Tiger Tanks: Christopher Wilbeck: Sledgehammers

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:37 am

I have just finished this book. I am still digesting although I clearly have the urge to expel my first impressions here.

The book itself expounds upon the strengths and weaknesses of both the Tiger Tank itself and the organizational milieu it found itself in. It provides extensive discussion about how both the tactical and operational environment effected the use of the Tigers but more to the point how that was somehow ignored or mis-read by the Germans in their employment of the Tiger.

I had long known that the Tiger was a comparatively unreliable if extremely rugged beast but had never realized the extent to which that was so. Always under-strength to begin with the Tiger units found themselves with what must be considered as catastrophic levels of breakdowns before entering battle, verging on 70% in some cases. A battalion nominally at 45 tanks might head out with only 18 and arrive at the sharp end 10 or 15 kilometers away with only five or six tanks. Yet raise havoc and turn the tide anyway.

Another incredible piece of knowledge wasn't so much that the Germans never built any dedicated mine-clearing equipment (such as the mine-rollers and flail tanks of the Allies) for their panzers, they actually used the Tigers to bull their way through the minefields. Invariably the ruination of the tracks and/or road wheels would ensue and that Tiger would be hors de combat (French seems somehow appropriate). The next Tiger in line would then take up the duty. Due to the thickness of armor the crews were rarely hurt but the tank would be out of the fray.

This leads to the other failing which was the lack of a dedicated vehicle capable of towing a damaged Tiger and the lack of maintenance personnell for such a high maintenance piece of equipment. It was largely incapable of rapid movement due to the rate of breakdown, barely able, as a weapons system, to get to the battle. Once there limited in its ability to maneuver due to its weight and fuel consumption. And if and when damaged (and it was war) it was extremely difficult to recover, especially in retreat.

41% of all Tigers (I & II) lost were destroyed by their own crews, having damaged running gear, engine or transmission or simply being out of gas, so as to not be left behind for an advancing enemy. An incredible figure. Here was a weapon that did not need contact with the enemy be be undone.

The overall impact of the Tiger on the battlefield and the legend it created for itself is all the more amazing when considered against the backdrop of everything arrayed against it. Most especially its own design flaws and poor employment.

A most interesting book.

On to Otto Carius: Tigers in the Mud (who incidentally has a foreword in this book).

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:07 am

A most interesting book.

I agree. It was originally published as a Masters Thesis at the US Army War college but is now available commercially in softcover book form using a slightly different title, and the book version is slightly re-packaged with maps and photographs, plus a prologue and epilogue by former German and Soviet tank aces which accounts for the difference in published length of about 270 pages for the book versus 150 or so for the thesis, but to the best of my knowledge the text from the thesis is largely the same, but perhaps shifted around here and there, re-worded etc. in the book. I started a thread on this a while back... viewtopic.php?t=10323&highlight=sledgehammer

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:22 am

Well well well.

Us war mongrels and tank freaks are alive and kicking and kicking some more.

I was just shocked at how few of the Tigers could actually even get to a battlefield, much less lord over it.

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:39 am

I should pick up the book, it would be well worth the money to have not only the maps and photos, but for the commentary from the likes of Carius, Iskrov, and Holt, men who actually fought in or against the Tiger's

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:48 am

The photos are disappointing but the charts are worth the price of the book.

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:12 pm

just got the History of S.Pz Art 503 at Barnes with my last gift card combined with my member discount...it's not turning out to be a bad read at all.

But my best Barnes pickup of the year would have to be a copy of III. Panzer Korp at KURSK. Excellent text and Photos IMO...maybe cause it's one of the few books on Kursk I bothered to purchase.

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:12 pm

LTCBJ:

Did the book compare the Tiger I vs. Tiger II?

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 2:15 pm

dragon53 wrote:LTCBJ:

Did the book compare the Tiger I vs. Tiger II?

Yes. Approximately five and a half pages are devoted to a comparison and discussion of the two generations of Tiger. He also includes charts of the general specifications of both tanks and a chart of the ammunition and penetration thereof that each carried.

The book is more of an overview of the employment of the Tiger rather than about the tank itself.

