Panzerjäger
Panzerjäger (English: tank hunters or tank destroyers) are a German military branch of the infantry tasked with defending against enemy tanks. They employ specialized anti-tank guns or hunter tanks (Jagdpanzer). Panzerjäger were primarily troops of the Wehrmacht Heer, but also of the Waffen-SS and the Brandenburgers. Dive bombers (Junkers Ju 87 G) and ground-attack aircraft of the Luftwaffe also served in anti-tank (Panzerabwehr) operations.
History
With the advent of armored vehicles for mobile warfare following the experiences of the First World War, anti-tank troops were formed for the first time in the German Reichswehr and later the Wehrmacht, even though this was prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles. Due to internal military divisions within the Wehrmacht, the tank destroyer troops were not part of the armored corps, but rather developed from the "assault artillery" (Sturmartillerie) which was administratively assigned to the artillery corps. Initially, training was conducted using wooden dummies. After the Wehrmacht's rearmament beginning in 1935, the anti-tank battalions were equipped with anti-tank guns of the PaK 36, PaK 38, PaK 40, and PaK 43 models. During the Second World War, tank destroyers such as the Jagdpanzer IV, Jagdpanzer Hetzer, Elefant, and Jagdtiger were deployed. These were cheaper to produce than main battle tanks because they lacked a rotating turret to conserve resources in the wartime economy, and they used captured chassis as well as surplus or obsolete chassis from decommissioned tanks. The lower silhouette and rounded shape of these armored vehicles offered an advantage on the battlefield – they were easier to camouflage and harder to hit. The German Jagdpanther is generally considered the best tank destroyer of World War II. The Hetzer remained in service with the Swiss Army until the 1970s.
Armored vehicles
The Panzerjäger I, the first true tank destroyer, was a 4.7 cm Pak(t) mounted on the chassis of the Panzerkampfwagen I. The terms Sturmgeschütze, Panzerjäger, Jagdpanzer, and [Sturmhaubitze] are often used synonymously and, according to the doctrine of the First World War, referred to infantry support tanks. Based on their design, they are also known as "casemate tanks."
Panzergrenadier
In Germany, a Panzergrenadier (plural: Panzergrenadiere) is a grenadier who fights mounted in an infantry fighting vehicle or dismounted. Panzergrenadiers accompany the armored corps' main battle tanks and, in combined arms operations (formerly: combined arms warfare), engage enemy infantry both mounted and dismounted, as well as armored vehicles using anti-tank weapons.
- Originally, the word "grenadier" described an infantryman specially trained in throwing grenades. Dragoons were the forerunners of mounted and thus mobile infantry. During World War II, the infantry units in the Wehrmacht's Panzer divisions were first designated as Panzergrenadiers. The establishment of Panzergrenadier units can be traced back to Heinz Guderian, who played a key role in the creation and strategic use of specialized armored units. His concept involved consolidating the necessary support elements within the Panzer divisions into a single large formation. This included engineers (Pioniere), artillery, maintenance, and infantry. For the Panzergrenadiers, his concept stipulated that they would be equipped with an armored vehicle, the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), and conduct combat both mounted and dismounted.
- At the beginning of the war, the Panzergrenadier units, designated as riflemen and cavalry riflemen, were organized into regiments, assigned to Panzer and light divisions, and motorized by trucks. The units operating in close conjunction with the main battle tanks were the motorcycle infantry, equipped with sidecar motorcycles, who can be considered the true forerunners of the Panzergrenadiers. After the Polish campaign, the light divisions were reorganized into Panzer divisions, so that all infantry units were now designated as riflemen. On 5 July 1942, these were then renamed Panzergrenadiers, regardless of whether they possessed armored vehicles. In fact, due to the state of the armaments supply, only about 25 % of Panzergrenadiers had Sd.Kfz. 250 or Sd.Kfz. 251 armored personnel carriers during the course of the war. The Panzer Lehr (Instruction) Division was the only fully armored major unit in the Wehrmacht.
Many Panzergrenadiers fought both roles in practice: they led armored assaults with tanks (qualifying them for the Panzer Assault Badge in Bronze), but also dismounted to attack on foot, seize positions, or engage in urban, house-to-house warfare (qualifying them for the Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze). Therefore, there were indeed soldiers who wore both badges – especially during the intense fighting on the Eastern Front or in North Africa/Italy, where the line between "armored" and "infantry" operations was often blurred. However, it was not the norm for every Panzergrenadier to automatically receive both; it depended heavily on the specific operations.
See also
Further reading
- Alfred-Ingemar Berndt: Panzerjäger brechen durch!, München 1940
- Hans Baumann: Mein Einsatz als Panzerjäger, 2014
