(orchestral music) - [Narrator] By the time
Hitler came to power in 1933, his thoughts on the
future of armored warfare had already been widely
published in the Nazi press. He had a keen interest in the tank and placed its development high up on his list of priorities. When German rearmament began in earnest, plans were made to produce an entire range of armored fighting vehicles. This was based largely on the philosophies of Heinz Guderian, a veteran
of the first World War and chief-of-staff to the
inspector of motorized troops. Guderian had long since recognized the full potential of the tank. If allowed to operate at its own speed instead of being hindered by
the slowness of the troops, the tank could provide the ideal means of avoiding static trench warfare. In a series of exercises
and motorized war games, Guderian had demonstrated
that mobile armored divisions could win a modern war in
the shortest possible time. Two main types of tank were envisaged by the German general staff. The first would carry a 37-millimeter, high-velocity anti-tank gun and would be deployed in large numbers to form the bulk of an armored assault. The second type would be a medium tank weighing some 20 tons, equipped with the
largest 75-millimeter gun firing high explosive shells, it would act in support
of the lighter vehicle. The Panzer III and Panzer IV would eventually fulfill these two roles, but their development and production took much longer than expected. In the meantime, two small lighter tanks
were used to fill the gap. These were the
five-and-a-half-ton Panzer I and the 10-ton Panzer II. With relatively weak firepower
and thin defensive armor, they were hardly suitable as battle tanks, but they were the ideal vehicles for training and reconnaissance work. The Panzer I was one of the
smallest tanks ever built, measuring just 13 feet in length and less than seven feet in width. Armed with two 7.92-millimeter
MG-34 machine guns, it had an operational
range of over 100 miles. And in spite of its low-powered
four-cylinder engine, it could reach a top speed of
25 miles per hour on the road. With a crew of only two men, the tank commander also
had to act as the gunner. His job was made even more difficult by the very poor visibility
from inside the turret. To properly judge what was
happening outside the tank, it was usually necessary to stand up through the turret hatch. With the top part of his body exposed, the commander presented
an extremely good target for both riflemen and machine gunners. The tank itself was designed to be immune to small arms fire, but its angular construction
and thin armor plating rendered it susceptible to
any gun of a larger caliber. It entered service in 1934 and was built on a relatively large scale. Before long, several variants had evolved, and between them, they formed nearly half of the total tank force. By 1935, the larger Panzer II began to appear in limited numbers. The new vehicle had considerably
thicker armor plating, but its 130-horsepower engine enabled it to match the top
speed of its predecessor. The addition of a third crewman eased the strain on the commander, enabling him to concentrate
fully on directing operations. Armament had been improved by replacing one of the machine guns
with a 20-millimeter cannon. But with limited penetrating power and an effective range
of less than 700 yards, the gun was of little use
against opposing heavy tanks. Nevertheless, the new tank was
well received by its crews. (speaking foreign language) It was a very good vehicle,
technically and mechanically. The only problem was the steering. We had the old heavy steering system. You had to have a lot of
strength to move this tank in the direction that you wanted to go because of the strange
old steering system. Once you are on a straight
road, it was fine, but as soon as you had
to go over uneven ground, there were problems. It was hard to maneuver
because it was very long, and with its extra size
and the belt system, it was harder to handle. Mostly, people enjoyed
driving the Panzer II. The five-wheel suspension of the Panzer II was a distinct improvement
over the external girder system used on the Panzer I. The elliptical springing on each wheel was far more effective
than the previous layout and gave the occupants a much better ride. By 1935, compulsory military service had been introduced in Germany. In October, the first three
Panzer divisions were formed, together with their own
specialized Panzer command. The tactics and training
methods used by the divisions were based on Guderian's
two main principles of tank fighting. The first of these was
that the tanks themselves should play the primary role, while all other weapons should
be used to support them. Tank divisions would be
used in concentrated thrusts in order to break through and
isolate the enemy's positions. By using speed and surprise, the tanks would become the
single most decisive factor in any major offensive. The second principle involved
a system of close cooperation between German aircraft and armor. Pinpoint bombing should
be used to clear a path for the tanks and to eliminate
any points of resistance. To enable them to fight along these lines, the first Panzer divisions
