Warrior 046 - Panzer Crewman 1939-45.pdf

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O SPREY
PUBLISHING
Warrior
Panzer Crewman
1939–45
Gordon Williamson • Illustrated by Velimir Vuksic
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Warrior • 46
Panzer Crewman
1939–45
Gordon Williamson • Illustrated by Velimir Vuksic
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
4
CHRONOLOGY
5
RECRUITMENT
6
TRAINING
13
APPEARANCE
18
ACTIVE SERVICE
24
MOTIVATION AND MORALE
29
DIVISIONAL ORGANISATION AND
TACTICAL DEPLOYMENT
42
BIBLIOGRAPHY
57
MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS
57
GLOSSARY
59
COLOUR PLATE COMMENTARY
60
INDEX
64
 
PANZER CREWMAN
1939–45
INTRODUCTION
T he British Army was the first military force to make successful use
of what was to become universally known as ‘the tank’. The effect
of the 28-ton Mk I vehicles sent into action at Flers in September
1916, however, was more psychological than actual, as many became
bogged down in mud or in craters, and the attack drew scorn from the
many detractors of the new weapon. The attack on the German
positions at Cambrai in November 1917 was far more successful, with
tanks for the first time used as a breakthrough weapon in their own right
rather than merely providing infantry support. The degree of success
was greater than had been anticipated, but mechanical breakdown,
combat losses and the lack of sufficient reserves to exploit the progress
made by the tanks, prevented even greater glory.
The Germans were startled by the early achievements of Britain’s
tanks and began rapid development of their own. The result was the
32-ton A7V, which was armed with a 5.7-cm gun and manned by a crew
of 18. A7Vs, along with a number of captured British tanks, were sent
into action at Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918. It was the world’s first
tank-versus-tank engagement, but poor mechanical reliability and lack
of sufficient trench-crossing capability once again
mitigated against any significant achievements.
The rapidly deteriorating military situation saw the war
end before German tank development could provide its
armies with a truly effective battle tank.
Germany’s post-war military strength was greatly
diminished, with the new Reichswehr restricted to a size of
just 100,000, but while manpower had been reduced,
events at Cambrai had revealed the true potential of the
tank for the future. Hauptmann Heinz Guderian was
particularly keen to ensure that the vanquished Germans
focused their military redevelopment around the tank,
albeit in a new role. Guderian could see that the concept
of the tank as a heavy, slow-moving, fire platform,
advancing at only the pace of the infantry it supported
would never see its full potential realised.
Through the 1920s Guderian studied tank tactics, and in
1931 he was appointed to command 3. Kraftfahrabteilung
in Berlin. It was whilst in command of this unit that
Guderian devised the idea of dressing up ordinary vehicles
with mock tank superstructures and turrets made from
cardboard and plywood in order to carry out basic tank
training exercises. Guderian’s big break came after the
Generaloberst Heinz Guderian,
born in 1888 of a West Prussian
military family, is generally
accepted as being the father of
the German armoured forces.
He was decorated with the
Knight’s Cross on 27 October
1939 for his command of XIX
Army Corps during the attack on
Poland, and to this was added
the Oakleaves on 10 July 1941
for his leadership of 2nd
Panzergruppe during the
invasion of the Soviet Union. As
with many of Germany’s best
soldiers, he fell from favour with
Hitler, and was dismissed from
his post as Inspector General of
Panzertruppe. He died in 1954.
4
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accession to power of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists. Hitler took
a keen interest in tank warfare, and after seeing a demonstration at the
Kummersdorf training grounds in October 1934 he became an avid
supporter of the foundation of a tank corps for the German Army. With
Hitler as an ally Guderian’s star was firmly in the ascendant, despite the
dissenting voices of traditionalists within the German Army.
Guderian’s book, Achtung Panzer! , was published in 1938 and put
forward his views on tank tactics. He advocated the use of the tank
independent of the infantry, proceeding at its own best pace and with
the sheer power of massed pincer-formation tank attacks, encircling and
crushing the enemy. By 1939 Guderian had risen to the rank of general,
and in October of that year he was appointed Inspekteur der
Panzertruppe.
With a new war on the horizon, the world was about to discover just
how much the German military had learned from the painful
experiences of the First World War.
CHRONOLOGY
15 September 1916
First ever tank action at Flers on the Somme.
24 April 1918
First ever tank-versus-tank action, at Villers Bretonneux.
July 1934
Production of the 5.4-ton Panzerkampfwagen I begins.
Spring 1935
The first of the 7.6-ton Panzerkampfwagen IIs appear.
15 October 1935
1. Panzer Division is formed in Weimar under Generalleutnant
Baron Maximilian von Weichs.
1936
The Panzerkampfwagen III, at 15 tons, and the Panzer IV, at
17.3 tons, go into production.
7 October 1936
German tanks arrive in Spain to support Franco’s Nationalist
troops during the civil war.
1 September 1939
War erupts. The Blitzkrieg begins. Over 3,000 Panzers go into
action in the three-pronged attack on Poland, but around
1,000 are lost.
10 May 1940
The campaign in the west begins. Some 2,400 Panzers go into
action, but of that total around 1,400 are Mk Is armed with
only machine guns. They will face over 3,000 Allied tanks.
14 February 1941
The first units of what will become Rommel’s ‘Panzerarmee
Afrika’ arrive in Tripoli.
22 June 1941
Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union,
begins. Around 3,750 Panzers roll into Russia, divided into four
Panzergruppen.
1 December 1941
Army Group Centre’s armoured assault on Moscow comes to
a halt just short of the city’s suburbs.
29 January 1942
Rommel captures Benghazi.
20 June 1942
Rommel captures Tobruk.
23 October 1942
Rommel’s exhausted Panzers, which failed to capture El
Alamein, are smashed by a massive British counter-attack.
August 1942
First of the 55-ton Panzerkampfwagen VI ‘Tiger’ tanks roll off
the production line. The tanks see action for the first time, on
the Leningrad front.
September 1942
First prototype 43-ton Panzerkampfwagen V ‘Panther’ produced.
16 February 1943
Soviets recapture Kharkov.
15 March 1943
II SS-Panzer Korps retake Kharkov.
5 July 1943
German offensive at Kursk, Operation Citadel, is launched and
the greatest armoured battle of all time begins.
11-12 July 1943
In the battle of Prokhorovka, over 700 Soviet and German
tanks are destroyed in just two days of fighting.
13 July 1943
Operation Citadel is called off.
5
 

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