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For educational purposes
The Panzer was a vital cog in Hitler's awesome war machine - a decisive weapon at the cutting edge of 'Blitzkrieg', at Kursk, the tank would have a major influence on the eventual outcome of the war.
Made with the co-operation of the Bovington Tank Museum, this film features rare action footage of the Panzers, including the famous Tiger Tank in action and unique footage of the last surviving Panzers to produce a powerful record of the evolution of massed armoured warfare from 1939 to 1943.
The Panzer was a vital cog in Hitler's awesome war machine - a decisive weapon at the cutting edge of 'Blitzkrieg', at Kursk, the tank would have a major influence on the eventual outcome of the war.
Made with the co-operation of the Bovington Tank Museum, this film features rare action footage of the Panzers, including the famous Tiger Tank in action and unique footage of the last surviving Panzers to produce a powerful record of the evolution of massed armoured warfare from 1939 to 1943.
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LearningTranscript
00:16To mark his 50th birthday, Hitler's magnificent new army had marched before him.
00:22The event was staged to intimidate the world.
00:25It was true that most of the tanks were small and lightly armed,
00:28and many were driven past twice to create the impression of greater numbers,
00:32but they had served Hitler's grand design,
00:34which had been to make a chilling and spectacular assertion of Germany's reborn military might.
01:07The End
01:36Bovington Tank Museum
01:37in the county of Dorset, England,
01:40is the final resting place of more than 300 tanks.
01:43The weapons which once wreaked havoc
01:45on the battlefields of the world,
01:47their tracks still and their guns silent.
01:50Even now, over 50 years after they last saw action,
01:53the hulks of these tanks still exude power and menace,
01:57providing a permanent reminder of an awesome weapon of war.
02:27In the campaigns of the early war years,
02:30Hitler's armies had struck down all before them.
02:33The German soldier became accustomed to fighting
02:35against numerical odds and accustomed, too, to victory.
02:44The comparatively few mechanized and armored units
02:47were the only truly modern component of the German army
02:50and were the key to much of its extraordinary success.
02:53The military of many countries were familiar with wireless,
02:56with tanks and with warplanes,
02:58but only in Germany were these elements
03:00so effectively combined to form fully integrated fighting units
03:03with exceptional striking power.
03:16Hitler's generals had rewritten the rulebook of battle.
03:26In Poland, it took less than a month to dispose of a large
03:29but poorly equipped and disorganized army,
03:31which had fought along rigidly traditional lines.
03:36In France, Germany successfully challenged the largest
03:39and most modern army in Europe.
03:46French officers employed tactics little changed
03:49from the First World War.
03:54Like the French, the British commanders were not trained
03:57to think so fast or effectively
03:58as their German counterparts.
04:18In the ensuing Blitzkrieg, or Lightning War,
04:21the British forces were completely eroded.
04:26Even this achievement was eclipsed by Germany's astonishing victory,
04:29in the war against Stalin's Soviet Union.
04:44In June 1941, spearheaded by tank formations,
04:48German armies swept eastward in huge encirclements,
04:51and many Soviet tanks were destroyed,
04:53and hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops killed or captured.
04:59For a while, it seemed that Hitler would succeed
05:01where Napoleon had failed
05:02by conquering the vast Eastern power.
05:08The tank became established as a symbol
05:11of German invincibility.
05:13In reality, the remarkable string of German successes
05:17was due less to superiority of military technology
05:19than to the excellence of German methods and training.
05:22Many of the German Panzer Division
05:24were equipped only with Panzer I and II light tanks.
05:29The turret of this Panzer I
05:30has been replaced by a fixed superstructure
05:33and used as a command vehicle.
05:35It is difficult now to imagine
05:37that such small and likely armoured tanks
05:39could spearhead the devastating operation of Blitzkrieg.
05:52The secret of their success
05:54was speed and coordination of effort.
05:57It was the new way of waging war
05:59which came as a hammer blow to Germany's opponents,
06:02forcing them to radically rethink
06:03their own military tactics.
06:05Slowly, the lessons would be learned,
06:07and eventually, the answer to Blitzkrieg would be found.
06:22The fighting in the desert began
06:24with Italy's entry into the war in 1940.
06:27British forces stationed in Egypt and Sudan
06:30were confronted by much larger Italian forces
06:33on two adjoining fronts,
06:34but the British enjoyed certain advantages.
06:40This lumbering 26-tonne battle tank,
06:43the Matilda,
06:44so-called because it resembled
06:46the popular cartoon duck of the period,
06:48was superior to the M11 and M13 tanks
06:51the Italians deployed.
06:53It was slow,
06:54only reaching 8 miles per hour,
06:56but was heavily armoured
06:57and impervious to all but the heaviest
06:59anti-tank weapons.