were very carefully structured. Each one consisted of a Panzer brigade with two tank regiments and a motorized rifle brigade
with one motorcycle battalion and two rifle battalions. Of the divisional units included
artillery, reconnaissance, and anti-tank battalions, as well as engineering
companies and signal battalions. Communications equipment became an integral part of the system, and on Guderian's insistence, every tank was fitted with
both an intercom and a radio. During the opening part of the war, this factor would give the
Germans a decisive edge over their opponents. (speaking foreign language) I think one of the advantages was the technical abilities of the tank in that we had much better
communications between our tanks. Each of our tanks had a radio, and therefore could
always be in radio contact with the leader or commander. This made it successful, not because of superior armaments, but because of the improved
communication facilities. In 1938, Hitler ordered the
occupation of Czechoslovakia and seized control of the Czech tank firms of CKD and Skoda. In addition, every tank already in service with the Czech army was
absorbed into the Wehrmacht. Most were light tanks, similar in size and
performance to the Panzer II. The Czech TNHP tank was
redesignated by the Germans as the 38T. Armed with a reliable 37-millimeter gun, it made a sizable contribution
to the Panzer force. It served with the Wehrmacht in most of the early war theaters and continued in production until 1942. By 1939, both of the heavier German tanks had completed their acceptance trials. The Panzer III and Panzer IV were officially declared standard issue on September the 27th. The F-model was the first
major production version of the Panzer III. Weighing 20 tons, it
carried a crew of five and had a top road speed
of 25 miles per hour. It could reach 11 miles
per hour across country and had a maximum range of 110 miles. Inside, the vehicle was relatively roomy when compared with its
smaller predecessors. The driver and radio operator both sat inside the hull, while the commander, gunner, and loader were all positioned in the turret. Visibility was extremely good, and the commander had no
less than five vision slots equally spaced around the
rim of the turret cupola. Yet in spite of its good points, the first production version
had some serious shortcomings. Armor plating was far too thin, and the 37-millimeter main gun proved unable to penetrate the hulls
of contemporary enemy tanks. But the basic design was sound, and the construction methods used enabled improvements to be made
without any major problems. Before long, the 37-millimeter gun had been replaced by a more
powerful 50-millimeter weapon, and bolt-on armor had been developed for both the hull and the turret. The additional protection would make quite a difference
in the forthcoming battles. (speaking foreign language) The advantage was the
strong armor plating. It was much better and so you felt safer, and it made you feel braver, as you knew your chances of
getting hit were a lot less. So as I said before,
I was hit three times. I can still picture it. It looked like a problem,
but the tank was all right. With regard to the technical
performance of the Panzer III, I would say that it was a
well-constructed vehicle. Mechanically, in view of its tracks, it was not as vulnerable
as some other types because it had running belts, and if anything got caught, it
could easily cut through it. I can't say too much about
the technical aspect of it, because as a gunner, I was responsible for loading the weapons. Overall, the Panzer III
was an unqualified success. It dominated the early tank battles, and for the first three years of war, it played a decisive part in
almost every German victory. By the time production ceased in 1943, more than five-and-a-half
thousand had been built. Running in parallel with the Panzer III came the introduction of
Germany's standard support tank, the Panzer IV. It weighed three tons more
than the fighting tank and used a longer chassis
in order to accommodate the larger 75-millimeter main gun. In spite of the extra weight, it could reach the same
road speed as the Panzer III and was even slightly
faster over rough ground. Eight-wheel suspension
gave a comfortable ride, and the internal layout was good, with the hull being divided into three separate compartments. Periscopes were fitted for both the driver and the radio operator, and the turret could be
operated either electrically or by hand. The front superstructure was made from a single piece of metal, and the thickness of the basic armor was increased from 30
millimeters to 50 millimeters. But the plating was still too thin to cope with heavy opposition, and during the early campaigns, Panzer IVs were unable to carry out their support roles properly. When the deficiencies were exposed, the army instigated a lengthy
program of improvements. Thicker armor was added, and after 1941, most models were fitted
with a long-barrel version of the 75-millimeter gun. This new weapon transformed
the vehicle to such an extent that it superseded the Panzer III as Germany's main fighting tank. It proved extremely
