Where can I find out what tanks were used in Barbarrossa? On the steppes and in Stalingrad, the 4th Panzer Army and the 14th, 16th, and 24th Panzer Divisions. I want to know what kind(s) of tanks they carried … hoping that they carry Tigers so that I can label my first tank (which I’d like to be a Tiger) as part of one of these groups.
In the book Stalingrad - The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943, by Antony Beevor, there are a small handful of pictures that show tanks … but they are taken from a distance and from behind, and it’s hard to identify the tanks pictured. [B)] My guess is that they are PzKpfw III Ausf G or H … but can anybody help me with this one?
Tall order, Florida Man…! At the outbreak of the war in the East, just about anything that had been designed from the early 30s’ really! Do searches on the net re. specific units and you should come up with some better ideas…
If you want to find specific tanks or units in specific battles, do a search using both the battle name and the phrase “order of battle”. I’ve done this many times and found pretty good information. I just did a a quick search of Stalingrad+“order of battle”+German and got a gazzilion (actually about 1,000) web hits.
As stated above, searches for the units themselves can also generate pretty good results. Hope this helps.
The first Tiger tanks made their appearance in Russia up near Leningrad in late 1942. The next major deployment of Tigers was for the Kursk offensive in July of 1943. No Tigers were present in or near Stalingrad before it’s capture by the Russians in February 1943.
Most German tanks used for Barbarrossa were the Mk I, II, III, and some IV short-barreled. If you are interested in the exact make-up of any Panzer division, there is a reference book out entitled German Order of Battle Vol. I by Nafziger. I have all three volumes and they are definitely reference books! Not a single picture, but if you want to know the make-up of any German division at any time in the war, there is no better book.
If you are serious about Barbarosa and want the definitive resource for Armor regarding it, you should pick up this book, it’s incredible:
Panzertruppen: The Complete Guide to the Creation and Combat Employment of Germany’s Tank Force, 1933-1942. Thomas Jentz.
As true to any Jentz book, the details are impeccable. You’ll get everything from after action reports, platoon strengths down to radio frequencies used.
You can find it for about $40 from independant book stores through Amazon.
If you have specific questions, I’ll be glad to look them up.
One very noteable event took place before Kursk, the Battle of Kharkov. The Germans counterattacked and greatly aided by Tigers recaptured the city in Feb. 1943, the last major victory in the East.
The first time Tiger saw action was on August 29th of 1942 and September 21st/22nd at Mga, southeast of Leningrad with 1st company of sPzAbt 502. The unsuccessful engagements ended in the new Tiger being captured by the Soviets, who then examined it and exhibited during the captured equipment exhibition in Moscow’s Gorky Park in 1943. The failure of Tigers was attributed to mechanical problems as well as poor terrain conditions, totally unsuitable for heavy tanks. In December of 1942, Tigers from sPzAbt 501, saw action near Tunis in North Africa.