German heavy tank battalions (German: Schwere Panzerabteilung), were elite battalion-sized World War II tank units, equipped with Tiger I, and later Tiger II, heavy tanks. Originally intended to fight on the offensive during breakthrough operations, the German late-war realities required them to be used in a defensive posture by providing heavy fire support and counter-attacking enemy armored breakthroughs, often organised into ad-hoc Kampfgruppe. These panzer detachments were considered elite units.
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Early formation units experimented to find the correct combination of heavy Tiger tanks supported by either medium Panzer III tanks or scout elements. In 1942 this consisted of 20 Tigers and 16 Panzer IIIs, composed of two companies, each with four platoons of two Tigers and two Panzer IIIs. Each company commander would have an additional Tiger, and battalion command would have another two.[1]
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.[1]
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.
| Description | vehicle type | 1 July 1943 | 1 January 1945 |
| Flakpanzer IV | Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun | 0 | 8 |
| Sd.Kfz. 7/1 8 ton 4 x 2 cm Flak | Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun | 6 | 3 |
| Sd.Kfz. 251 Schützenpanzerwagen | Armoured half-track | 10 | 11 |
| Bergepanther | Armoured recovery vehicle | 0 | 5 |
| Sd.Kfz. 9 18 ton Zugkraftwagen | Half-track prime mover | 8 | 7 |
| Sd.Kfz. 10 1 ton Zugkraftwagen | Light half-track | 8 | 13 |
| Sd.Kfz. 2 Kettenkrad | Gun tractor | 0 | 14 |
| Beiwagenkrad | Motorcycle with sidecar, e.g. BMW R75 | 25 | 0 |
| Solokrad | Motorcycle | 17 | 6 |
| Kübelwagen Personenkraftwagen | Staff car | 64 | 38 |
| Personenkraftwagen, zivil | Civilian car | 2 | 1 |
| Lastkraftwagen | Truck, e.g. Opel Blitz | 111 | 84 |
| Lastkraftwagen, zivil | Civilian truck | 24 | 34 |
| Maultier | Half-track | 0 | 6 |
| Kran-Kraftfahrzeug | Mobile crane | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 278 | 233 | |
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.
Independent units attached to the German Army (Heer) were:
The only battalion permanently attached to a division:
Units attached to the Waffen-SS were:
| Unit | Losses | Destroyed | Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501st German heavy tank battalion | 120 | 450 | 3.75 | |
| 502nd German heavy tank battalion | 107 | 1,400 | 13.08 | |
| 503rd German heavy tank battalion | 252 | 1,700 | 6.75 | |
| 504th German heavy tank battalion | 109 | 250 | 2.29 | |
| 505th German heavy tank battalion | 126 | 900 | 7.14 | |
| 506th German heavy tank battalion | 179 | 400 | 2.23 | |
| 507th German heavy tank battalion | 104 | 600 | 5.77 | |
| 508th German heavy tank battalion | 78 | 100 | 1.28 | |
| 509th German heavy tank battalion | 120 | 500 | 4.17 | |
| 510th German heavy tank battalion | 65 | 200 | 3.08 | |
| 13./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland | 6 | 100 | 16.67 | |
| III./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland | 98 | 500 | 5.10 | |
| 13./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 | 42 | 400 | 9.52 | |
| 8./SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 | 31 | 250 | 8.06 | |
| 9./SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 | 56 | 500 | 8.93 | |
| 101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion | 107 | 500 | 4.67 | |
| 102 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion | 76 | 600 | 7.89 | |
| 103 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion | 39 | 500 | 12.82 | |
| TOTAL: | 1,715 | 9,850 | 5.74 | |
Tank losses include losses inflicted other than by enemy tanks. Also, many tanks were abandoned by their crews due a lack of fuel, ammunition or breakdown, especially at the end of war. Thus, the real tank-to-tank ratios are higher.