reliable throughout the war and became one of the few tanks to remain in continuous production from 1939 right through to 1945. When it was upgunned for
a second time in 1943, it had the ability to take on almost any contemporary Ally tank. By the time production ceased, nearly 9,000 Panzer IIIs had been built. As the medium tanks were
phased into service, the number of Panzer divisions
increased accordingly. By the autumn of 1939,
three more had been formed, and on September the 1st, all six divisions took part
in the invasion of Poland. Of the 3,000 German tanks
involved, 98 were Panzer IIIs and 211 were Panzer IVs. The remainder of the force was
made up of Panzer Is and IIs together with a number
of Czech-built 38Ts. Facing them were 1,100
outdated Polish tanks of all shapes and sizes. Codenamed Operation White, the invasion began at 4:45 in the morning. Two German army groups
struck simultaneously, one in the North and
the other in the South. As soon as the ground attack began, the Luftwaffe launched a
series of massive airstrikes against the Polish airfields. The Polish air force consisted of just a few hundred obsolete aircraft, and within a few days, it
had been all but demolished. On the ground, the Poles
were equally ill-equipped. They were desperately lacking
in mobile anti-tank guns and were completely outclassed
by the speed of the Panzers. Nevertheless, they fought
with astonishing bravery and even resorted to using cavalry units in an attempt to hold up the German army. By the end of the month, it was all over. Warsaw had been completely
surrounded in just 18 days, and on the 28th of September, the Polish capital was
forced to surrender. The Panzer divisions
had proved their worth, losing little more than 200 tanks during the entire Polish campaign. Eight months later, they were poised to repeat their success. By the spring of 1940, Hitler had two-and-a-half-thousand
tanks at his disposal. Panzer Is and IIs made
up 40% of this force, while the heavier Panzer IIIs and IVs accounted for less than 25%. Each Panzer division now included its own anti-aircraft battalion, as well as its own squadron
of nine reconnaissance planes. By cooperating closely with
the divisions' tank formations, these units were to prove highly effective in the coming campaigns. Training methods had now reached
a state of near-perfection. The tank men were taught the advantages of teamwork and versatility. And each member of a crew was
able to operate as a driver, gunner, loader, or as a radio operator. Normally, the crew would be one unit. There wasn't any difference
between ranks within the unit, which was rather unusual
for the German armed forces. For example, even the
commander had to help with carrying the canisters
of ammunition to the camp regardless of his rank, just as the wireless operator and any other soldier had to do. The driver was the only one
that didn't have to help as he had to drive all day long and repair any damage done to the tank. But all the rest chipped in. The wireless operator organized the food. He made sandwiches and looked after all
the food side of things. On May the 10th, Hitler ordered the start
of Operation Yellow, the invasion of France
and the low countries. Opposing the German armor were 4,000 British and French tanks, plus a small number of
Belgian and Dutch vehicles. Although the French had a number of the fairly potent Char B tank, much of their force was equipped with inadequately armed light tanks, such as the Renault 35
and the Hotchkiss H39. Britain and France were both convinced that the Germans would
attack in the North. The Maginot Line and the
thick forests of the Ardennes would surely prevent a
breakthrough further South. So when Hitler struck
in Holland and Belgium, the Allies moved Northwards and took up a pre-planned
defensive position on the Dyle Line. The German offensive opened
early in the morning, with the Luftwaffe attacking
airfields in Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, and France. Meanwhile, paratroops were landed at Rotterdam and the Hague, while additional airborne
forces attacked Fort Eben-Emael, the key defensive position in Belgium. By midday on May the 11th,
the fort had surrendered and the Panzers of Army Group B had pushed deep into Holland and Belgium. While the Allies were decoyed
into fighting in the North, Hitler launched a real
attack further South straight through the supposedly
impenetrable Ardennes. On May the 13th, von Kleist's
tanks of Army Group A smashed across the River Meuse, forcing a gap between Sedan and Dinant to the North of the Maginot Line. With the main French defensive system rendered completely useless, the Allied armies were rapidly outflanked. By May the 17th, Army Group A's Panzers were racing westwards across France. Three French tank divisions under the command of Charles de Gaulle, counterattacked Montcornet. But in spite of support
from British armor, they could do little to stem the tide, and by May the 20th, Guderian's tanks had reached
the coast at Abbeville. Soon they began to swing to the North, and by May the 24th, the
