

the battlefield, the tractors were

highly vulnerable to anti-tank rounds,

high explosive shells, and the handheld

weapons of the infantry.

Tiger tanks, which each weighed about 60

tons and which were prone to a range of

mechanical and electrical failures,

certainly suffered from problems. In

addition, they were extremely expensive,

valuable assets that could not afford to

be wasted. Because of this, recovering

Tiger tanks was particularly important

if they were knocked out. There were a

range of options available to the SS and

the army tank battalions which operated

Tigers. Most obviously, they could use

their own gun tanks to tow other tanks

out of trouble. The problem was this

that it tended to cause electrical or

engine or transmission malfunctions in

the Tigers doing the towing.

Alternatively, unarmored halftracks

could be used, but unfortunately several

of these needed to be used to tow a

single Tiger. And because they were

unarmored, they were vulnerable on the

battlefield. Quite clearly, what one

required was an armored recovery vehicle

that could tow a Tiger on its own and

which was capable of operating in

intense combat conditions.

Once again, the solution to the problem

was to develop a specialist recovery

vehicle known as a Bergen Panzer. These

machines dispensed with the turret and

replaced it with a box-like wooden

structure. They were designed to run

quickly up to disabled tanks and tow

them away from enemy reach.

Every tank carried heavy towing cables

ready to be hitched up to a recovery

vehicle or a friendly tank. Most

sensible commanders went into action

with their cables already hooked up just

in case.

Tanks look incredibly robust, but in

many respects they are surprisingly

vulnerable. They require high

maintenance and are prone to break down.

They also shed their caterpillar tracks

with infuriating regularity, especially

in thick mud when crossing obstacles or

as a result of anti-tank fire and

minefields.

The tank tracks, as you might guess, are

the most important parts on a tank ready

to get you along, and they have to be

changed. For instance, if a if one link

just breaks, one pin has to break and

you haven't got the truck anymore or

enemy action is trucks are often hit by

enemy shells, damaged and have to be

changed eventually. It's it's a very

hard job and takes a lot of effort to to

do it. The whole crew is involved and

how it's I never done it myself on the

enemy action, but I shudder to think

what it would take.

These German tankmen rushing to replace

a heavy track in the thick of the action

had ample opportunity to curse their ill

luck. But it was an all too commonplace

event.

Despite the myriad of dangers, the tank

was the queen of the battlefield in the

wide open spaces of North Africa and

Russia.

In the first four months of the war, the

Germans discovered that there was one

environment in which tanks should never

be deployed. The builtup areas of towns

and cities. There they became especially

vulnerable to lurking infantry and

anti-tank guns.

The Germans learned this lesson as early

as the Polish campaign of 1939 in the

Battle for Warsaw. But despite all of

their previous experiences, these

mistakes were repeated at Stalingrad,

Kursk, and in Normandy.

Some commanders continued to commit

tanks in towns right up to 1945.

In 1944, these destroyed German tanks

littered the streets of Verage.

They were destroyed by concealed British

anti-tank guns when they grew too

confident and rolled into the town after

a period of conspicuous success in the

open fields around the town.

[Music]

This page from the 1945 US handbook on

the German army illustrates how this

massive Yagged Tiger tank destroyer,

unwisely deployed in a town, was

destroyed by the simple expedient of a

Molotov cocktail dropped from the upper

window into the open hatch of the tank

below.

[Music]

But it was not just the Germans who

suffered. Even the mightiest giant, it

seemed, had its limitations.

In the last month of the war, this lone

soldier sets out to destroy a Russian

tank.

His smile suggests elation and pride. Or

maybe it's just the relief that he has

survived and soon it will all be over.

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]