German heavy tank battalions

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German heavy tank battalions (German: schwere-Panzer-Abteilung), were battalion-sized World War II tank units, equipped with Tiger I and Tiger II heavy tanks. Originally intended to fight on the offensive during breakthrough operations, the German late-war realities showed them better used and much more capable of fighting in a defensive posture by providing heavy fire support and counterattacking enemy armored breakthroughs. These panzer detachments were considered elite units.

Contents

[edit] Formation

Early formation units experimented to find the correct combination of heavy Tiger tanks supported by either medium Panzer III tanks or scout elements. Later formations had a standard organization of 45 Tiger Tanks, composed of 3 companies of 14 Tigers each, plus 3 command vehicles. Maintenance troubles and the mechanical unreliability of the Tigers posed a continuous problem, so often the units would field a smaller number of combat-ready tanks.

The limited number of these heavy tanks, plus their specialized role in either offensive or defensive missions, meant they were rarely permanently assigned to a single division or corps; but shuffled around according to war circumstances.

By the end of the war, the following heavy panzer detachments had been created. Early units were re-built several times by the end of the war.

[edit] Heer units

[edit] Waffen-SS units

[edit] References

[edit] Books

  • Wilbeck, Christopher. Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II. Bedford, PA: Aberjona Press, 2004