Allies were encircled in the coastal pocket some 60 miles long. Faced with a hopeless situation, the British decided to withdraw on Dunkirk and evacuate as many troops as possible. Hitler's nervousness came to their aid. Worried about an overextended line, he halted the German Panzers on the edge of the Aa Canal. And in a nine-day rescue operation, a third of a million Allied troops managed to escape to England. The Battle of France continued for almost another three weeks, but the result was inevitable. After a brief rest, the
Panzers swung South. Paris fell on the 14th of June, and eight days later, France surrendered. It had been a resounding
victory for the Panzer divisions and a triumph of German military planning. Holland had been conquered
in just four days, Belgium in three weeks, and the whole of France
within seven weeks. In September, Italy
opened the first offensive against British forces in North Africa. The following month, they invaded Greece, but by the end of the year, they were in serious
trouble in both war zones. The Greeks forced a retreat to Albania, and in December, four Italian
divisions were wiped out in a British counterattack
at Sidi Barrani. Early in the new year, the British 7th Armored
Division took Tobruk. Within two months, they had
destroyed 10 Italian divisions and captured 130,000 men. When most of the British force
was transferred to Greece, Hitler decided to go to Mussolini's aid. In February, the newly formed Africa Corps were landed at Tripoli, and under the command of Erwin Rommel, they began to prepare for their first major offensive in North Africa. German forces also invaded
Yugoslavia and Greece, and by the end of the month,
both countries had surrendered. At 3:15 AM on June the 22nd, Operation Barbarossa began,
with more than 3,000 Panzers spearheading the invasion of Russia. In a series of well-timed attacks, the Luftwaffe destroyed
much of the Soviet air force while it was still on the ground. By July, German pilots had claimed more than 4,000 Russian aircraft for the loss of less than
200 of their own machines. (gunfire) Within a few short weeks, the Panzer divisions had
enveloped five Russian armies and had taken several
hundred thousand prisoners. But in the autumn, the Germans had begun to encounter a new threat in the form of the Soviet
medium tank, the T-34. Armed with a powerful 76-millimeter gun and with a road speed of
50 kilometers per hour, the much heavier T-34 completely
outclassed the Panzer IV. (speaking foreign language) As we marched into Russia,
they showed us big posters of all the different types of tank, but none of the T-34. It wasn't there so we
didn't know about it. Well, we said, we've got good protection and that's how we went into it. We were told it would all
start in six to eight weeks and to get ready for it. But we learned after the second day after fighting the T-34
and being hit by it that you couldn't get out of
the tank in the time you had. The T-34 had a strong impact. In the face of powerful
tanks like the T-34, the Wehrmacht's standard Panzer IV proved to be completely out of date. Germany reacted by
speeding up the development of its own heavy battle tanks, the Panzer V Panther
and the Panzer VI Tiger. But neither would be ready
for at least another year. In the meantime, the
divisions fighting in the East pressed on with their existing equipment. The initial three-pronged German attack was aimed at Leningrad in the North, Smolensk in the center,
and Kiev in the South. Smolensk fell in August, followed by Kiev at the end of September. In three months, the
Russians had been pushed back several hundred miles, and in the process, they had lost vast numbers
of men, tanks, and guns. German losses had also been high, especially in the Russian minefields. (speaking foreign language) The Panzers III and IV had
an opening in the round flap. We used to call it our pee hole. When we drove for days on end and didn't have time to
do our business anywhere, we used it as a toilet. Anyway, we were driving along and one of these mines
landed on top of a flap. You can imagine what happened. There was not much left. My wireless operator sat
on the right at the front and the man that supplied the ammunition stood right on the top of the flap. It ripped his back off, his legs off, and my legs were injured. The leftenant who was at the
front seemed to be all right. But later he got shot in the
head by the infantry and died. The other two were alive still. It's horrendous to
witness a thing like that. There was screaming,
screaming for half an hour. The driver and myself got dragged out and had to sit on top of the tracks. The infantry was still there and we happened to sit on a blind spot. The tank was completely wrecked. The only thing left was the
top, that wasn't damaged. The tank cans that the Russians
had were also dangerous. They were long things that
burrowed into the soil. They would fire within
a short range of 100, 150, to 200 meters, and they
would go through everything. They would shoot upwards
and blow the tops off us. So we would be driving along for ages in our tanks without a breakdown when, suddenly, they were just blown up. The impact was very fast and effective. If you got hit, there
