WWI The Great War. A war fought between the European powers. Central power vs Allied power. At then end of WWI the Central powers had lost. The country that suffered the most from the war was Germany. Germany was stripped of it's army and it was left to rought. A few years later Germany would rebuild itself thanks to one man Adolf Hitler. Everyone knew another World War was coming. What they didn't know was how the war was gonna be fought. Nobody wanted to go to the trenches again since it caused heavy casualties. While the democratic nations tried to "keep the peace" Hitler, Italy and Japan were finding new ways to wage war.
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Most people think WWI was the age of the machine gun. In all reality it was the age of the Artillery. Guns were getting bigger, longer and more mobile. Most soldiers in the trenches were afraid of the artillery piece firing and hitting their trench. The British took this idea and made it mobile. The Central power troops must have been horrified to see the British's new invention. The British had created the Mark IV landship. The first tank. A giant box equipped with machine guns and cannons. How well did it perform. WELL....... Not very good. Although it was physiologically scary it failed in every other category. It was slow and didn't turn well. Artillery could easily destroy it and it got stuck in the mud a lot. Although it didn't perform well Hitler saw the tank as an opportunity waiting to be unlocked.
The WWI tanks were slow and not very mobile. Hitler wanted to improve on this idea. Although Germany was forbidden to have a military that didn't stop Hitler. In secret German factory 30miles away from Berlin Hitler was building his tanks. In the German factory Kummersdorf then first German tanks were built. The Panzer(German for tank)I was built. They were faster and stronger then the tanks in WWI but they just weren't gonna cut it. The Panzer I was only 6ft and had machine guns. The Panzer II was built with a bigger gun but it still wasn't enough. Finally the Panzer III were built. |
The Ausf. G Panzer III was a true step forward in tank development. It had only 15mm thick armor but it was equipped with the 50mm gun and the 37mm Pak 36 gun used to support infantry. It was Germany's first medium tank and it would remain that for a very long time. It was faster and more mobile then the WWI tanks. It was a dream come true to Hitler.
Interesting fact: These tanks would eventually become light tanks later in the war. Also this tank was used through out the whole war. |
Invasion of Poland
On September 1st, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. How did the Panzer IIIs perform? They performed very well. The Panzer III destroyed most Polish forces. It is even said the Polish sent cavalry at the Panzers. It probably didn't go well. Overall the Panzer IIIs were a huge success. With in several weeks Poland had fallen. In October Germany had annexed Poland causing France and Britain to declare war. WWII had started.
Blitzkreig
With tanks now playing an important role in the new World War a new strategy of warfare was developed. A tactic used against Poland and all of Europe it gave Germany a quick and decisive win in the early parts of the war. Blitzkreig meaning "lightning war". The Blitzkreig tactic was the ultimate strategy used by Hitler and his army. The tactic involved disorganizing the enemy by the use of tanks, infantry and airplanes. With the fall of Poland France believed its Maginot line would protect it's land. They were proven wrong very fast. In 1940 Hitler invaded France. The Blitzkreig proved again to be very effective. The Maginot line was made to deal with trench warfare. Like every other democratic nation in Europe they believed WWII would be trench warfare again. The Maginot line was crushed in the matter of days proving ineffective against the fast Blitzkreig tactic. Soon after France was invaded Hitler invaded all of Europe. With in six weeks four nations had fallen to the awesome power of Blitzkreig. By 1941 All of Europe had fallen into Hitler's grasp. The Swastika was raised on top of the Eiffel tower and the only remaining nation left was Britain. Although the tactic could not be used against Britain Germany would apply the strategy in Africa. It had the same effect. It seemed like Hitler had won but it wasn't just the Panzer III that was used. It's bigger brother also played a role. |
Hitler wanted the best tank imaginable and for a time he did. Although the Panzer III was effective he wanted something even more terrifying. Enter the Panzer IV Ausf. H. This was truly the most terrifying tank in the early parts of WWII. If nothing could beat the Panzer III you can be sure nothing put a scratch on the Panzer IV. It had 50-80mm of armor on all sides. It was equipped with the Kwk 40 L/48 gun or the 75mm gun. It's engine was the Maybach V-12. This tank was truly a master piece.
Interesting fact: Although this tank wouldn't be able to compete with it's rival the T-34 it still held well against the Allies M4 Sherman and was the main fighting tank in Africa. By the begging and end of the war this tank left a mark on the world. Germany would hold on to Europe for more then six years but Hitler would want a tank even bigger then the Panzer IV. he would want a super tank. |
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