07:01It was armed with a two-pounder
07:03ordnance quick-firing gun
07:04and a BESA machine gun.
07:07A handful had been deployed in France
07:10and had made possible
07:11the only successful counter-attack.
07:15Before his removal
07:16by a short-sighted high command,
07:18Brigadier General Hobart
07:19had done much to create
07:21an effective armoured force
07:22along lines similar to that of the Germans,
07:24and in General Richard O'Connor,
07:26the British had one commander
07:28of outstanding vision and ability.
07:32On December the 9th,
07:34two squartons of Matilda's
07:36under the command of General O'Connor
07:37successfully used the element of surprise
07:40and attacked a strong Italian position
07:42at Sidi Barani
07:43without the customary opening artillery barrage.
07:53By 10 a.m., the fort was captured.
07:55Every Italian tank was knocked out
07:57and the British had 2,000 prisoners
07:59to contend with.
08:03The Matildas were found
08:05to be capable of absorbing
08:06over 40 direct hits
08:07and continuing in action.
08:17Operation Compass followed,
08:19an astonishing 500-mile drive westwards,
08:22during which 10 Italian divisions
08:24were effectively destroyed
08:25with the capture of hundreds
08:26of tanks and guns.
08:29Casualties among O'Connor's men
08:30came to less than 2,000,
08:32whereas the Italians sustained losses
08:34of 100,000 dead or wounded
08:36and a further 130,000 taken prisoner.
08:40Had the Italians not escorted themselves
08:42to prison camps,
08:43the logistics of dealing with so many captives
08:45would have presented major difficulties.
08:52by February 1941,
08:55O'Connor was eagerly preparing
08:56to advance on Tripoli
08:58to eliminate completely Axis forces in Africa.
09:01But Churchill decided
09:02that O'Connor's battle-hardened divisions
09:04should be dispatched urgently to Greece.
09:07Within two months,
09:08Britain's command of the desert
09:09was to be totally reversed.
09:27On February the 14th,
09:29units of Germany's newly created Africa Corps
09:31began to land in Tripoli.
09:33These new arrivals
09:35were already seasoned warriors,
09:36and they brought with them
09:37impressive modern weaponry.
09:39They were commanded
09:40by one of Germany's most able
09:42and imaginative practitioners
09:43of tank warfare,
09:45General Erwin Rommel.
09:52The Matilda's reign
09:53as Queen of the Desert
09:55was at an end.
09:56The Matilda
09:57and the obsolete A9 cruiser tanks
09:59now had to face German machines
10:01with better armaments,
10:02better armor,
10:03and better speed and range.
10:05The British must now contend
10:07with Panzer II, III, and IV.
10:10The Panzer III
10:11weighed nearly 47,000 pounds
10:13with welded steel armor
10:15up to two and three-quarter inches thick.
10:19It had a top speed
10:20of 25 miles per hour
10:23and was armed
10:24with an effective 50-millimeter gun.
10:29The layout of the Panzer III
10:31was traditional
10:31with the driving compartment
10:32at the front,
10:33the fighting compartment
10:34amid ships,
10:35and the engine at the rear.
10:37The forward compartment
10:38was occupied by the driver
10:39and the radio operator
10:41bow gunner,
10:42whilst the commander,
10:43gunner, and loader
10:44were in the turret-fighting compartment.
10:48The Panzer IV,
10:49at just over 44,000 pounds,
10:51was similar in size
10:52to the Panzer III
10:53and had similar power and speed.
10:55It had originally been planned
10:57as a support weapon
10:58to the spearhead Panzer III,
10:59but the limitation
11:00of the Panzer III's
11:0150-millimeter main gun
11:02made the Panzer IV
11:04with a 75-millimeter gun
11:05a vital weapon.
11:08Every German tank
11:09was fitted with wireless
11:10and had tremendous flexibility
11:11of response
11:12and a changing battle situation.
11:14The Germans were also far ahead
11:16in the technique
11:17of anti-tank warfare.
11:18The formidable dual-purpose
11:2088-millimeter gun
11:21was originally
11:22an anti-aircraft weapon.
11:23It was employed
11:24with equal ease
11:25against tanks,
11:26and it became
11:26the most successful
11:27anti-tank gun of the war.
11:43Rommel wasted no time.
11:45Within 10 days,
11:47he launched his first assault,
11:48and without waiting
11:49for his full force
11:49to be assembled,
11:50he moved swiftly
11:51against the inactive
11:52forward British units,
11:53throwing them back
11:54in confusion.
12:04The British were dismayed
12:05to see shells
12:06from their two-pounder guns
12:07merely bouncing
12:07off the German armor.