wasn't much you could do. It was rather an unpleasant experience. We had a lot of respect for the tank cans. They would rip through anything. We managed to get hold of one, and I must confess, we
were quite impressed by it. Whoever fired them must have
had very strong shoulders. I still admire those
who had to handle them and fire the tank cans. By the end of September, Hitler sensed that his ultimate objectives
were at last in sight. On the last day of the month, Army Group Centre began
its drive on Moscow. But the German Panzers had reached the pinnacle of their success, and in October, 1941, the Russian weather turned against them. Torrential rain turned
the roads into quagmires. As temperatures fell,
the rain turned to snow and keeping the tanks running
became extremely difficult. (speaking foreign language) We would stop anywhere, under the open sky, in a
field, underneath a few trees. It didn't matter if it was day or night, as you worked in shifts. Usually, there were three men, one of whom would be sleeping. You always had to make
sure that the division had their tanks repaired
as quickly as possible. Even if it meant working
in temperatures of say minus 30 or 40 centigrade, you had to get on with it. By the end of the year,
the Russians had begun to launch a series of
massive counterattacks. In the vast Soviet expanse, the German supply lines
became stretched to the limit. Shortage of fuel and lack of air support became decisive factors, and the thick armor of
the heavy Russian tanks forced the Panzers to
fight at close range. (speaking foreign language) If you wanted to be successful at shooting down the Russian tanks, you had to make sure that
you were close enough. You had to come out of hiding, sometimes you were camouflaged. It was best to attack head on, and it would be difficult to
shoot the enemy further than 600 to 800 meters away. It was easier to get
close up from the side. We didn't bother to target the turret. We would go for the tracks. We had various types of
ammunition, and it was important to choose the right one at the right time. It wasn't easy. As the push towards Moscow
ground slowly to a halt, Hitler ordered his armies
to go on the defensive. Meanwhile, the first clashes between German and British tanks had already taken place in North Africa. The situation had swayed to and fro, but after a pause of several months, Rommel launched his second major offensive in January in 1942. By the end of the month,
he had captured Benghazi, and after another lull in the fighting, he began a long drive towards Tobruk. At the Battle of Gazala, newly
arrived American-built tanks inflicted heavy losses
on the German armor. The M3 Grant's twin-gun
armament came as a nasty shock and finally gave the British a weapon capable of matching the Panzer IV. Nevertheless, Rommel pressed on, and on June the 21st, he stormed Tobruk, taking 32,000 prisoners,
plus all of their equipment. Four days later, the remainder
of the British 8th Army withdrew to El Alamein,
the last defensive position before Alexandria. While reserves were brought in from Egypt, morale was boosted by the
appearance of a new commander, General Bernard Montgomery. On August the 30th, Rommel
attacked at Alam Halfa. The British were well-prepared, and within 48 hours, the
German Panzers had bogged down in an extensive range of minefields. While Montgomery's strength
continued to build, Rommel's was eroded by shortages
of both fuel and supplies. By October, the British had
gained overwhelming superiority in men, tanks, aircraft, and guns. - Fire! Fire! Fire! - [Narrator] At 9 PM on the 23rd, Montgomery opened the Battle of El Alamein with the greatest artillery
barrage since World War I. The artillery fire and air bombardment took the Germans by surprise,
smashing their communications and paving the way for a
British armored assault. The ensuing battle lasted for 14 days and mark the combat debut of the most prolific medium
tank of all, the M4 Sherman. (speaking foreign language) Our weapons were much
better than the Shermans, but we had a lot of
respect for the Sherman. When it was introduced for the first time, we realized how vulnerable we were. In the early days, I think we were ahead of
the English, technically. But the story changed at Alamein when the Sherman was used
for the first time ever. I wasn't there then. As I said, we respected
the Sherman completely. By November the 6th, the
Battle of Alamein had ended in a resounding victory for the British. Montgomery's 8th Army had broken through the German positions, and by November the 2nd,
Rommel was in full retreat. With a loss of 30,000 men,
400 cannon, and 350 tanks, the Africa Panzer Army was no longer an effective fighting force. By the late spring of 1942, the German armies in Russia were preparing for a new offensive against Stalingrad and the oil fields of the Caucasus. Many units began to
receive the much improved F2 version of the Panzer IV. (speaking foreign language) We were moved to Germany to take over the Panzer
IV with the long gun. After a short period of training, our section was moved to the
4th tank regiment in the South to support the Caucasus campaign. This was the most interesting
