History_of_War_43_2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

MYTH vs MACHINE TIGER Discover the tactics, technology and battlefield record behind Germany’s infamous yet iconic heavy tank WORDS ROB SCHÄFER & MIKE HASKEW Left: Rearming a Tiger I while on operations in Russia, June 1943 Left: A Panzer VI pictured on deployment in North Africa, Tunisia, 1943 Above: Tigers drive past burning villages during an offensive in the Orel region Left: The crew of a Panzer VI Königstiger spray their vehicle to blend with their surroundings
TIGER Right: The radio operator of a Tiger prepares sandwiches for his crew mates, Eastern Front, August 1943 The Tiger – no other tank of World War II is better known. The nimbus of the infamous German heavy tank and that of its successor, the mighty King Tiger, is still unbroken and as powerful as it was 72 years ago. Today, it is still known for its fabled ‘invincibility’, for the power of its mighty 8.8cm gun and, especially in modern, revisionist historiography, for its legendary ‘unreliability’. Yet on the Eastern Front, and to a slightly lesser extent in the western theatre of war, Tiger-equipped German units performed surprisingly well. The true story of the Tiger is hidden somewhere between those extremes, and is best told by those who used and also faced the gigantic German war machines on the battlefield. THE HEAVY TANK BATTALIONS “A concentration of the available armoured forces will always be more effective than dispersing them, irrespective of whether talking about a defensive or offensive posture, a breakthrough or an envelopment; a pursuit or a counterattack” – Generaloberst Heinz Guderian The introduction of the Panzerkampfwagen Tiger provided the German Army with a massive increase in the combat power of its Panzer formations. To get the most out of the new tank’s capabilities and to make full use of the propaganda advantage of creating new, elite, heavy Panzer units, the Tigers were grouped into schwere Panzer Abteilungen (s.Pz.Abt – heavy tanks battalions). These were independent Heerestruppen, held at Armee or Korps level, which could be used as heavy reinforcements to be sent to wherever their firepower was needed. Artwork from mass multiplayer online game World of Tanks, main sponsor of The Tiger Collection at The Tank Museum, Bovington “THE INTRODUCTION OF THE PANZERKAMPFWAGEN TIGER PROVIDED THE GERMAN ARMY WITH A MASSIVE INCREASE IN THE COMBAT POWER OF ITS PANZER FORMATIONS” Within the German Army, the use of heavy tanks in that role was not new, and had been originally formulated by Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch in 1938. The German offensive campaigns in 1939 and 1940 had clearly highlighted the shortcomings of the German Panzers, yet due to the spectacular successes achieved in those early campaigns, the development of heavy tanks had not been given any priority. All that changed drastically during the first weeks of Operation Barbarossa, the campaign in Russia, when German tanks were clearly outclassed by Soviet-made T-34 and KV-1 tanks. After a hasty development phase, the Tiger made its battlefield debut in spring 1942. It Main image: World of Tanks 29
Page 1: INVADING RUSSIA NAPOLEON’S DEATH
Page 4 and 5: ISSUE 43 MYTH vs MACHINE TIGER 28 U
Page 6 and 7: G.I.’S ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND
Page 8 and 9: A DEAD END Taken: c. 2001 Angolan g
Page 10 and 11: LAST ORDERS Taken: 10 December, 194
Page 12 and 13: WAR IN FOCUS 12
Page 14 and 15: TIMELINE OF THE… Frontline 1812 M
Page 16 and 17: PATH TO DESTRUCTION How a civil eng
Page 18 and 19: FAMOUS BEREZINA BATTLE Napoleon’s
Page 20 and 21: Frontline BLADES & GUNS The bloody
Page 22 and 23: “THE FACT THAT THEIR EMPEROR HAD
Page 24 and 25: IN THE Frontline RANKS In some of t
Page 26 and 27: Frontline HEROES & COMMANDERS The F
Page 30 and 31: MYTH VS MACHINE was planned to add
Page 32 and 33: MYTH VS MACHINE THE KING TIGER THE
Page 34 and 35: MYTH VS MACHINE Between November 19
Page 36 and 37: MYTH VS MACHINE FACTORY FLOOR PRODU
Page 38 and 39: MYTH VS MACHINE THE TIGER COLLECTIO
Page 40 and 41: Subscription offer discounted Force
Page 42 and 43: “HAWKWOOD ENTERED THIS WORLD AND
Page 44 and 45: JOHN HAWKWOOD: MERCENARY MENACE com
Page 46 and 47: JOHN HAWKWOOD: MERCENARY MENACE Ita
Page 48 and 49: INTERVIEW WITH DAVID TEACHER MBE D-
Page 50 and 51: INTERVIEW WITH DAVID TEACHER MBE Pa
Page 52 and 53: INTERVIEW WITH DAVID TEACHER MBE fo
Page 54 and 55: INTERVIEW WITH DAVID TEACHER MBE pe
Page 56 and 57: INTERVIEW WITH DAVID TEACHER MBE TH
Page 58 and 59: IDW Despite an overwhelming advanta
Page 60 and 61: GREAT BATTLES Burning oil tanks hit
Page 62 and 63: GREAT BATTLES aircraft batteries wi
Page 64 and 65: GREAT BATTLES Survivors from Yorkto
Page 66: GREAT BATTLES The burning Japanese
Page 69 and 70: CHARLES HEAPHY Major Charles Heaphy
Page 71 and 72: CHARLES HEAPHY their introduction b
Page 73 and 74: SOUTH SUDAN’S BRUTAL BIRTH “CIR
Page 75 and 76: SOUTH SUDAN’S BRUTAL BIRTH The bo
Page 77 and 78: SOUTH SUDAN’S BRUTAL BIRTH Bearin
Page 79 and 80:
SYRIA: A CONFLICT EXPLORED The Impe
Page 81 and 82:
SYRIA: A CONFLICT EXPLORED “I LIV
Page 83 and 84:
SYRIA: A CONFLICT EXPLORED An elect
Page 85 and 86:
FEED YOUR MIND www.howitworksdaily.
Page 87 and 88:
WESTLAND LYNX The swift, versatile
Page 89 and 90:
WESTLAND LYNX “THE BRITISH ARMY A
Page 91 and 92:
WESTLAND LYNX A WORLD OF MILITARY I
Page 93 and 94:
REVIEWS BEYOND MY WILDEST DREAMS Wr
Page 95 and 96:
REVIEWS PRAETORIAN THE RISE AND FAL
Page 97 and 98:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX NEXT MONTH ON SALE 1
Page 100:
9000 9021
show all

History_of_War_43_2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?