German heavy tank battalion

German schwere Panzabteilung 1943
( s PzAbt )

(US Army map symbol: Panzer battalion)
Active1943
Country Germany
BranchGerman Heer
TypePanzer
RoleArmoured warfare
SizeBattalion, up to 45 tanks
Part of Wehrmacht
EngagementsWorld War II

A German heavy tank battalion (German: "schwere Panzerabteilung", short: "s PzAbt") was a battalion-sized World War II tank unit of the German Army during World War II, equipped with Tiger I, and later Tiger II, heavy tanks. Originally intended to fight on the offensive during breakthrough operations, the German late-war realities required it to be used in a defensive posture by providing heavy fire support and counter-attacking enemy armored breakthroughs, often organised into ad hoc Kampfgruppen (battlegroups).

The German heavy tank battalions destroyed a total of 8,100 enemy tanks for the loss of 1,482 of their own, an overall kill/loss ratio of 5.47 though individual unit ratios ranged from 1.28 to 13. The German losses also include non-combat tank write-offs.[1]

Tiger I in France.

Formation

Early formation units experimented to find the correct combination of heavy Tiger tanks supported by either medium Panzer III tanks or reconnaissance elements. In 1942 this consisted of 20 Tigers and 16 Panzer IIIs,[verification needed] composed of two companies, each with four platoons of two Tigers and two Panzer IIIs. Each company commander would have an additional Tiger, and battalion command would have another two.[2]

Later formations had a standard organization of 45 Tiger Tanks, composed of three companies of 14 Tigers each, plus three command vehicles. Maintenance troubles and the mechanical unreliability of the Tigers posed a continuous problem, so often the units would field a smaller number of combat-ready tanks.[2]

The limited number of these heavy tanks, plus their specialized role in either offensive or defensive missions, meant they were rarely permanently assigned to a single division or corps, but shuffled around according to war circumstances.

In addition to tanks, each battalion planned to include the following[3]

Vehicle vehicle type  1 July 1943   1 January 1945 
Flakpanzer IV Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun 0 8
Sd.Kfz. 7/1 8 ton 4 x 2 cm Flak Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun 6 3
Sd.Kfz. 251 Schützenpanzerwagen Armoured half-track 10 11
Bergepanther Armoured recovery vehicle 0 5
Sd.Kfz. 9 18 ton Zugkraftwagen Half-track prime mover 8 7
Sd.Kfz. 10 1 ton Zugkraftwagen Light half-track 8 13
Sd.Kfz. 2 Kettenkrad Gun tractor 0 14
Beiwagenkrad Motorcycle with sidecar, e.g. BMW R75 25 0
Solokrad Motorcycle 17 6
Kübelwagen Personenkraftwagen Staff car 64 38
Personenkraftwagen, zivil Civilian car 2 1
Lastkraftwagen Truck, e.g. Opel Blitz 111 84
Lastkraftwagen, zivil Civilian truck 24 34
Maultier Half-track truck 0 6
Kran-Kraftfahrzeug Mobile crane 3 3
Total 278 233

Organisation structure

The organisation structure of a German heavy Panzer battalion in 1943, in this case the schwere Panzerabteilung 508, was as follows.[4]

  • staff / German: Stab
  • staff company of three tanks ( Stabskompanie )
  • 1st – 3rd Panzer company (14 tanks each) / 1. – 3. Panzerkompanie
    • company detachment (two tanks) ( Kompanietrupp )
    • 1st – 3rd panzer platoon, each of four tanks each ( 1. – 3. Panzerzug )
    • medical service( Sanitätsdienst )
    • vehicle repair detachment ( Kfz. Instandsetzungstrupp )
    • combat train I ( Gefechtstross I )
    • combat train II ( Gefechtstross II )
    • baggage train / Gepäcktross
  • workshop company ( Werkstattkompanie )
    • 1st and 2nd workshop platoon (1. and 2. Werkstattzug )
    • recovery platoon / Bergezug
    • armourer detachment ( Waffenmeisterei )
    • communications detachment ( Funkmeisterei )
    • spare part detachment ( Ersatzteiltrupp )

Army units

By the end of the war, the following heavy panzer detachments had been created. Early units were re-built several times by the end of the war.

Independent units within the German Army (Heer) were:

SS units

Waffen-SS units were

Combat performance

Kill and losses of heavy tank battalions (1942–1945):[1]
Unit Losses Destroyed Ratio
501st Heavy Panzer Battalion 120 450 3.75
502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion 107 1,400 13.08
503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion 252 1,700 6.75
504th Heavy Panzer Battalion 109 250 2.29
505th Heavy Panzer Battalion 126 900 7.14
506th Heavy Panzer Battalion 179 400 2.23
507th Heavy Panzer Battalion 104 600 5.77
508th Heavy Panzer Battalion 78 100 1.28
509th Heavy Panzer Battalion 120 500 4.17
510th Heavy Panzer Battalion 65 200 3.08
13./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland 6 100 16.67
III./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland 98 500 5.10
13./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 42 400 9.52
8./SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 31 250 8.06
9./SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 56 500 8.93
101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 107 500 4.67
102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 76 600 7.89
103rd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 39 500 12.82
Total: 1,715 9,850 5.74

Tank losses include losses inflicted other than by enemy tanks. Also, many tanks were abandoned by their crews due to a lack of fuel, ammunition or breakdown, especially at the end of war.[citation needed]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Tiger Tank Battalions during WWII - p. 2". The Armor Site!. – citing http://www.alanhamby.com/tiger.html which itself cites Tigers in Combat I by Wolfgang Schneider, Tigers in Combat II by Wolfgang Schneider, Red Army Handbook by Steven Zaloga
  2. ^ a b Schneider 2000, pp. 3–4.
  3. ^ Schneider 2000, p. 2.
  4. ^ Schneider 2004, pp. 13–14, 321
  5. ^ Jentz, pp. 195, 265
  6. ^ Olsson, Thorleif. "Borgward IV- Sd.Kfz.. 301". Achtung Panzer!.

References

  • Jentz, Thomas (1996). Panzertruppen 2: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1943-1945. Schiffer. ISBN 978-0-7643-0080-6.
  • Schneider, Wolfgang (2000). Tigers in Combat I. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3171-3.
  • Wilbeck, Christopher (2004). Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II. Bedford: Aberjona Press. OCLC 200489614.