period of all my war missions. The landscape as well as the battles were not particularly difficult. The Russian defense fell
back onto the Caucasus. We had problems with our tanks, which were really built
to fight in Middle Europe. In these conditions, desert landscapes, it was very difficult
to operate these tanks. By September, the Germans had reached the outskirts of Stalingrad, but in the face of a defensive system that was several miles deep, their advance ground to a halt. Further North at Leningrad,
the world's most powerful tank went into battle for the first time. Weighing 55 tons, the Tiger could outgun and outrange any existing Allied tank. Its armor plating was so strong that the hull was virtually
impenetrable from the front. The high-velocity, 88-millimeter main gun was a truly formidable weapon, feared and respected by
all Allied tank groups. Based on the original Flak
36, the tank-mounted version could penetrate 100 millimeters of armor from well over 1,500 meters. (speaking foreign language) I remember a conversation
with a friend of mine who had seen this type of tank before, and when I came back
from leave I asked him, "What does this tank, "which we've heard so many
wonderful things about, "look like?" My friend, Heine Kleiner, said, "I imagine a tank with a very long gun." He asked if I could picture it and said, "But this one is much longer." When I first saw the tank,
I was a little disappointed. I had imagined it to be more
elegant, a bit like the T-34. But here it was, this great,
big dinosaur in front of us, square, vertical form, powerful, but the gun was very impressive. The debut of the Tiger proved
little short of disastrous. Hitler had insisted on using the new tanks at the first opportunity, but the marshy terrain and
forest tracks near Leningrad forced them to drive in single file. As a result, the Russian anti-tank gunners were able to knock them out one by one. Most of the Tigers were destroyed before they could use their
powerful, 88-millimeter guns with any real effect. But in spite of this inauspicious start, the very appearance of a
Tiger on the battlefield was enough to shake the
morale of its opponents. To the crews of lighter Allied tanks, it appeared almost invincible, and before long, it had built
up a formidable reputation. But on the eastern front,
the tide was about to turn. Hitler's offensive in the
Caucasus dragged on into winter, and in December, the
Russians relieved Stalingrad. In the new year, a series
of massive Soviet thrusts inflicted devastating losses on the 4th and 6th Panzer armies. Six months later, Hitler
launched Operation Citadel, his last major effort in the East. Aimed at destroying Soviet forces in the vital Kursk salient, this large-scale offensive became the most decisive battle
on the entire eastern front. During seven days of continuous fighting, a combined total of
six-and-a-half-thousand tanks and assault guns were involved. The Battle of Kursk marked the first appearance of
Germany's second heavy tank, the Panzer V Panther. Although twice the
weight of the Panzer IV, it was considerably faster and had a much better
level of armor protection. (speaking foreign language) One of the advantages of the Panther was that it had relatively
strong armor plating on the front and quite a good gun, the
7.5-centimeter gun L71, which was superior to the Russians' 762. It enabled us to shoot
down heavy Russian tanks up to a distance of 1,000 meters. The disadvantages with the Panther were the lack of distance it could travel because of carrying
insufficient fuel supplies, and also problems with
the power propulsion unit were rather substantial. So that is why we
suffered such high losses on the early missions, mainly through technical difficulties. (speaking foreign language) The Panther was a good tank, we liked it. I think that it was the
best tank around then. There were a few disadvantages due to it being designed so quickly and the lack of resources available. The engine was good but was perhaps a little too weak for its size. This was the main disadvantage and we suffered many losses because of it. A third of the Panthers were lost. During a retreat, we
didn't always have time to tow damaged tanks back with us, so we had to leave them
behind and blow them up. Citadel opened at 5 AM. With more than two-and-a-half-thousand
Panzers deployed over a 60-mile front, it was the largest tank battle in history. Within hours of advancing in the North, the 9th Panzer Army had
destroyed an entire wave of T-34s and had captured the village of Baterky. A simultaneous attack in the South breached the Soviet lines, and by the late afternoon, the Panzers had captured the
key village of Cherkesskaya. But the Russians had been
expecting this battle for a very long time and had turned the entire area
into a veritable fortress. Concealed within the
multi-layered defense system were 3,000 miles of trenches,
25,000 guns and mortars, and more than 40,000 anti-tank
and anti-personnel mines. As the battle progressed, both sides suffered enormous losses, and within a few days,
the salient was littered with burnt up tanks and guns. Successive German attacks were
