Author: Carl Para
Hobbled Tigers
No German tank in World War II, or possibly any tank in history for that matter, is as well known as the Tiger. The Tiger I ausf E, as it was officially known, is as much an emblem of German armored warfare as the word blitzkrieg. Anyone with even rudimentary knowledge of World War II, or tank warfare, has heard the name Tiger. Its very name conjures up images of a mighty beast dominating any battlefield it prowled. Massive armor plating protecting a deadly 88mm gun made it an opponent to be feared. The Tiger's battlefield debut, however, was less than stellar, with its first two outings giving little hint of the Tiger's future ferocity. Hitler, like a child with a new toy, was so anxious to try his new weapon that he sent it into combat in small numbers. Worse than that was the fact that they were hastened into action on terrain that was totally unsuited for tank operations. The 1st Platoon of the 502nd schwere Panzerabteilung received the first four Tigers that would enter combat, on August 29, 1942. Indeed, as soon as they were detrained in Russia, southeast of Leningrad, they rumbled directly to the front where they joined supporting infantry and began advancing into enemy territory. The area was heavily forested and the ground soft, far from ideal conditions for a vehicle as big and heavy as the Tiger I. With the Russians withdrawing in the face of the advancing behemoths, offering only artillery fire in resistance, the Tigers' worst enemy that day would be the soft ground. One tank broke down with gearbox trouble, a second with engine trouble, and a third with steering problems, leaving just one operational tank on the field. The Germans recovered all three that night, no easy feat in the soft ground under artillery fire. They were taken to the repair shops where they would remain until September. On September 22nd, the four Tigers along with some PzKpfw III's spearheaded an attack by the 170th Infantry Division against the Russian 2nd Army. The platoon commander protested that the ground was again too soft for the Tigers, but Hitler himself had ordered the Tigers be used in the attack, so the protest fell upon deaf ears. Soon after the assault began, one Tiger was struck in the front plate. Although the 100mm of steel was not penetrated, the engine quit and the crew abandoned the vehicle after failing to restart it. The other three Tigers reached their first objective but were soon thereafter either knocked out or became stuck in the mud. One was mired so badly that it could not be recovered, and was eventually destroyed by the Germans to prevent it from falling into Russian hands. Thus ended the Tigers' premature and poorly-planned combat debuts. The 502nd was brought up to strength in time to help counter the Russian winter offensive of 1942-1943. Here the Tiger began to show its stripes, with the 502nd accounting for a full 1/4 of all Russian tanks destroyed by the Germans during that offensive. This was done in spite the fact that only seven Tigers were operational at any one time. On one occasion, four Tigers came to the aid of infantry that were being overrun by two dozen T-34's (the Tigers' revenge scenario in Steel Panthers). The ensuing firefight left twelve T-34's burning on the field, with the remainder fleeing for their lives, all without the loss of a single Tiger. Engagements like this began to forge the myth of the Tiger. The Tiger went on to be a formidable weapon, and served on all the major fronts. They were usually used in separate heavy tank battalions on the corps level, independently or with other formations to spearhead an attack or contain enemy counterattacks. As the war progressed, however, and armored strength deteriorated, many times they were amalgamated with other units or, as was the German practice, thrown into Kampfgruppen as the situation dictated. Although designed as an offensive weapon the Tiger proved to be at its best in the defensive role. Its thick skin and long-range 88 combined with good optics made it a mobile pillbox, able to pick off targets at great distance. In a long range duel she had few equals. The very mention of "Tiger tank" would chill the blood of Allied tankers and infantry alike. They developed a reputation far out of proportion to their numbers. Its first deployments, however, were perfect examples of how the advantages of a good weapons system can be nullified if improperly utilized. Hitler's meddling not only cost needless losses among the first Tigers, but their premature use gave the Russians notice of the tank's existence. This cost the Germans the shock effect they could have achieved if the Tiger was introduced in sufficient numbers on favorable terrain. Despite these setbacks the tank was used to devastating effect by the Panzertruppen, creating forever the legend of the Tiger. BIBLIOGRAPHY Tiger in Action, by Bruce Culver
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