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 (1935–1945), 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.

The German heavy tank battalions destroyed a total of 9,850 enemy tanks for the loss of only 1,715 of their own, a kill/loss ratio of 5.74. The 1,715 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, 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 IVSelf-propelled anti-aircraft gun08
Sd.Kfz. 7/1 8 ton 4 x 2 cm FlakSelf-propelled anti-aircraft gun63
Sd.Kfz. 251 SchützenpanzerwagenArmoured half-track1011
BergepantherArmoured recovery vehicle05
Sd.Kfz. 9 18 ton ZugkraftwagenHalf-track prime mover87
Sd.Kfz. 10 1 ton ZugkraftwagenLight half-track813
Sd.Kfz. 2 KettenkradGun tractor014
BeiwagenkradMotorcycle with sidecar, e.g. BMW R75250
SolokradMotorcycle176
Kübelwagen PersonenkraftwagenStaff car6438
Personenkraftwagen, zivilCivilian car21
LastkraftwagenTruck, e.g. Opel Blitz11184
Lastkraftwagen, zivilCivilian truck2434
MaultierHalf-track truck06
Kran-KraftfahrzeugMobile crane33
Total278233

Organisation structure

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

  • staff / German: Stab
  • staff company (three tanks) / Stabskompanie
  • 1st – 3rd Panzer company (14 tanks each) / 1. – 3. Panzerkompanie
    • company detachment (two tanks) / Kompanietrupp
    • 1st – 3rd Panzer platoon (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
    • armorer 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 attached to the German Army (Heer) were:

SS units

Units attached to the Waffen-SS were:

Combat performance

Kill and Loss Ratio of the Tiger Battalions (1942–1945):[1]
Unit Losses Destroyed Ratio
501st Heavy Panzer Battalion1204503.75
502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion1071,40013.08
503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion2521,7006.75
504th Heavy Panzer Battalion1092502.29
505th Heavy Panzer Battalion1269007.14
506th Heavy Panzer Battalion1794002.23
507th Heavy Panzer Battalion1046005.77
508th Heavy Panzer Battalion781001.28
509th Heavy Panzer Battalion1205004.17
510th Heavy Panzer Battalion652003.08
13./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland610016.67
III./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland985005.10
13./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1424009.52
8./SS-Panzer-Regiment 2312508.06
9./SS-Panzer-Regiment 3565008.93
101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion1075004.67
102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion766007.89
103rd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion3950012.82
Total:1,7159,8505.74

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.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 "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 {{cite web}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  2. 1 2 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.
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