12:09The follow-up was immediate,
12:11and in early April,
12:12the British were forced
12:13to evacuate Benghazi.
12:14O'Connor,
12:15hastily recalled from leave,
12:16was captured.
12:18The momentum
12:19of Rommel's brilliant offensive
12:20did not falter.
12:22Within a few months,
12:23in a spectacular change
12:24of fortunes,
12:25all of O'Connor's gains
12:26were reversed,
12:27and the Africa Corps
12:29successfully laid siege
12:30to the port stronghold
12:31of Tobruk.
12:34In the late autumn,
12:35General Ochenlek
12:36organized another offensive
12:37in the desert.
12:38For a while,
12:39it enjoyed a measure
12:40of success,
12:41and in December,
12:42Benghazi was recaptured,
12:43but it fell again
12:44to the Germans
12:45early in 1942,
12:47and Rommel once more
12:48began to drive eastwards.
12:50Egypt itself was menaced.
13:02By this time, however,
13:03the German supply lines
13:04were uncomfortably
13:05overextended,
13:06and the number
13:07of operational tanks
13:08were depleted
13:08by such a long
13:09and arduous advance.
13:14Ochenlek decided
13:15to make a stand
13:15at El Alamein,
13:16where large salt marshes
13:18inland prevented Rommel
13:19outflanking the British
13:20to the south.
13:22Throughout July,
13:23Rommel's weakened vanguard
13:24made repeated forays
13:25against the British positions
13:26around El Alamein,
13:27but each assault
13:28was successfully beaten back.
13:30Even so,
13:31the British 8th Army
13:32remained alarmingly vulnerable.
13:38Rommel now created
13:39Field Marshal,
13:40following the dramatic
13:41capture of Tobruk,
13:43tried to break through
13:43the El Alamein defences
13:45and planned to use
13:46captured fuel
13:46to thrust onwards
13:47to Cairo.
13:49His first priority
13:50was to consolidate
13:51and replenish his forces.
13:57Despite receiving
13:59only limited supplies
14:00and reinforcements,
14:01by the end of August,
14:02Rommel felt able
14:03to resume his offensive.
14:08The same period
14:09saw notable changes
14:10in the British command structure.
14:20General Ochenlek
14:21was replaced
14:22as Commander-in-Chief
14:23by General Alexander,
14:25whilst the forces
14:25in the field
14:26were led by General
14:27Bernard Montgomery.
14:29Montgomery,
14:30a cautious
14:30and prudent officer,
14:32had inherited
14:32a useful outline
14:33plan designed
14:34to deny the Germans
14:35the mobility essential
14:36to the success
14:37of Blitzkrieg.
14:39The British already enjoyed
14:41an increasing superiority
14:42in the air
14:42and the 8th Army
14:43now had 700 tanks.
14:57Montgomery realized
14:58there was one vital ridge
15:00British at Alam el-Halfa,
15:02which Rommel must try to take.
15:05Accordingly,
15:05he prepared a defense
15:06in depth.
15:08British codebreakers
15:10had deciphered
15:10the enemy signals
15:11and German convoys
15:12from Italy
15:13were regularly destroyed
15:14in the Mediterranean.
15:16Montgomery also knew
15:17exactly when Rommel
15:18intended to strike.
15:20When it came,
15:22the Battle of Alam el-Halfa
15:23was brief.
15:25A deep belt of mines
15:26impeded the initial
15:27German advance,
15:28and when the main offensive
15:29began the following morning,
15:31the 200 German
15:32and 240 Italian tanks
15:34came under punishing
15:35bombing attacks.
15:37Rommel had achieved
15:38neither surprise nor speed,
15:39and by the first week
15:40of September,
15:41the Africa Corps
15:42was back where it started.
15:46In some respects,
15:48the desert was ideal terrain
15:50for tank warfare.
15:51It was mostly flat,
15:52with few towns
15:53or natural obstructions,
15:54but a stationary tank
15:56could be easily camouflaged.
15:58For tanks on the move,
16:00however,
16:00air cover was essential.
16:03Sand blown into the air
16:04by tank tracks
16:05could be easily detected
16:06by hostile aircraft,
16:08and slow-moving machines
16:10were an easy target
16:11from the air.
16:14The column of smoke
16:15from one burning tank
16:16identified the position
16:17of the unit
16:18for miles around.
16:26For the tank crews,
16:28the everyday conditions
16:29in the desert,
16:30which they had to endure,
16:31were appalling.
16:32Insects were a perpetual torment.
16:34The heat inside
16:36the noisy vibrating cabin
16:37was unbearable.
16:39The all-pervading sand
16:40caused engines to seize
16:41and turrets to jam.
