"JAGDPANTHER"
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On July 30th of 1944 near Les Loges in Normandy, three Jagdpanthers from schwere Panzer Jaeger Abteilung 654 ambushed a squadron of British 6th Guards Tank Brigade killing some 10-11 Churchill tanks in a short interval of two minutes. At the same time, other squadron of British 6th Guards Tank Brigade opened fire at three Jagdpanthers causing crews of two of them to abandon their vehicles (as a result of damaged tracks), while the third one retreated.
Jagdpanthers were grouped into independent schwere Panzerjager Abteilungens - heavy anti-tank battalions (with 3 companies with 14 vehicles each and 3 vehicles in battalion HQ) and those that operated as part of Panzer Division. The first Jagdpanthers were issued to schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 559 and 654 and reached the frontline in Western Europe in June of 1944. Only 654th had full compliment of 42 vehicles, while 559th had only 10 to 14 vehicles.
Majority of Jagdpanthers made saw service on the Eastern Front, while only single battalion (schwere Panzerjaeger Abteilung 654) saw service during Normandy Battles in the Summer of 1944. In preparations for the Ardennes Offensive, the largest number ever of Jagdpanthers was assembled, including vehicles transferred to the Western Front from the Eastern Front to take part in the offensive. Roughly 51 Jagdpanthers in six battalions took part in the fighting in December of 1944.
Small number of Jagdpanthers was used by Waffen-SS formations and only 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen and 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg (part of the 6th Panzer Army) received company each during aid attempt to rescue encircled garrison of Budapest in January of 1945. Out of original 42 issued to those divisions only 12 were functional on April 1st and eventually took part in the security of Vienna. From 1945, Jagdpanthers were also issue to Panzer Abteilungs of 7 Panzer Divisions, The Fuehrer Grenadier Regiment and single Panzer Brigade, but using them as replacement tanks was a mistake but a necessity at the time.
In 1944/45, Krupp was operating on fitting Jagdpanther with rigidly fitted 88mm Pak 43/1 L/71 gun mounted in rear mounted superstructure. Along with this project, there were plans by Krupp dating back to November 17th of 1944 to install 128mm Pak 80 L/55 gun in a Jagdpanther II but the end of the war terminated both projects. It has been said that a single unit equipped with Jagdpanthers also received and used infrared night-vision devices - Infrarot-Scheinwerfer, just as those mounted on Panthers.
Today, early model Jagdpanther can be seen at the Imperial War Museum in England and late model Jagdpanther at Aberdeen Proving Grounds (which I have seen personally) in USA and Thun, Switzerland. Jagdpanthers can be seen in museums in Munster and Sinsheim, Germany. Vehicle at Aberdeen Proving Grounds was produced by MNH in November-December of 1944 and took part in the Ardennes Offensive, where it was captured and eventually taken to USA. The superior firepower of the 88mm gun, excellent mobility and low to the ground silhouette made Jagdpanther a formidable opponent when used in the correct manner. It had a combination of defense, power and mobility made it a superb tank destroyer. The Jagdpanther was probably the finest tank destroyer generated during World War 2. If the Jagd would have been initiated sooner, it may have had a larger impact in WW2.
T-34 vs Tiger The Greatest Tank Battle "THE LAST CITADEL" Book Review
The awe inspiring Tiger tank...Hitler's invincible weapon of the WWII battlefield. So much greater to all other tanks of the enemy that the Battle of Kursk was delayed to allow the Tiger 1 to spearhead the attack that would drive the Russians back and bring victory back to the Germans on the eastern front...or so they hoped. "The Last Citadel" by David L Robbins is a fictional novel based on this premise and this is my review.
The Last Citadel by David L Robbins, is a fictional book based on historical events surrounding the epic tank battle at Kursk Russia in 1943 during WW2. The German forces were bogged down by the Russian winter, the Red Army victory at Stalingrad and then the subsequent spring rain and mud. In the summer of 1943 the Germans had amassed a huge force to attack Russia and regain lost ground. This would lead to the largest tank battle in history and also lends a dynamic backdrop to this book. There are 4 main characters that drive this story. The first is a Spanish officer Captain Luis Ruiz de Vega serving with the SS Liebstandarte Panzer Division. He was wounded in the Battle of Leningrad and is but a shell of his former greatness. The next 3 are all from the same Russian Cossack family. Dimitri Berko, a private driving the T-34 in the Soviet 3rd Mechanized Division. He is commanded by Sergeant Valentin Berko, Dimitri's son, and Katya Berkovna, Dimitri's daughter, a night bomber with the famous all-female bomber squadrons of the Red Air Force, so-called the Night Witches by the Germans that they bomb. The 3 main story lines follow de Vega being assigned to escort the new super panzer of the German Army, the Tiger 1 Panzerkampfwagen VI, via train to the front and assure that the Tigers are delivered intact. He then starts itching for action to command one of the Tigers at the Battle of Kursk. He soon realizes how the Tiger is most effective in battle. With Demitri and son Valentin in the same T-34 there is much of the father/son tension along with the tank battles that ensue. The author keeps all entities separate into what seems like 3 different stories revolving around the build up to the tank battle at Kursk. Each character has there own well detailed back stories that are fleshed out through memories, flashbacks and boastful story telling during the breaks in the combat. The best aspect of this book is the historical detail and accuracy of the Tiger tank and the Battle of Kursk. This book was very close to being non-fiction in the level of detail, but also very engrossing character development. After reading about David L Robbins amount of research that was conducted, I knew just how realistic this book was. He had spent 3 weeks on the battlefields of Kursk in the middle of summer getting a feel for the heat and sun of the Russian steppes. He also trained in how to derail a train using explosives as the Partisan Russian fighters attempted in delaying the shipment of the Tiger tanks in the story. Time was also spent in pouring over accounts from German and Russian tankers’ eye witness battle accounts. "Hands on" equipment training was given to him ranging from firearms to the tanks at the Aberdeen Ordinance Museum in Maryland and being driven around in a restored T-34 in Virginia. David L Robbins certainly did his homework for this book and you will feel it when you read it. If you like WW2 tanks, then this is a must read for you.