Tank Duel in Cologne

(Source)

In March of 1945, U.S. forces were pressing forward to the Rhine. During their advance they captured the ancient German city of Cologne, Köln auf Deutsch -

Cologne was founded and established in Ubii territory in the 1st century AD as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, the first word of which is the origin of its name. An alternative Latin name of the settlement is Augusta Ubiorum, after the Ubii. "Cologne", the French version of the city's name, has become standard in English as well. The city functioned as the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and as the headquarters of the Roman military in the region until occupied by the Franks in 462. During the Middle Ages it flourished on one of the most important major trade routes between east and west in Europe. Cologne was one of the leading members of the Hanseatic League and one of the largest cities north of the Alps in medieval and Renaissance times. Prior to World War II the city had undergone several occupations by the French and also by the British (1918–1926). Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II, with the Royal Air Force (RAF) dropping 34,711 long tons (35,268 tonnes) of bombs on the city. The bombing reduced the population by 95%, mainly due to evacuation, and destroyed almost the entire city. With the intention of restoring as many historic buildings as possible, the successful postwar rebuilding has resulted in a very mixed and unique cityscape. (Source)

While I didn't live far from Cologne when I was stationed in Germany, I never really visited the city. We drove through it on the way to Bonn once for a fußball tournament (what some of you would call soccer, or football, auf Englisch) and we saw the cathedral from a distance, I never did think to go there and see the scene of what was a rather famous tank battle, one caught on film by U.S. Army combat photographers.

Pershing versus Panther...

I have read a couple of accounts of this battle, some say the entire Panther crew died, some say they survived. As luck would have it, while searching for a decent version of the film which doesn't reek of politics of a certain type that we crushed in 1945, I found the clip from the History Channel above (back when they showed actual history). The interview with the commander of the Pershing was interesting indeed, I need to track that episode down.

What's more, during that search I found the following clip -

If you have Amazon Prime (which I do) you can watch the whole documentary, in four parts! (Watch that preceding video on YouTube, the link to the Amazon series is under the video.)

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Yup, no time to blog right now. I'm still reading Peter Caddick-Adams' book Snow & Steel as well. It's fascinating reading, a nice new look at the Battle of the Bulge. I also need to get a copy of one of the author's other books Sand & Steel, a look at D-Day and the liberation of France. Mr. Caddick-Adams is an excellent writer, I highly recommend his books. (Which I note are many, I'm going to be a busy lad when I retire!)

Anyhoo, gotta run, that series isn't going to watch itself!