16:46Sand penetrated
16:47the caterpillar tracks,
16:48which then ground
16:49themselves apart.
16:50The heavy, complicated machinery
16:52required continual maintenance,
16:54and without their tank,
16:56the crew were at the mercy
16:56of the unforgiving desert.
17:00In battle,
17:01the armor plating of the tanks
17:02protected the crew
17:03from rifle and machine gun fire,
17:05and to a varying extent
17:06from shell fire as well.
17:08But even the best armored tank
17:10was vulnerable to heavy
17:11and well-directed fire.
17:28For many of the tank soldiers
17:29who perished in the sands,
17:31death did not come easily.
17:33A tank sustaining a direct hit
17:35might simply explode.
17:37But if it didn't,
17:38the energy of the impact
17:39was converted into intense heat,
17:40resulting in a dramatic increase
17:42in temperature in the tank's interior.
17:44Burns and asphyxiation
17:46claimed many lives.
17:48Rivets commonly used
17:49in the construction
17:50of British tanks
17:51were an additional hazard.
17:52A hit would cause rivets
17:54to burst out
17:55pelting the crew
17:55with red-hot metal.
17:57It was said that
17:58the screams of the dying
17:59trapped inside a blazing tank
18:00were never forgotten
18:01by those who heard them.
18:03Even when men did manage
18:05to scramble out of a blazing tank
18:06in the desert,
18:07they were frequently far
18:08from proper medical facilities,
18:10and during engagements,
18:11water for both fit and wounded
18:12was invariably in short supply.
18:24In the weeks that followed
18:25the Battle of Alem el-Halfa,
18:27a steady supply of reinforcements,
18:29munitions and supplies
18:30poured into the British camp.
18:36The Sherman M3 medium tank,
18:39known to the British
18:39as the Grant,
18:41greatly strengthened firepower
18:42with its 75-millimeter gun.
18:48Montgomery was preparing
18:50to attack the Germans' position
18:51at El Alamein,
18:52but had resolved
18:53that men under his command
18:54would never be needlessly sacrificed.
18:57The offensive would begin
18:58on the night of October 23rd, 1942.
19:19As the initial 1,000-gun
19:21artillery barrage began,
19:23the British and Commonwealth forces
19:24outnumbered the Germans
19:25and Italians almost two to one
19:27in men and tanks,
19:28and had vastly superior air power.
19:33Montgomery could rapidly
19:35make good any losses
19:36with the Royal Navy
19:37dominating the Mediterranean.
19:39Rommel could not.
19:40More critically,
19:41the Afrika Korps
19:42possessed only one-tenth
19:43of the fuel which they required
19:45for full operational mobility,
19:46and operations would soon
19:48be restricted.
19:49There had also been much disease
19:51amongst the German forces,
19:52and Rommel had himself fallen ill.
19:55On the first day of the Battle of El Alamein,
19:58Rommel was convalescing in Austria.
20:06Montgomery's initial plan
20:07was for a major thrust in the north,
20:09coupled with a feint to the south.
20:11The first two days were spent
20:13probing passages
20:14through the deep minefields
20:15and in what Montgomery
20:16called the crumbling process,
20:18the wearing down
20:19of the enemy's
20:19entrenched defences.
20:21The German anti-tank positions
20:23proved too resilient,
20:25and the hoped for breakthrough
20:26into the open desert
20:27to the German rear
20:28did not succeed.
20:29The adaptable Montgomery
20:31decided on a change of tactics,
20:33and on October the 28th,
20:35he struck north towards the coast.
20:37Rommel rapidly
20:38and successfully countered.
20:39The Germans were destroying
20:41four machines
20:42for every one lost.
20:44Montgomery again changed tactics,
20:46and a third attack
20:47began on November the 2nd.
20:49It met with fierce resistance,
20:51and at the end of the day,
20:52200 tanks were out of action,
20:54but a corridor had been forced
20:56through the German defences.
21:01The two armoured divisions
21:03compromising the main striking arm
21:04of the Afrika Korps
21:05had now dwindled to 2,000 men
21:07and some 35 tanks.
21:09On November the 3rd,
21:11Rommel was forced to organise
21:12a general withdrawal.
21:14Montgomery had won
21:15the Battle of El Alamein.
21:26It was now that Montgomery's
21:28instinctive caution
21:29worked against him.
21:30The follow-up was slow
21:32and hesitant.
21:34With a combination of skill
21:36and luck,
21:36Rommel's small forces
21:38eluded the vastly superior
21:39British and Commonwealth forces.
21:43On November the 8th,
21:44British and American forces
21:46began to land
21:46in northwest Africa.
