(3/6) TANKS! The Battle of Kursk

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Videos Running Time 00:54:00 in 6 Parts

TANKS!: The battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk was a horrific armor battle between Nazi Germany and the USSR. Many view the Battle of Kursk as the turning point on the Eastern Front. After Kursk the German Army in the East was a defense force against massive Soviet offensives.

Operational delays set back the German timetable several times. By the time the German offensive was to commence, almost every German commander opposed the attack. Even Hitler explained to Col.Gen.Guderian: the mere thought of this battle makes my stomach turn.

Several new German tanks were to take part in the offensive. The PzKw VI Tiger, was a battle tested design. The PzKw V Panther was Germanys answer to the T-34/76. The Panther was brilliantly designed. Well slopped and thick armor could blunt the T-34s 76mm gun at distance. The Panthers 75mm cannon shell possessed a higher muzzle velocity than the Tigers 88mm L-56 cannon. The Panther could reach an astonishing 30-35 mph on paved roads. However, the Panther was rushed into service without proper testing. The introduction of the Panther at Kursk proved to be a failure. By 1944 the Panther was the best medium tank, if not the best tank of World War II. The Elephant was an assault gun, with a turret less 88mm cannon. Its armor was impervious to any anti-tank gun at Kursk. The Elephants weakness lay its inability to defend itself against anti-tank infantry.

The German offensive against the Kursk Salient proved a failure. Never again did Germany launch a full scale offensive against the USSR. Nazi Germany had completely lost the initiative in the East.

Enjoy this excellent episode of TANKS!

Category:

Education

Tags:

• World
• War
• II
• Tanks
• Soviet
• Union
• Barbarossa
• T-34
• 34
• Russian
• German
• Stalin
• Hitler
• anti-tank
• Tiger
• Panther
• Kursk

[Teleck]

What about the Panzer IV ?? The main German battle tank where the hell is it???

[HoustonGD]

Yes thats true!

[ichmalealsobinich]

Nice to see german army veterans speaking fluently english in british/american documentary tv-shows. A good example for the future foreign secretary of Germany to learn :)

[Zamolxes77]

Ferdinand Porsche not Frederik...

[2bn442RCT]

@ChaosTicket I think it was a failure the way it was employed and the task it was designed for. But as a self-propelled anti-tank it was a hell of a weapon.

[ChaosTicket]

I hate when people call the Ferdinand a failure. It was very vulnerable due to weight, the experimental engine, and lack of machinegun, but in terms of firepower and armor, it was the strongest at the time and wasnt superseded until the Tiger 2, which used the same gun. When used properly as a long range anti-tank gun, it achieved an huge number of kills.

the Stug 3 and 4 were nice, but lacked a superior weapon to the Panzer 4, making them obsolete. They werent tanks, just mobile field guns.

[Zukatsr125]

what happend with the 2 first episodes??

[topperheartramada]

fegelein sabotaged the panthers

[hailherrosner]

Stug iii and Stug IV w 75mm L/43 and L/48 guns were deadly, michael wittman used these vehicles in Russia.

[GishabrunLOB]

@MrSchmerzen98 That's exactly what I was thinking!

[GishabrunLOB]

@EricBarbman That's because there weren't enough of them to destroy to make the ratio better for the Soviets...

[EricBarbman]

I read on Wikipedia that the Ferdinand/Elephant is the tank killer with highest kill ratio for the entire war...

[TheRegimelife]

Beautiful tanks.