A German heavy tank battalion ( was a battalion-sized World War II tank unit of the German Army during World War II, 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 it to be used in a defensive posture by providing heavy fire support and counter-attacking enemy armored breakthroughs, often organised into ad hoc Kampfgruppen (battlegroups).

The German heavy tank battalions destroyed a total of 8,100 enemy tanks for the loss of 1,482 of their own, an overall kill/loss ratio of 5.47 though individual unit ratios ranged from 1.28 to 13. The German losses also include non-combat tank write-offs. – citing http://www.alanhamby.com/tiger.html which itself cites Tigers in Combat I by Wolfgang Schneider, Tigers in Combat II by Wolfgang Schneider, Red Army Handbook by Steven Zaloga

Formation Early formation units experimented to find the correct combination of heavy Tiger tanks supported by either medium Panzer III tanks or reconnaissance 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.Schneider 2000, pp. 3–4.

Later formations had a standard organization of 45 Tiger Tanks, composed of three companies of 14 Tigers each, plus three 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.

In addition to tanks, each battalion planned to include the followingSchneider 2000, p. 2. + Vehiclevehicle type 1 July 1943  1 January 1945  Flakpanzer IVSelf-propelled anti-aircraft gun08 Sd.Kfz. 7/1 8 ton 4 x 2 cm FlakSelf-propelled anti-aircraft gun63 Sd.Kfz. 251 SchützenpanzerwagenArmoured half-track1011 Bergepanther Armoured recovery vehicle05 Sd.Kfz. 9 18 ton ZugkraftwagenHalf-track prime mover 87 Sd.Kfz. 10 1 ton ZugkraftwagenLight half-track813 Sd.Kfz. 2 KettenkradGun tractor014 Beiwagenkrad Motorcycle with sidecar, e.g. BMW R75250 Solokrad Motorcycle176 Kübelwagen Personenkraftwagen Staff car6438 Personenkraftwagen, zivil Civilian car21 Lastkraftwagen Truck, e.g. Opel Blitz11184 Lastkraftwagen, zivil Civilian truck2434 MaultierHalf-track truck06 Kran-Kraftfahrzeug Mobile crane33 Total278233

Organisation structure The organisation structure of a German heavy Panzer battalion in 1943, in this case the schwere Panzerabteilung 508, was as follows.Schneider 2004, pp. 13–14, 321

staff / staff company of three tanks ( Stabskompanie ) communications platoon / Nachrichtenzug armoured reconnaissance platoon (on IFV) / gepanzerter Aufklärungszug area reconnaissance platoon / Erkundungszug (ErkdZug) engineer platoon ( Pionierzug (PiZug) anti-aircraft platoon ( Fliegerabwehrzug (FlakZug) 1st – 3rd Panzer company (14 tanks each) / 1. – 3. Panzerkompanie company detachment (two tanks) ( Kompanietrupp ) 1st – 3rd panzer platoon, each of four tanks each ( 1. – 3. Panzerzug ) medical service( Sanitätsdienst ) vehicle repair detachment ( Kfz. Instandsetzungstrupp ) combat train I ( Gefechtstross I ) combat train II ( Gefechtstross II ) baggage train / Gepäcktross workshop company ( Werkstattkompanie ) 1st and 2nd workshop platoon (1. and 2. Werkstattzug ) recovery platoon / Bergezug armourer detachment ( Waffenmeisterei ) communications detachment ( Funkmeisterei ) spare part detachment ( Ersatzteiltrupp )

Army units 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 within the German Army (Heer) were: 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion - original unit surrendered in Tunisia campaign, reformed and destroyed on Eastern Front 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion - redesignated 511th on 5 January 1945 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion - largely destroyed in Normandy, refitted and deployed on Eastern Front 504th Heavy Panzer Battalion 505th Heavy Panzer Battalion 506th Heavy Panzer Battalion 507th Heavy Panzer Battalion 508th Heavy Panzer Battalion 509th Heavy Panzer Battalion 510th Heavy Panzer Battalion 511th Heavy Panzer Battalion 301st Heavy Panzer Battalion (radio control)Jentz, pp. 195, 265

SS units Waffen-SS units were

101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion largely destroyed by end of the battle of Normandy, withdrawn and refitted with Tiger II and renamed as SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 501 (), part of I SS Panzer Corps in September 1944. 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion largely destroyed in battle of Normandy, refitted and renamed in September 1944, as SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 502 (schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 502), part of II SS Panzer Corps 103rd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion renamed in 1944, as SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 503 (schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 503), part of III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps 104th SS Heavy Panzer Battalion (schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 104) was planned 22 October 1943, for IV SS Panzer Corps, but was never formed

Combat performance

+ Kill and losses of heavy tank battalions (1942–1945):UnitLossesDestroyedRatio501st Heavy Panzer Battalion 120 450 3.75502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion 107 1,400 13.08503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion 252 1,700 6.75504th Heavy Panzer Battalion 109 250 2.29505th Heavy Panzer Battalion 126 900 7.14506th Heavy Panzer Battalion 179 400 2.23507th Heavy Panzer Battalion 104 600 5.77508th Heavy Panzer Battalion 78 100 1.28509th Heavy Panzer Battalion 120 500 4.17510th Heavy Panzer Battalion 65 200 3.0813./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland 6 100 16.67III./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland 98 500 5.1013./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 42 400 9.528./SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 31 250 8.069./SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 56 500 8.93101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 107 500 4.67102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 76 600 7.89103rd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 39 500 12.82Total: 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 to a lack of fuel, ammunition or breakdown, especially at the end of war.

See also Organisation of a SS Panzer Division Panzer Division

Notes

References