Chapter IV
In spite of the terrible problems that faced the badly depleted Panzer divisions, back in Germany production of tanks still increased. In order to overcome the mammoth task of defeating the Red Army more Panzer divisions were being raised, and motorized divisions converted into Panzergrenadier divisions. Although equipping the Panzerwaffe was a slow, expensive process, it was undertaken effectively with the introduction of a number of new fresh divisions being deployed on the front lines.
Another problem the Panzerwaffe were facing on the Eastern Front was heavier Russian tank fire power, for example their T35 tank. Hitler’s light panzers were often no match against these vehicles and as a consequence a number of tanks were modified and up-gunned to deal with the developing threat. The Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf.B chassis mounted a heavier 15cm sIG33 gun, named the Bison. This mammoth piece was relatively short and barely fitted inside a tall superstructure. Although the tank had a powerful gun, it was not very versatile on the battlefield.
The Pz.Kpfw.II also saw its chassis get converted into what was known as a Marder II. These vehicles mounted the 7.62cm PaK 36(r), and later the 7.5cm PaK 40 was mounted on the tank chassis of the Ausf.F resulting in a better overall fighting machine. The Marder II became a key component in the Panzerwaffe arsenal and served with the Germans on all fronts through to the end of the war.
Another vehicle that served extensively on the Eastern Front was Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II or Wespe. This mounted the 15cm sIG 33 gun, and there was a version for a 10.5cm leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 field howitzer in a built-up superstructure. The Panzer II proved an efficient chassis for this weapon and it became the only widely produced self-propelled 10.5cm howitzer for Germany. Between February 1943 and June 1944, 676 left the production lines and it served with German forces on all major fronts.
It was not just the Pz.Kpfw.I and II that were modified to meet the increasing enemy armoured threat, the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) and 35(t) were modified. The Pz.Kpfw.38(t) chasis was modified to mount the 7.5cm gun in an open-top superstructure known as the Sd.Kfz 138 or Marder III. Another variant, the Sd.Kfz 139 Marder III carried a Soviet 76.2cm gun in an open-top superstructure. Then there was the Sd.Kfz 138/1 Grille, which carried a German 150cm infantry gun. The Sd.Kfz 140 Flakpanzer 38(t) carried a 20mm anti-aircraft gun; and the SdKfz 140/1 Aufklärungspanzer38(t) mit 2cm KwK 38 was a reconnaissance tank with a 2cm turret gun from a Sd.Kfz.222 armoured car, of which seventy were built. Then there was the Sd.Kfz 140/1 Aufklärungspanzer 38(t) mit 7.5cm KwK37 L/24, which mounted the 7.5cm gun in a modified superstructure, and later in the war the Jagdpanzer 38(t) left the production lines. This was unofficially known as the Hetzer, which was a powerful and deadly tank destroyer carrying a 7.5cm L/48 anti-tank gun.
The Pz.Kpfw.35(t) also saw its chassis being converted into a tank destroyer by substituting a captured Soviet 76.2cm field gun in its place. The gun and crew were protected by a thin, fixed, three-sided, partially roofed casemate that used armour plate salvaged from captured Soviet tanks. The prototype was completed by September 1943, although it used the older 76.2cm M-1936 F-22 field gun, and proved reasonably successful.
All these converted light panzers saw relative success on the battlefield. However, a number of them were still in development during 1942, and the factories were putting a lot of their time in rapidly building heavier panzers like the Pz.Kpfw.III and IV, and the new Tiger tank to meet the growing threat of heavier Russian armour.
By the beginning of the summer offensive in May 1942, not all of the Panzer divisions were fully equipped and ready for combat. Some of the older units, for instance, did not even have their losses from the winter offensive of 1941 replaced and were not ready for any type of full-scale operation. Worn out and depleted Panzer divisions were therefore relegated to Army Group North or Army Group Centre where they were hastily deployed for a series of defensive actions instead. The best-equipped Panzer divisions were shifted south to Army Group South for operations through the Caucasus. Two Panzer armies – 1st and 4th –were to spearhead the drive. By May 1942 most of the Panzer divisions involved were up to nearly 85 per cent of their original fighting strength, and had been equipped with Pz.Kpfw.III and Pz.Kpfw.IV.
