Ironically, the roots of the German Panzerwaffe were laid in conjunction with Soviet Russia, the nation that was destined to become Nazi Germany’s greatest enemy and ultimately her nemesis. During the 20’s the new Soviet Union was an even greater pariah than Germany, and the fledgling soviet state had already withstood the perils of a civil war and foreign intervention, which had seen British ground troops deployed in an attempt to assist the White Russians. Clearly Moscow could not look to London or Paris for aid, so she turned instead to her former adversary, and German/Soviet tank development began at Kazan, located deep inside Russia where secrecy was relatively easy to maintain.
In April 1926 the first technical specifications had been given for what was eventually to become the Panzer IV. It was given the code name Armeewagen 20 and in March 1927 the first contracts for the design of two experimental machines each were given to Daimler Benz, Krupp and Rheinmetall. These machines were given the code name Grosstraktor and each was to have a 7.5cm gun in a fully traversable turret. The first six Grosstraktor were completed in July 1929 and immediately transported to the secret training grounds at Kama, near Kazan. These machines were the predecessors of the Panzer IV, which was to function effectively throughout the war years.
A rare image of one of the six Grosstraktor manufactured by Rhinemettal during 1928 and 1929. All six were used in the secret testing programme at Kama.
Although tank design had been exposed to a considerable deal of practical action during the Great War, without a clear indication of how tank-to-tank combat might develop there were a number of competing schools of thought. One favoured large multi-turreted tanks which could perform a number of functions on the battlefield. Others favoured specialist machines for reconnaissance, close support and anti-tank duties. Clearly the Grosstraktor could not fulfil the reconnaissance role. So, in May 1928 the first orders for the design of a lighter tank, code named Leichttraktor were given: this time only Krupp and Rheinmetall were given the order to proceed to complete two prototypes. In May 1930 the two machines were completed and transported secretly to Kazan, where they arrived in June 1930. Very quickly a glaring design fault with the Leichttraktors became apparent. The drive sprocket for the tracks was located at the back of the vehicle, where it was more likely to shed the track. The location of the engine at the front of the tank was also considered to be a particularly dangerous proposition. A new design was therefore specified in September 1931 which became known as the Kleintraktor. This machine had the drive at the front and the engine in the rear, an arrangement which was to become the standard in tank design for the next 60 years. The Kleintraktor was to become the forerunner of the Panzerkampfwagen I, and the first experimental machine was completed by Krupp in September 1932. In the secrecy of the tank-proving grounds at Kama the Germans were able to make a great deal of progress on the technical aspects of tank design. At the same time, of course, the crews and officers were receiving practical training in the use of tanks in battle and, crucially, the cooperation between the machines. It was not until 1928, however, that the Reichswehr secretly began to formulate a five-year plan which would lead to the creation of the first tank companies by 1933.
Eventually the first Panzer training unit was born on 1st November 1933, under conditions of extreme secrecy, and was given the code-name Kraftfahrlehrkommando Zossen. It was comprised mainly of officers and men who had taken part in the Russian experiment. At the time of the unit’s formation only a very limited number of machines were available. These comprised four Grosstraktor, four Leichttraktor V and six of the Kleintraktor chassis, which had no turrets. Clearly this was not going to be sufficient to develop a tank force; however, the delivery of the first 150 Kleintraktor chassis for driver training commenced in January 1934, from which point the rapid expansion of the tank forces could proceed apace. The first organisation charts for an experimental armoured division were distributed within the army on 12 October 1934, although most of the units were still known by cover names; officially, the Panzer Division were styled as a Cavalry Division.
At the outset the Panzer division was to be composed of two armoured regiments which were supported by a light motorised infantry regiment, a motorcycle battalion, an anti-tank battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, a light artillery regiment, a signals battalion and a light combat engineer company, and there was even a plan for a self-propelled artillery battalion, which was very radical at this time. Already it was obvious that the Panzer division would require an enormous logistical tail, and the first divisions required a strength of 13,000 officers and men, which needed 4,000 field vehicles and 481 tracked vehicles to be able to function effectively. Clearly the creation and maintenance of a number of Panzer divisions was going to be an enormous undertaking. It was also something which could not be achieved in short timescales as there were limits to the number of tanks which could be manufactured. Unfortunately for Germany. Adolf Hitler was very much a man in a hurry.