Using assault guns to their maximum ability, the Red Army fought as best as it could against the formidable Tiger. The new heavy tank the IS-1 was developed at the end of 1943. The Red Army received its first IS-1 tanks in February of 1944. This was followed by the IS-2 heavy tank. The IS tanks had a low profile, lower than the Tiger or the Sherman. The turret and front armour plate were 100mm thick. The side armour plates were 75mm. The IS-1 tank was armed with an 85 mm D-5T and the IS-2 with a more powerful 122mm D-25T gun that had a 16-foot-long barrel. The downside of the D-25T was that it used a separate shell and powder charge, resulting in a lower rate of fire and reduced ammunition capacity due to having to carry a charge and projectile, which put the IS-2 at a disadvantage. Soviet proving-ground tests claimed that the D-25 could penetrate the frontal armour of a Panther tank at 1.5 miles.
The IS tanks had a great advantage in comparison to the Tiger I because of their sloped armour plates that gave them better penetration resistance. With these tanks, the Red Army finally had armour that was better than the Tiger and equal to the King Tiger. During March 1944, the first IS-2s were tested in action and proved their power. More than 3,000 IS-2 tanks were produced by the end of the war. In the opinion of Hasso von Manteuffel, it was the best tank of WW II. Although others state it was the Panther or Tiger.
CHAPTER SEVEN – Valley High
March 1943
German armour on the other side of the valley opened up, bringing down an intense barrage of fire on the group of T-34s.The first T-34 was just about to move out of sight, though still advancing towards the German armour. It was letting off rounds, which hit the Tigers frontal area and just bounced off. The Tiger fired back and the shells slammed into the turret knocking it clean off. Behind the first T-34 was a second T-34 advancing towards the German permission and firing at the same time. One of it shells hit a Marder III and blew the gunner clean out of the open top gunner’s position. His body was ripped in two by the force of the blast. The Marder III was a tank destroyer with a captured Soviet 76.2mm F-22 Model 1936 divisional field gun or German 7.5 cm PaK 40, in an open-topped cupola on top of a Panzer 38(t) chassis. They offered the crew very little protection and the thin armour made them vulnerable but they proved to be very reliable. The Pak 40 gun was originally an anti-tank gun developed in 1939-1941 by Rheinmetall. The Pak 40 formed the backbone of German anti-tank guns for the latter part of World War II, mostly in towed form mounted on a various chassis as the Marder I, II and III. The Marder I was built on the base of the Tracteur Blindé 37L (Lorraine), a French artillery tractor/armoured personnel carrier of which the Germans had acquired more than three hundred after the Fall of France in 1940. Mounted with the same Pak 40 gun. The Marder II used either captured and re-engineered Soviet 7.62 cm guns firing German ammunition or the Pak 40 gun and was mounted on a Panzer II chassis.
The noise from all the guns firing at once was immense – almost deafening. Volley after volley of fire criss-crossed the valley. The second T-34 was hit multiple times shearing off its front sprocket and multiple road wheels. It continued to fire before a final shot to the side caused the ammunition to explode enveloping the tank in a large ball of flame and blowing the hull apart. A third T-34 appeared it turret swing from left to right, unsure of which target to hit first as a line of Marders and Tigers were laid out in front of it. In an almost a classic American Western film, this was down to who would be quickest on the draw. Instead of trying to flee, this lone T-34 continued to advance. It managed to get one wild shot off before the Marders and Tigers opened up as the T-34 picked up speed and continued to advance. Rounds started to slam into the front of the T-34 but it continued to advance, more rounds slammed into it and a small fire could be seen coming from the rear of the tank. Rounds pierced the turret and blew fragments away as the fire at the rear of the tank intensified. The driver must have been killed and had slumped over his controls causing it to drive autonomously towards the German armour. Another round slammed into the side of the T-34 ripping off it tracks. Such was its momentum the T-34 continued for quite a distance before finally coming to a stop. Rounds continued to rain down on the tank before a round caused the hull to lift up and reveal the inside burning intensely as the ammunition cooked off and blew the turret off. The crew inside did not stand a chance and either had been very heroic or an act of total madness.
The Marders and Tigers stood firm for a while, waiting for a further attack that never came. Rather than wait and become sitting ducks the tanks decided to advance to where the enemy tanks had come from before moving right to meet up for resupply and repairs. The problem with re-supply was that there was not always enough fuel and ammunition to go around. The fuel issue would become an even greater issue in the closing stages of the war when tank crews would scavenge for fuel.
CHAPTER EIGHT – Panther
The Panther tank was developed due to the German tank crisis that became apparent during the invasion of Russia in 1941. It was a change from traditional medium tanks that had always been of a comparable weight to Allied tanks. However, the Panther was a compromise. Whilst having essentially the same engine as the Tiger, it had more efficient frontal hull armour, better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger. The trade-off though was weaker side armour, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire.
The Germans had used the speed and mobility of lighter tanks through lighter armour and firepower. The current PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV were durable, reliable tanks although not fully suited to tank v tank engagements. By 1942, Germany was beginning to struggle with stretched supply lines and well as fighting on too many fronts. With the Eastern Front proving to be much more difficult than anticipated. This lead, the German Army into a more defensive situation and required armour that had greater firepower to take on Red Army tanks that were now numerically superior. The Germans required a long range 75 mm gun that could take on Red Army tanks on the flat plains. The 75mm gun was the primary focus, but the amount of armour and offering a better armoured tank became part of the design brief. This led to the weight of the Panther creeping up with its heavier armour. The Panthers weight went from 22 tonnes to 40 tonnes by the time the Panther entered production. However, supplies of crucial steely alloys and other materials required compromises with high carbon steel being used. The use of this material required complex interlocking plates because of welding issues. The increased weight was not factored in with regards to the power, transmission and suspension systems. The transmission in particular suffered reliability problems due to the extra weight it now had to propel. In the end the Panther was really a heavy tank as opposed to a medium tank. It cost much more to produce than the PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV and was much more complex to manufacture.