repulsed one after another until finally, the Russians
counterattacked at Orel. The crisis point came on July the 12th, with a final German
assault on Prokhorovka. 900 Russian tanks defended
the town against 900 Panzers. With both Russian and Germans
firing at point blank range, the carnage was appalling, and by nightfall, more than
700 tanks had been destroyed. Among them were 300 Panzers,
including 70 Tigers. On July the 13th, Hitler
called off the offensive and the Battle of Kursk was over. Russia had lost 50% of its tank strength, but the German advance
had at last been halted. For the rest of the war
on the eastern front, Hitler's Panzer armies
would be permanently on the defensive. As the Russians advanced in the East, the Allies at last opened
a second front in the West. It began with the invasion of Italy and continued nine months later with the main assault in Normandy. By midnight on June the
6th, 150,000 had come ashore equipped with a variety of vehicles, including mine-clearing flail tanks and bridge-laying Shermans. After a slow start, the Germans reacted by sending 10 Panzer divisions to defend the vital
communication center at Caen. Two months of heavy fighting followed before the town fell to the Allies. In August, the Americans
finally broke out at Saint-Lo. Sweeping round in an arc, they
linked up with the Canadians and caught the 5th and 7th Panzer Armies in a trap at Falaise. It was a catastrophe for the Germans. A relentless air onslaught
annihilated the Panzer divisions. Out of the 500 German tanks at Falaise, only 60 managed to escape. 60,000 men were either
killed or taken prisoner, and the cost to the
Germans in other materials was enormous. On August the 25th, French and American tanks drove into Paris amidst scenes of wild jubilation. As the Allies began their
long advance to the Rhine, Germany's ultimate heavy tank made its first appearance in battle. Known as the King Tiger, it
carried the thickest armor and was the heaviest and
most powerfully armed tank of the entire war. Equipped with the 88-millimeter L71, it was 24 feet long and was capable of destroying
any armored vehicle at a range of 2,000 yards. In total, nearly 500 King Tigers entered service with the German army. Used correctly, they were
virtually invincible, and wherever they appeared in numbers, they completely dominated the battlefield. Their immensely strong armor made them almost invulnerable to gunfire, and a single King Tiger was
quite capable of engaging and destroying several Allied
tanks at the same time. At the Battle of Arnhem
in September, 1944, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps with
two King Tiger battalions played the decisive role in cutting off the British 1st Airborne Division. In just nine days, they
had completely crushed Montgomery's plans for
shortening the war in the West. Three months later, on December the 16th, Hitler launched Operation Autumn Mist, his last major attempt at
halting the Allied advance. Two armies with a quarter-of-a-million
men and 1,800 tanks were used in a massive
surprise counterattack through the Ardennes. The German objective was
to drive an armored wedge between the British and American armies. By forcing their way through
to the Belgian coast, the Panzers would retake Antwerp, sever the main routes of supply, and force the Allies to withdraw. The attack came at the weakest
point of the Allied line, with the German forces
outnumbering the opposing Americans by nearly three to one. As usual, the heavy tank units of the 5th and 6th Panzer
Armies spearheaded the attack using Tiger Is and King Tigers. At first, it looked as if
the plan might succeed. In the foggy weather conditions, the Allies were unable
to call in airstrikes. And during the first 24 hours, the 5th Panzer Army advanced 20 miles through the American lines. But on December the
23rd, the weather cleared and the Allied air forces
were deployed en masse. (exploding) On the ground, the German tanks met increasingly stiff resistance, especially at Bastogne, and as they began to lose momentum, the Americans counterattacked. By the end of January, the battle was over and the Allies had
reached the German border. During five weeks of ferocious fighting, neither German army had advanced any further than 70 miles. Between them, they had suffered
more than 70,000 casualties and had lost over 500 tanks. After Autumn Mist, the 5th and 6th Panzer
Armies were so badly depleted that they would never regain
their maximum strength. 5th Panzer Army was pushed
back across the Rhine and became encircled by
the Allies in The Ruhr, while the remnants of the 6th were transferred to the eastern front, where they were forced to surrender less than four months later. When the Americans reached the
River Rhine in March, 1945, the 512th Battalion's Jagdtiger companies were sent into action against
the bridgehead at Remagen. But it was a hopeless situation, and by the end of the month, they had been withdrawn to the North. By the third week in April, most of them had surrendered
together with the rest of the German armor trapped
inside the Ruhr pocket. The heyday of the Panzer was finally over. (solemn orchestral music)
