Sunday, March 14, 2021

The Tiger

(Source)

She was one of the few King Tigers remaining in the West. Weighing nearly 77 tons, she wasn't built for speed. Yet her big 8.8 cm main gun could reach out to a range of two kilometers and penetrate up to 153 mm of armor plate sloped at 30°. Because of her vast weight, she could travel no more than 120 kilometers cross-country at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers per hour. She could go further and faster on roads, but those times were gone. The Allied air forces controlled the skies over Germany. Anything which moved by road was likely to be destroyed.

She was never meant to be an offensive weapon, she was far too slow for that. But that was another thing that was in the past, offensive warfare. Now the German military was simply trying to hold off the inevitable defeat. As a defensive weapon, the King Tiger was superb.

Oberleutnant Fritz Goettner pondered these things as he stood in the commander's cupola of "his" Tiger, number 113. It was one of two vehicles left in his platoon, of which he was the commander. His original tank, 111, had been destroyed in a bombing raid when his battalion was waiting on a rail siding for transportation to the east. Tank 115 had been destroyed in the same raid. Tank 112 had broken down after they had been ordered to the Remagen front to try and crush the American bridgehead.

Now he was parked in the ruins of a German town, his other vehicle (114) having been retained at headquarters as a now immobile pillbox, there had only been enough fuel for one tank, so he had been ordered to the front. The attacks on the bridgehead had stalled, with heavy casualties. Now they were on the defensive.

Those units which could still move were withdrawing to defend the Ruhrgebiet, the heart of German industry. If that fell, there would be no more weapons, no more ammunition, and no more hope.

Goettner scoffed at the idea of hope. Hope for what, He wondered. Hope that he would survive the war to live as an Allied prisoner? Hope that he would survive the war so he could travel to the east to find his family?

He was from Königsberg in East Prussia, his family had lived there for generations. Now it was surrounded by the Red Army. He had served in Russia, he had seen what Germans had done there, he knew that Soviet reprisals would be harsh and unremitting. His only hope was that his family had somehow gotten out before the siege.

Goettner heard a cough, he looked down to see his loader, Wilhelm Fratzke, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. "Is there a problem, Willi?"

"Nein, Herr Oberleutnant, it's just that, well, are we expecting more ammunition? We are down to twelve high explosive rounds and twenty-two armor-piercing rounds. That isn't very much." Fratzke was nervous, he was suffering from fatigue and jumped at the slightest sound.

Fratzke, like the rest of his crew, could use some rest, preferably far from the front. But where? The front was everywhere, Germany grew smaller with each passing day. Allied bombs rained down on the towns and the cities of the Reich without pause. Truly, there was no place to go.

All five men hailed from Old Prussia, two had first names which were very old Prussian, Bertulis Kaulitz and Endris Rudat. Kurt Wowereit was the youngest of the crew, and was called Eichhörnchen,¹ as his last name was derived from the old Prussian word for that tree dwelling member of the rodent family. Kaulitz was the driver, Rudat was the radio operator/bow gunner, and Eichhörnchen was the gunner.

At the moment, Kaulitz had nothing to do, the tank was parked on a narrow street which led up from the Rhine and was the only path American tanks could take in this sector to break out into the open country beyond. They too were a pillbox, though a more mobile one than 114.

"I tell you Fratzke, that should be enough for our mission here. If we destroy two or three of the Ami Shermans, we effectively block this road. Then we sit and make sure they don't clear the wreckage. Do you think we need more ammunition to perform such a mission?"

"Nein, Herr Oberleutnant, I suppose not."

"Good, now round up your crew mates, I suspect we'll have some business coming our way soon. Battalion has informed me that the Amis have broken through and are on the way."

Fratzke did not look pleased by that news.

US Army Photo

1st Lt. Stephen Hernandez was jogging behind Misfit II, Sgt. Doug Harrell's tank. His platoon headquarters group was with him, all were on high alert. Once again Charlie Company was in the lead and 2nd Platoon was once again the tip of the spear.

"This shit is starting to get old L.T.!" Sgt. Woody Sherman was breathing hard as he jogged just behind his lieutenant.