With renewed confidence the summer offensive, codenamed ‘Operation Blau’, opened up in southern Russia. Some fifteen Panzer divisions and Panzergrenadier divisions of the 1st and 4th armies, together with Italian, Rumanian and Hungarian formations, crashed into action. In just two days the leading spearheads had pushed some 100 miles deep into the enemy lines and began to cut off the city of Voronezh. The city fell on 7 July. The two Panzer armies then converged with all their might on Stalingrad. It seemed that the Russians were now doomed. With an air of confidence Hitler decided to abandon the armoured advance on Stalingrad and embark on an encirclement operation down on the Don. The 6th Army was to go on and capture Stalingrad without any real Panzer support and fight a bloody battle of attrition there. Eventually, the fighting became so fierce it embroiled some twenty-one German divisions including six Panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions.
The 6th Army soon became encircled and three hurriedly reorganized under-strength Panzer divisions were thrown into a relief operation. By 19 December the 6th Panzer Division had fought its way to within 40 miles of Stalingrad. But under increasing Russian pressure the relief operation failed. The 6th Panzer Division and remnants of the 4th Panzer Army were forced to retreat, leaving the 6th Army in the encircled city to its fate. Some 94,000 soldiers surrendered on 2 February 1943. With them the 14th, 16th, and 24th Panzer Divisions, and the 3rd, 29th, and 60th Panzergrenadier Divisions were decimated.
The end now seemed destined to unfold, but still more resources were poured into the Panzer divisions. Throughout the early cold months of 1943, the Panzerwaffe built up the strength of the badly depleted Panzer divisions. These divisions consisted mainly of heavier tanks and tank destroyers like the Marder and Wesper. The Pz.Kpfw.I had ceased to be an effective battle tank and was delegated to training duties. Even the converted Bison could not achieve any success on the battlefield. The Pz.Kpfw.II and the Czech-built 38(t) and 35(t) were almost nonexistent. Only their converted variants now took prime position in the Panzer divisions.
By the summer of 1943, the Panzerwaffe fielded some twenty-four Panzer divisions on the Eastern Front alone. This was a staggering transformation of a Panzer force that had lost immeasurable amounts of armour in less than two years of combat. Hitler now intended to risk his precious Panzerwaffe in what became the largest tank battle of the Second World War, Operation Zitadelle.
Whilst Hitler’s light panzers were never again to take pride of place on the battlefield, as they had done in the early years of war, their converted variants fought well for the next two years of combat. However, as with all the tanks and tank destroyers that fought in the once-vaunted Panzerwaffe, they were too few to make any significant difference on the Eastern Front, and as a consequence were destroyed.
A column of Pz.Kpfw.II Lynx tanks belonging to the 4th Panzer Division cross a snowy Russian landscape bound for the front lines. Note the stowage arrangement and modifications to the tank, which were typical of this unit during this period of the war.
Two Pz.Kpfw.II cross a pontoon bridge probably in December 1942 outside Stalingrad. In and around the decimated city of Stalingrad the fighting became so fierce it embroiled some twenty-one German divisions including six Panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions. The 6th Army soon became encircled and three hurriedly reorganized under-strength Panzer divisions were thrown into a relief operation. By 19 December the 6th Panzer Division had fought its way to within 50km of Stalingrad. But under increasing Russian pressure the relief operation failed. The 6th Panzer Division and remnants of the 4th Panzer Army were forced to retreat, leaving the 6th Army in the encircled city to its fate. Some 94,000 soldiers surrendered on 2 February 1943. With them the 14th, 16th, and 24th Panzer Divisions, and the 3rd, 29th, and 60th Panzergrenadier Divisions were decimated.
During the winter, a Pz.Kpfw.38(t) can be seen poised on an icy road somewhere on the Eastern Front. Note the dented locker on the tank. In spite of the reverses on the Eastern Front, throughout the early cold months of 1943, the Panzerwaffe drastically tried to build up the strength of the badly depleted Panzer divisions.
Pioneers watch as a Pz.Kpfw.II crosses a pontoon bridge in Russia. Foliage can be seen attached to the rear of the vehicle. By this period of the war the light tanks were already dwindling in quantity due to high losses sustained against heavier enemy armour like the T-34.
One of the crew members of a Pz.Kpfw.38(t) is about to dismount from his stationary tank. The vehicle appears to be heavily laden with supplies for the long duration of the march. This tank belongs to the 12th Panzer Division.