21:53Rommel launched his last
21:54counterattack on March the 16th
21:56in an attempt to hold
21:58the Marath line in Libya,
21:59but it was easily beaten off.
22:02Shortly thereafter,
22:03he was recalled to Germany.
22:05Hitler was disappointed
22:06in his field marshal,
22:08but he wanted him
22:08well out of the way
22:09before the ignominy
22:10of final capitulation.
22:17After a long succession
22:18of defeats on land,
22:19in Britain,
22:20the North African victories
22:21were received
22:22with much jubilation.
22:24In Germany,
22:24the events in this small
22:26theatre of war
22:26were far overshadowed
22:28by the Herculean struggle
22:29on the Eastern Front.
22:40The disaster of Stalingrad
22:42had left Hitler's
22:43public prestige undimmed.
22:45Indeed,
22:46Hitler's outstanding
22:47minister of propaganda,
22:48Dr. Joseph Goebbels,
22:50had seized on the occasion
22:51to stiffen the resolve
22:52of the German people,
22:53inspiring in them
22:54new frenzies of loyalty
22:56and a greater willingness
22:57to face sacrifices.
23:01The mood shared
23:02by many of the German soldiers
23:03was somber,
23:04yet confident.
23:08In March 1943,
23:10Hitler wavered,
23:11and the German army,
23:13worn down and depleted
23:14by long, bruising conflicts,
23:16desperately needed
23:16to consolidate
23:17the losses in men
23:18and equipment.
23:21For a short time,
23:22Hitler contemplated
23:23a purely defensive
23:24holding strategy
23:24on the Eastern Front,
23:26whilst Germany
23:26recovered her strength.
23:30But inaction
23:31was foreign to him,
23:32and on March 13th,
23:34he signed the directive
23:35for Operation Citadel,
23:37a major new offensive
23:38in the East.
23:39The objective
23:40was a huge enemy salient,
23:42120 miles wide
23:44and 80 miles deep.
23:45At the base of the salient
23:47stood the little-known
23:47Soviet city of Kursk.
23:50The fighting for Kursk
23:52would embroil
23:53Hitler's armies
23:54in the greatest tank battle
23:55in history.
23:56Hitler believed
23:57that one more powerful thrust
23:59might finish
23:59the Soviet army completely
24:00and the defeat
24:01of Stalingrad
24:02would be avenged.
24:09On April 15th,
24:10the attack on the huge salient
24:12was ordered
24:12and the date was set
24:13for May 3rd.
24:15The plan
24:16was a pincer movement,
24:17the 9th army in the north
24:19striking down
24:20to meet the 4th tank army
24:21moving up from the south.
24:22They were to meet
24:24just east of Kursk itself.
24:28In the weeks that followed,
24:29Operation Citadel
24:30was repeatedly postponed.
24:33Much of the delay
24:34was caused by production
24:36difficulties
24:36with the new German tanks.
24:39It was not Hitler alone
24:40who was anxious
24:41that the new machine
24:42should be present in strength
24:43when the offensive began.
24:47In 1941,
24:49the Germans
24:49had invaded the Soviet Union
24:50with the outstanding
24:51Panzer III
24:52and Panzer IV machines
24:53as the mainstay
24:54of their armoured forces.
24:56A force of 3,350
24:58German tanks
24:59had routed
24:59a Soviet force
25:00of 20,000 tanks.
25:03But by 1943,
25:04Hitler knew
25:05they must face
25:06an enemy
25:06which was transformed
25:07in every respect.
25:10It had been with dismay
25:12that Germans discovered
25:13in 1941
25:13that the Soviets
25:15possessed a small number
25:16of Meacham tanks,
25:17clearly superior
25:18to the best
25:18that German technology
25:19could offer.
25:20In many respects,
25:22the design of the Soviet's T-34,
25:24seen here,
25:25was a masterpiece
25:25of simplicity.
25:27Far easier to build
25:28than its German counterpart,
25:30the Soviet tank
25:31could be manufactured
25:31in half the time.
25:33No less important,
25:35the T-34 was far easier
25:36to maintain
25:37and keep operational
25:38in the field.
25:39With its angled armour,
25:40it could withstand
25:41extreme punishment.
25:43The wide tracks
25:44of the T-34
25:45allowed it to operate
25:46on soft terrain
25:47where the German tanks
25:48would founder.
25:49The T-34 was powered
25:51by a reliable
25:51500 horsepower diesel engine
25:53which gave a top speed
25:54of 32 miles per hour.
25:56Equipped with a 76mm
25:58rifled gun,
25:59the T-34 was equal
26:00in firepower
26:01to the Panzer IV
26:02but had better protection,
26:03range,
26:04and cross-country capability.
