Panzer II ausf. L Luchs – KV-I – Revue TnT 06

– Panzer II ausf. L Luchs The eagle eye of the Wehrmacht As powerful as four- and eight-wheeled reconnaissance vehicles were, the German military authorities were forced to admit that their potential depended greatly on the climatic conditions and the nature of the terrain. Snow or mud are likely to slow down or even stop the intelligence gathering missions of the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilungen. To ensure that the Panzer-Divisionen did not lose their “eyes” on the eve of an important battle, the Waffenamt Prüf 6 launched a call for tenders for a tracked reconnaissance tank capable of overcoming all the obstacles that nature could put in its way. – KV-I The Klimenti Voroshilov heavy tank, or Stalin’s unpleasant surprise “We opened fire at 800 meters, without result. We got closer and closer… Soon we were face to face, 50 yards away. A fantastic fire was exchanged without any success on the German side. Our armor-piercing shells simply bounced off enemy tanks. They passed between us, heading towards the infantry and the support units. We turned around and pursued them, managing to destroy some of them with special shells at very close range (30 meters). The artillery of the 6. Panzer-Division had positioned itself on the heights overlooking the battlefield and compensated for the poor performance of the Panzer 35(t) against the Soviet KVs. ». The least we can say is that this encounter between crews of Panzer-Regiment 11 and KV-1s, on June 24, 1941, on the Dubissa River, was a very unpleasant surprise! Along with its brother-in-arms, the T-34, the two Soviet machines are the rolling proof of the technological advance taken by Russian engineers. A superiority that was acquired through a long struggle, as demonstrated by the genesis of the Klimenti Voroshilov heavy tank.

– Dodge series WC50 The US Army’s “do-it-all” As far back as we can go back in time, and regardless of the nations at war or the armies, there is one constant in conflict management: the soldier cannot win if he is not properly supplied. However, the provision of food, water or ammunition requires numerous and reliable means of transport. During World War II, the U.S. Army was no exception. And, in order for the GI’s to maintain their offensive potential, it will implement an impressive fleet of service vehicles, including the famous Dodge WC 50 series. – 15CM SFH.13/1(SF) AUF GESCHÜTZWAGEN LORRAINE-S (F) (SD. KFZ 135/1May 1942, in Libya, Erwin Rommel’s Afrika-Korps was preparing to launch a major offensive against the fortified line of Gazala. Once the port fortress of Tobruk had been conquered, the German hoped that his attack would lead him to the lock of El-Alamein where he hoped to defeat the Allied troops. But the vast expanses of desert in North Africa and the war of movement in which Germany had been engaged since 1939 required a complete motorization of the units, especially the artillery, which had to be able to accompany the tanks as closely as possible. In order to carry out what he called “special operations”, in fact distant raids carried out by tanks inside enemy lines, Rommel asked Berlin for new self-propelled artillery units. …

Source: Trucks and Tanks Magazine