"Told ya to quit smoking Woody, that shit's bad for you!" Cpl. John Myerson called out.

"What? And going into combat is healthy?" Sherman snapped back at Myerson.

"Knock it off, keep your eyes open and your yaps shut." S/Sgt Jack Wilson, tired of the grousing, wasn't going to let it keep going.

Up ahead, Hernandez saw Sgt. Enrique Cruz and his men dart to either side of the road. Cruz made the sign for the men to stop. After a moment, 2nd Squad's assistant squad leader separated from the group and came running back to the lieutenant.

"What is it Chaps?" Hernandez asked as Cpl. John Chapman caught his breath.

"Sgt. Cruz swears that there's a Tiger up the road. He can see the end of the cannon and he can hear the engine idling. It ain't no Panzer IV or Panther. Sarge is pretty good about that stuff."

"All right, hold on a second." Hernandez went to the rear of Misfit II and talked over the phone attached to the back of the tank with the tank commander. In a moment he was back.

"Okay Chaps, let's go up to where Cruz is. Fred, Schultzie, you're with me." Without needing to be told, Cpl. Myerson followed Hernandez as well. Unless explicitly ordered to stay behind, the radioman stuck to his commander like a shadow at high noon.

They reached Cruz in a minute, he was kneeling beside the corner of a building which sat on a curve in the road. Hernandez looked carefully, sure enough, there was the tip of a tank cannon. And yes, the engine sounded big. Tiger big.

"What do ya think L.T.? We can't send a Sherman around the corner and expect it to survive, can we?" Cruz asked, he was sweating profusely, he hated Tigers, one had almost killed him in France.

"I'm going to bring Misfit up here, keep her behind the building here. At this range even a Sherman anti-tank round will go through a Tiger's armor. It's also pretty tight in here, that big tank will have trouble negotiating this narrow street. You guys hold here. If that tank advances, get under cover fast." Hernandez finished and turned to go, as he did, he heard Cruz say, "Bet your ass L.T.!"

When Hernandez got back to Misfit II, he, Harrell, and S/Sgt Brad Woodstock, Harrell's platoon commander, had a brief talk. Woodstock was further back in the column and was speaking to Hernandez and Harrell via radio. After studying their maps for a few moments, the men realized that this was the only road through the small town which the Shermans could use, the others were all too narrow.

"We've got no other option L.T., Brad agrees, I'm the lead tank, it's me against the Tiger or we wait for a better idea. Call in arty, the road is blocked, call in air, the road is blocked. If we can knock the Tiger out, we can probably push it out of the way. Maybe." Harrell didn't sound happy, going up against a Tiger wasn't a smart idea if one wanted to survive the war. It could be done, but the idea scared the shit out of him.

Myerson climbed up on the Sherman, "L.T., it's Sgt. Cruz on the radio, he's got an idea."

Hernandez took the handset and talked to his 2nd Squad leader. When he was done listening he nodded and said, "Not a bad idea Enrique, give us a minute, then your guys go ahead and move out."

Turning to the others he said, "Okay, one of Cruz's guys found an alley which leads to the next cross street, which leads right to where the Tiger is sitting. Doug, if they create a distraction, can you get around that corner and engage the Tiger and kill it, before it kills you?"

"That might work, we'd have to pump out as many rounds as we could before the Tiger gets a shot off. But yeah, it's worth a try. And I had so hoped to survive this f**king war." He grumbled.


2nd Squad got into position, they could see the German tank now, most of it anyway. It was a big one. "Hey Sarge, ain't that one of those King Tigers?" Pvt. Dave Hudson said with a certain amount of fear in his voice.

Cruz looked at it, all he said was "Yup."

Hudson and Pvt. Jake Serrano looked at each other, Serrano and Hudson were both carrying captured German panzerfausts. They were both mentally kicking themselves for having picked the damned things up. Shooting at Krauts in buildings with them was one thing, dueling with a King Tiger was quite another.