26:07Germany embarked
26:08on a crash programme
26:09of development
26:10and production.
26:21No one dared mention
26:23it to Hitler
26:23but the Panther
26:25was an attempt
26:25to copy
26:26the best features
26:27of the T-34.
26:34The sloping sides
26:35increased the effective
26:37thickness of the armour
26:37without increasing weight.
26:39It copied the T-34's
26:41large road wheels
26:42to give a better
26:43cross-country ride
26:44and the Maybach
26:45700 horsepower petrol engine
26:46gave over twice
26:47the power of the Panzer IV.
26:50Given time
26:51for a development programme,
26:52the Panther would have
26:53mastered the T-34
26:54but it was rushed
26:55into production
26:56before reliability
26:57problems had been resolved.
27:02Its deployment at Kursk
27:03would be in insufficient numbers
27:05to make any impact
27:06upon the outcome
27:06of the battle
27:07but would give the Soviets
27:08a vital knowledge
27:09of Germany's tank technology.
27:13Germany must also master
27:14the Soviet KV-1 heavy tank
27:16which mounted an effective
27:1776mm gun.
27:19Although heavily armoured,
27:21the KV-1's 550 horsepower
27:23could still propel
27:24the 46 ton tank
27:25at 22 miles per hour.
27:27Germany countered
27:28with the monster
27:29Elephant or Ferdinand tank.
27:32This lumbering colossus
27:33moved at only 12 miles per hour
27:35but carried enormous
27:37thickness of armour
27:38and mounted an unmatched
27:3988mm gun.
27:41Remarkably,
27:42the design made no provision
27:43for a machine gun
27:44to defend against infantry
27:45and the Soviets
27:47would soon discover
27:47that a courageous soldier
27:49could disable the Elephant
27:50with an incendiary
27:51in the air intake.
27:53The third new German tank
27:55to see action at Kursk
27:56was the Tiger tank
27:57weighing in at a massive
27:59125,400 pounds
28:02and firepower came from
28:04a magnificent
28:0488mm rifled gun.
28:08In some respects,
28:09the lessons learned
28:10from the T-34
28:11came too late
28:12to affect the design
28:13of the Tiger
28:14and the turret
28:14had uncompromisingly
28:16vertical sides.
28:17The weight of its armour
28:19made the Tiger comparatively
28:20underpowered.
28:22As with the Panzer III,
28:24the Tiger had a five-man crew.
28:26The driver steered
28:27through hydraulic controls
28:28and the commander
28:29had a seat at the back
28:30of the spacious turret.
28:32The gunner had 92 rounds
28:33of 88mm ammunition.
28:35The machine gunner,
28:37who doubled as the radio operator,
28:38was located
28:39in the forward compartment.
28:42The museum's Tiger I,
28:43currently being restored,
28:45will be the only one
28:46of its kind
28:46in full working order.
28:51Throughout May and June,
28:52Hitler's generals
28:53did not waste time
28:54gained from the repeated
28:55postponements
28:55of Operation Citadel.
28:57All over Europe,
28:58German bases and garrisons
28:59were stripped to provide
29:00the forces necessary
29:01for the great attack.
29:04Despite the intensive
29:06Allied bombing offensive,
29:07Germany's home air defences
29:08were pared down to release
29:10pilots and aircraft
29:11for the Eastern Front.
29:15Even though many divisions
29:16were below full establishment level,
29:18the final total of troops
29:20gathered was impressive.
29:22Amongst them were Germany's
29:23bravest and most experienced troops,
29:25and a large representation
29:26from the Waffen SS was included.
29:33The morale of the German soldiers
29:35was high.
29:36Stalingrad still weighed heavily
29:38on many minds,
29:39but at Stalingrad,
29:40it had been the Italians
29:41and the Romanians
29:42who opened the way to disaster.
29:44This time,
29:45there would be no unreliable allies
29:46to worry about.
29:48Hitler had decreed that Citadel
29:50was to be a 100% German operation.
29:57Confidence was further bolstered
29:58by the great quantities
29:59of modern supplies
30:00arriving daily at the front,
30:02although the new Panther
30:03and Tiger tanks
30:04were still in disappointingly
30:05low numbers.
30:06On the airfields,
30:08the Luftwaffe
30:08was amassed in strength.
30:10The armaments,
30:11tanks,
30:12and aircraft
30:12committed to this one battle
30:14were comparable
30:15to those assembled
30:15to invade the entire Soviet Union
30:17two years before.
30:19Nevertheless,
30:20the magnitude
30:21of the whole undertaking
30:22unsettled Hitler,
30:23and no public announcement
30:24was made
30:24of the planned action.