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 4:46 pm

LTCBJ:

Thanks. Could you give a condensed version of the book's comparison between the Tiger I and Tiger II?

popeye357 · Post by **popeye357** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:56 pm

Imagine what kind of havoc they would have wreaked if they were 100% reliable!!

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:57 pm

They were both too slow and lacked the range for the role which they were created for, breaking through and pursuing the enemy. They were also both too unreliable to be used for extended periods or road marches. They both required unique and specialized transport for getting around inn anything more than the strictly tactical sense. They both were nearly unrecoverable when damaged and tended to break-, bog- or simply run-down when used off road.

They each carried the premier anti-tank gun of their period in the war. They both had top notch armor, the T-1 the absolute best for nearly two years. The T-IIs sloped armor was even thicker and ballistically improved. Given proper maintenance and employment they were both nearly invincible. Both rarely happened.

Everything that the Tiger I was, the Tiger II was just a bit more, both the good and the bad.

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:03 pm

popeye357 wrote:Imagine what kind of havoc they would have wreaked if they were 100% reliable!!

I see it when I play Steel Panthers. That is the only battlefield on which they are/were reliable.

I was particularly amazed that tactically they were (mis)used to bull their way through minefields. Crippling each in turn. I can't even think of a metaphor for that level of incompetence/negligence. Why did the Germans never devise a mine-roller type of instrument? It seems an enormous oversight for a nation that believed in offense. Were they just that arrogant?

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 8:27 am

LTCBJ:

Thanks for the info. Now if I only had an FOV 1/16 King Tiger-Peiper....

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:00 am

dragon53 wrote:LTCBJ:

Thanks for the info. Now if I only had an FOV 1/16 King Tiger-Peiper....

If you did you could just set it out in the snow and mud and set it on fire.

According to the book Peiper put the T-IIs at the rear of his column, he didn't want them to either slow him down or block his path, and that6 is where they remained, falling behind with every kilometer. Those that didn't break down or run out of fuel found themselves unable to cross the first significant river because the only bridge(s) tat could hold them had been brought down. Another debacle.

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:08 pm

LTCBJ:

You mean in THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE the final scene of Robert Shaw's King Tigers racing towards the American fuel dump is inaccurate?

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:29 pm

dragon53 wrote:LTCBJ:

You mean in THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE the final scene of Robert Shaw's King Tigers racing towards the American fuel dump is inaccurate?

Shockingly the scene where the M-47s are rushing towards the fuel dump is dramatic license.

At least not according to Wilbeck.

PanzerArm · Post by **PanzerArm** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:19 pm

Here are three mine vehicles the Germans had, two actually seeing service (still rare though), and the other one was experimental.

Experimental Aklett design, the"Alkett-Raümgerät Minenraumer"

This one just looks like a panzer II with a mine roller.

And finally, the "minenraumgerät mit pz III antrieb"

I guess the moral of the story here though is that they never had enough of these around to do the job, and never should have employed their most valuable panzers in doing the de-mining instead.

-Kevin

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:56 am

That top picture looks like a giant rock. The one with the III-E looks like a mine roller.

I just can't imagine how they overlooked having these in numbers from near the beginning of the war. THEY were on the offense for what, four years(?), and cleared mines the old fashioned way, blowing themselves up.

Stug45 · Post by **Stug45** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 6:59 am

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:14 am

LTCBJ:

I saw the BATTLE OF THE BULGE in the theater when I was a kid, and I knew the movie tanks were wrong because I had HO models including the King Tiger, M47 and Sherman.
Several weeks ago, I saw the movie on dvd for the first time since I was a kid. The special features includes an interview with one of the producers who said they spared no expense in searching the world to find the real tanks that fought in the Battle of the Bulge. I guess they also spared no expense in trying to get find filming locations with snow like the real battlefields in the Battle of the Bulge.

(In one film blooper, an American soldier attaches an explosive to the under hull of a King Tiger as it climbs over a wall. In the next scene, as the King Tiger is about to explode, the explosive isn't there).

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:37 am

I guess they also spared no truth in hyping their film as well.

Personally I was delighted to see the M-47s almost in action. One of my favorite (looking) semi-contemporary tanks.

Small Scale Military Headquarters

Tiger Tanks: Christopher Wilbeck: Sledgehammers

Tiger Tanks: Christopher Wilbeck: Sledgehammers

Mine vehicles