A crew member standing next to his Pz.Kpfw.38(t) Ausf.B, C or D variant, as identified by the bolt pattern on the turret front plates for 25mm armour. This vehicle belongs to the 12th Panzer Division. Note the stowage arrangement.
The crew of a Pz.Kpfw.38(t) Ausf. B, C or D gets some air as the tank advances along a road. This unit has applied a black/white national cross as well as a three-digit tactical number, ‘223’, in yellow, to the near side locker.
A Pz.Kpfw.38(t) leads a column of the heavy Pz.Kpfw.IV bound for the front lines.
A pair of Pz.Kpfw.II advance through a newly captured village somewhere on the Eastern Front. They lead several Pz.Kpfw.38(t). These vehicles belong to the 12th Panzer Division.
On a congested road are Pz.Kpfw.II and III accompanied by Sd.Kfz.251 halftracks.
Crossing a makeshift bridge is a column of Marder III armed with the captured 7.62cm Russian anti-tank gun. This vehicle had a lightly armoured three-sided shield fitted directly onto the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) chassis.
Two Pz.Kpfw.II out in the field in Northern Russia in 1942. Waffen-SS troops belonging to the 4th SS Polizei Division can be seen standing next to the leading vehicle.
A column of Pz.Kpfw.II advance through a captured Russian village bound for the front.
Passing a group of Russian peasants, a Wespe advances towards the front lines probably in the summer of 1943. The production of the Wespe tank began in 1942. It was armed with a 10.5cm light field howitzer in an open-topped, box-like superstructure built on top of a Pz.Kpfw.II chassis. Between 1942 and 1944, 683 of these self-propelled guns were built.
July 1943 and the crew of a Marder III Panzerjäger pose for the camera. The Marder III was the first of a series of improvised light tank hunters and was built on the chassis of a Pz.Kpfw.38(t). This particular vehicle is fitted with a captured 7.62cm Russian Model 36 anti-tank gun.
During the battle of Kursk in July 1943 a well-camouflaged Wespe battery fords a shallow stream. The Wespe was thinly armoured to offset the added weight of the gun and, like all self-propelled gun mounts, had open hulls that offered little protection for the men and guns.
British POWs pass two stationary vehicles. One is a Pz.Kpfw.II, and parked behind is a Sturmpanzer or Brummbar (Grizzly bear). This was a tank with an assault howitzer for use in urban combat, designed to be mounted on a Pz.Kpfw.IV chassis. Note the application of Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste.
A battery of Wespe self-propelled guns open fire simultaneously during defensive operations in Poland in the late summer of 1944. Both vehicle’s guns can be seen recoiling. The sound of these guns in action can be easily imagined, and is evidenced by a number of the crew holding their ears.
A Marder III somewhere on the Eastern Front, probably in 1942. This tank destroyer was built on the chassis of the Pz.Kpfw.38(t). It was armed with the captured Soviet 76.2mm F-22 M 1936 divisional gun, or the German 7.5cm PaK 40.
A Marder II self-propelled anti-tank gun advances along a muddy field. Because the Germans had few anti-tank weapons cable of successfully engaging the Soviet T-34 and KV heavy tanks, an urgent need arose for a more mobile and powerful anti-tank weapon. The Marder II was built on the chassis of a Pz.Kpfw.II.
A Marder out on the battlefield accompanied by an Sd.Kfz.251 halftrack. The Marder series was not fully armoured. It had thin upper armour protection and all were open tops. Some were issued with canvas tops to protect the crews from the weather.
Taking cover in the undergrowth with a full complement of crew is a Marder II. This photograph was probably taken in Italy in 1943.
A photograph of a Wespe self-propelled light field howitzer in undergrowth, probably during the Kursk offensive in July 1943. Built on the modified chassis of the Pz.Kpfw.II, the Wespe mounted the 10.5cm leFH18/2 and was issued to the Panzer artillery regiments of the Panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions.
A well-camouflaged Marder hurtles along a road bound for the front line in the summer of 1943.
During the Kursk offensive and SS troops can be seen surveying a destroyed Soviet T-34 tank. In the background is a stationary Wespe, probably belonging to an SS unit.
A late new Jagdpanzer 38(t) manufactured at the Skoda plant. A total of 2,584 of these vehicles were constructed on the chassis of a Pz.Kpfw.38(t) from April 1944 to May 1945. The vehicle has received a camouflage paint scheme of red and brown and olive green patches over the dark yellow sand base.