30:26He said,
30:27the thought of it
30:28makes my stomach churn,
30:29but I see no alternative.
30:41In 1941,
30:43the ragged Soviet battalions
30:44had broken and surrendered easily
30:46when Germany
30:46had first invaded the East,
30:48forcing Stalin
30:49to relax his tyranny
30:50and to rekindle
30:51national pride.
30:55The brutality
30:56of the invaders
30:57had fired
30:58a fierce determination
30:58to resist,
30:59and the myth
31:00of Nazi invincibility
31:01had been shattered
31:02at Stalingrad.
31:05Stalin had been forced
31:06to promote military officers,
31:07engineering designers,
31:09and factory managers
31:09on grounds of ability
31:10rather than political expediency.
31:13As a result,
31:14Soviet production of tanks,
31:15artillery,
31:16and aircraft
31:16had by that time
31:17outstripped that of Germany
31:18both in quality
31:19and quantity.
31:29General Zhukov,
31:30the principal Soviet commander
31:31in the field,
31:32was forewarned
31:33of Operation Citadel,
31:35and this time
31:35the Germans would find
31:36the Soviets
31:37thoroughly prepared.
31:47Throughout May and June
31:48of 1943,
31:50three deep belts
31:50of mines were laid
31:51around the salience perimeter.
32:09On July 1st,
32:10Hitler returned
32:11to his command post
32:12in East Prussia.
32:13There would be
32:14no more postponements.
32:18In the monumental battle
32:20about to be joined,
32:21the Soviets started
32:22with a numerical advantage.
32:24Against 900,000 German troops,
32:27Zhukov fielded
32:271,400,000.
32:30Soviet superiority
32:31was most marked
32:32in artillery
32:32with 20,000 guns,
32:34twice as many
32:35as the Germans.
32:36The Soviets deployed
32:373,000 tanks,
32:39the Germans 2,700.
32:40The Soviets had
32:422,400 aircraft
32:43to the Luftwaffe's 2,000.
32:554,600.
32:56The ship rock
32:56was the first
32:56of their missions.
32:56They were
32:561,400,000 guns.
33:03The Because of the
33:03the Earth
33:03was now
33:03known as the
33:03of attack night.
33:06The only
33:06of the
33:08sea
33:15The
33:15made
33:30By July the 4th, the two German assault droppings in the north and the south were on full battle readiness.
33:37Ahead of the German lines, mine clearers went about their stealthy work.
33:41As the German armies inched towards the Soviet lines, the mood was one of somber expectancy.
33:47The seasoned veterans in the German ranks knew the ugliness of battle.
33:52Even in the greatest of victories, soldiers always paid a price.
34:00They had seen the dead and the maimed, and wounds which could only be relieved by a bullet from a
34:05friend's revolver.
34:07Tomorrow it might be their turn.
34:26On July the 5th, 1943, Zhukov knew the exact time of the invasion.
34:320-3-30 hours.
34:34Ten minutes before the German columns were due to move, a deadly Soviet artillery barrage opened up.
34:53Through a maelstrom of explosions, the German assault droppings poured forward into action.
34:58The sky above was filled with the roar of aero engines as the German air fleets flew thousands of sorties.
35:24Bearing down from the north, von Klug's 9th Army, with the armour commanded by General Modell, advanced seven miles during
35:31the first day.
35:31In the south, von Manstein pushed 11 miles towards them.
35:36It was solid progress, but scarcely a blitzkrieg.
35:39There appeared no end to the depth of Soviet minefields.
35:43As the offensive continued, the Germans encountered increasing difficulties.
35:48They were accustomed to fighting against formidable odds, but accustomed, too, to having superiority in the quality of their men,
35:54in leadership, and in machines.
35:57They found first that the performance of their new tanks was less than had been promised.
36:01Panthers were bedevilled with mechanical problems, and could rarely manage more than a few miles before breaking down.
36:07Without adequate recovery vehicles and with inexperienced crews, out of 200 Panthers, only 40 remained in operation at the end
36:14of the first day.
36:21Many Stuka dive bombers had been converted to a tank-killing role, and at the outset of the battle, they
36:26enjoyed considerable success.
36:28But without overall air superiority, the slow-flying Stupas proved easy prey to enemy fighters.
36:34Gradually, domination of the air passed to the Soviets.
37:04By the third day, the Germans had accounted for over 40 minutes.
37:07There were 450 Soviet tanks, but the enemy still possessed abundant strength and armaments.
37:12Slowly, the pincer arms were drawing closer together.
37:17No longer were the Germans rounding up the accustomed droves of prisoners.
