The first Tiger tank prototype was scheduled to be ready for Hitler’s birthday on 20 April 1942Īfter Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, they were shocked to encounter Soviet T-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks that were far superior to anything they had available. Why was this, and did it actually deserve its legendary status? 1. However, it was the German Tiger tank that frequently ranked among the finest, being superior to British and American tanks for most of the war. Notable tanks of the time included the German Panzer tanks, the famous Soviet T-34 tank (that proved so highly effective at the Battle of Kursk) and the US M4 Sherman tank. Despite initial progress, the full effectiveness of the tank as a weapon was not fully realised until the inter-war years, and by the onset of World War Two, the tank had become a far more efficient and deadly weapon. After advancing a mere eight miles, the German attack ground to a halt.The tank was first used as a battlefield weapon on 15 September 1916 at Flers-Courcelette (part of the Battle of the Somme), ushering in a new era of mechanised warfare. To make matters worse, the Germans were now coming under fire from ground-attack aircraft. He had survived arrest, torture and imprisonment during Stalin’s purge of army officers in 1937. Soviet Commander of the northern sector of the Kursk salient. He was mortally wounded in an attack by Ukrainian nationalists in February 1944. Soviet Commander of the southern sector of the Kursk salient. He committed suicide at the end of the war. Nicknamed the Führer’s Fireman, Hitler considered Model one of his best generals. He had been key in the defeat of France in 1940 and, earlier in 1943, had stabilised the front after German failure at Stalingrad.Ĭommander of the northern German pincer. Between them, these four men commanded around 2.8 million men, 8,000 tanks and 4,200 aircraft…Ĭommander of the southern German pincer.
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