37:39でも一點 safe, この魂の中に、は馬鹿がなるもので、私二人截亡ишьず将も競rialを貫下する敗 Fat Kriegに。最新興味RY、退勿者を取る防復を殺り
37:54vapeることとなる。高魂が第 тогда後、殛多人彼に治って、おした敗きは、宿鳥は横を回した兿
37:55petty nick壮が強 Veterans governmentを持って、100万人佔中を最悪三律にるな影響したものにおすべき問に書き語ることとな駐
38:05Temple。對。本来は一位 Sommerです。
39:01Zoukhov's field commanders were mastering the art of tactical withdrawal, of the probing
39:06counter-strike, and they would lure the Germans into ruthless tank-killing grounds.
39:11The Soviets had contrived other devices.
39:14They had developed what was called the Pack Front, a highly sophisticated tactical grouping
39:19for both offences and defence.
39:21The fearsome Katushka rockets comprised its first line, behind which were batteries of
39:26heavy artillery.
39:40When these had done their work, heavy tanks moved through to complete the devastation.
39:45The predictability of Pack Front assaults allowed the German defenders to work out counter-measures,
39:50but not before terrible damage had been inflicted.
40:21Pack Front
40:22ferocious fighting, the German army was much weakened and Kluge was forced to withdraw some
40:27units. The southern prong of the German attack was also at a virtual standstill, and many miles
40:32still separated the two Panzer armies. Then, on July the 12th, Zhukov launched his own counter-offensive
40:39to the north of the salient around the town of Orel. The preliminary maneuvering brought one
40:44chance encounter of monumental consequence. That day, 700 German tanks of the 4th Panzer army
40:50were driving forwards near the tiny village of Prokhorovokan. Traveling in the opposite
40:55direction were 850 Soviet machines of the 5th Guards Tank Army. Neither group was aware
41:01of the presence of the other.
41:18Peated through their small viewing windows of their steel cockpits, the crews on both sides
41:23were aghast to see the strength of the enemy formations advancing upon them. The surrounding
41:27hills acted as a natural funnel for the massed armor. The two huge columns ran and broke upon
41:33each other. It ensued a battle of titanic proportions.
41:59Never before or since have so many tanks, over 1,500, been embroiled in a single battle. No strategic
42:07decision had dictated this clash, and there were no tactical plans or unified command. In the swirling dust,
42:13the tanks dueled, firing salvos at point-blank range, ramming and climbing over each other, piteously
42:19destroying or being destroyed. One observer felt that the landscape was too small for what was happening in it.
42:25Among the tank crews of the Red Army, it passed into legend as the Ride of Death.
42:34Above the field, Luftwaffe and Soviet warplanes circled and fought, but they could play no part
42:40in the terrifying battle beneath, as immense clouds of dust and dense, billowing smoke obscured
42:44with their own friend and foe alike.
43:09For eight hours, the battle raged unabated, and then gradually the two sides disengaged and
43:14regrouped. The Soviets left 300 tanks behind them on the battlefield. The Germans had lost a similar number.
43:21The Soviets could rapidly replace their machines, but for the Germans, it was a far harder task.
43:35The main thrust of Zhukov's counteroffensive was to the north of the Kursk salient. So long as the Germans
43:41held Orel, Moscow was potentially at risk. The Germans put up stern resistance, but the troops were exhausted
43:48after days of hard fighting. Armament spares and supplies were depleted. The Red Army was able to commit
43:55fresh and well-armed troops. They had secure lines of communication and no shortage of equipment and supplies.
44:21The fighting around Kursk would continue another 20 weeks, but already by the second week of July, it was apparent
44:27that Operation Citadel could not succeed. Row upon row of Soviet fortifications remained intact, some spreading
44:34200 miles eastward. Germans had committed nearly all of their armoured strength in the east to this one great
44:43operation. Now it had failed, and Zhukov's armies were threatening to trap what remained of the German tank division.
45:02On July the 13th, Hitler formally ordered the cancellation of Operation Citadel. The Soviets had suffered
45:12slightly higher losses, but with enormous reserves of manpower and with higher levels of military production,
45:17these could soon be made good. The Germans faced graver problems. Gathering the resources to fight the battle
45:27of Kursk had put immense strains upon the army, the Luftwaffe and German industry. They could not afford
45:33losses on such a scale. The Soviet Union had become the anvil upon which the Nazi war machine was to
45:55be hammered.
45:57The Volga River proved to be the furthest limit of Hitler's conquest, and after Kursk, the tide of war could
46:02flow
46:03only one way, westwards. The German soldier would display astonishing resilience in defence, and German and Soviet tanks
46:11would clash many times in the two years of bitter fighting that lay ahead.
46:38ORREASED
46:39ORCHES
46:42ORCHESTRA
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