Sgt. Cruz held a hand up, then snapped it down, when he did, both Hudson and Serrano dashed into the narrow side street. Checking to the rear to make sure that no one was back there, both aimed their panzerfausts, then fired.


Goettner was constantly scanning his surroundings from the vision slits in his cupola, he didn't want to stick his head out any further than he had to, he knew there were American infantry in the vicinity. He'd seen one man come around the corner down the street then quickly duck back when he'd seen 113.

The 8.8 cm cannon was trained down the street, ready to fire the instant any enemy tank came around the corner, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"Steady Eichhörnchen, as soon as the hull is in sight I want you to put a round right between where the driver and radioman sit."

"Willi, as soon as the gun fires, I want another Panzergranate up the tube, fast as you can Junge. Klar?"

"Jawohl, Herr Oberleutnant, as if my life depended on it." Fratzke answered.

"Good, because it does, in fact all our lives depend..."

Goettner was interrupted by a loud whooshing sound followed by two nearly simultaneous impacts on the engine compartment of 113. What the Hell, he thought, that sounded like a Panzerfaust. Then he smelled burning fuel, he also noticed that the engine had cut out.

"Herr Oberleutnant, the engine is dead, all my gauges just dropped to zero, I can't start it!" 

"Don't panic Berti, I think we took a Panzerfaust back there, maybe two." Goettner heard the rising tone of panic in Oberpanzerschütze Bertulis Kaulitz' voice. Panic was the last thing they needed. As he turned to look to the rear, his heart leaped into his throat, flames were issuing from the vents on the engine deck.

Panzerschütze Endris Rudat then screamed, "Infantry, front!" and started firing his machine gun in that direction. 

Oberpanzerschütze Kurt Wowereit raised his eyes from the cannon's gunsight, he was starting to feel fear. He had heard the screams of comrades dying inside a burning Panzer, not something he wanted to ever hear again. Panzerschütze Fratzke then screamed and everyone's blood ran cold, "Enemy Panzer to the front, Kurt kill it!"

As Wowereit lowered his eyes back to the gunsight, it was too late, by perhaps two seconds.


Harrell saw his first round glance off the pavement just in front of the Tiger, a f**king King Tiger, ya think Hernandez might have mentioned that fact, he thought. But Pvt. Bill Bullock had already loaded another armor-piercing round and his gunner, Cpl. Jay Lang, had already fired a second round at the big German tank.

Harrell thought he saw the second round glance off the big turret and shoot into the sky, but that second round hadn't been needed after all. The first had smacked into the cobblestones under the tank, then ricocheted up and into the thin armor of the tank's belly.

Harrell saw the enemy tank's cannon pop up to max elevation, then oddly enough, the gun fired, sending the round harmlessly into the sky. What Harrell couldn't know is that the last thing the enemy gunner had done in his death throes was stomp the foot trigger, firing the big 88.


It had taken three hours to shove the big German tank out of the way, first they had had to extinguish the engine fire. One of the guys had looked inside the Tiger, then had closed the hatch, "Don't look in there guys, it ain't pretty."

As 2nd Platoon marched past the wrecked King Tiger, each man put a hand on the big vehicle, as if it were a talisman signifying that they had survived another encounter with Death. Not so the five Prussian tankers inside the vehicle. They had, true to their oath, died for Folk, Fatherland, and Führer.

(Source)



¹ The High German (Hochdeutsch) word for squirrel.

Link to all of the Chant's fiction.

58 comments:

  1. I was reading about King Tigers, and was surprised that the wheel assemblies were made of materials that were not up to the stresses involved. I suspect because of the bombing campaign cutting off raw materials. The Bovington Tank Museum's King Tiger is missing a set of wheels. That King Tiger had been captured by US forces, and they found it that way. ( I told them not to park it on the South Side of Chicago. )

    Lucky for Hernandez and Company that 113 did not shed a wheel set, while they were shoving it around!

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    1. Interesting article on that here.

      I'd never heard of that problem before, so it may not have been that common.

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    2. Part of that was, well, mission creep and ever increasing armor. The KT's suspension and drive train would have been fine for a tank at 50 tonnes.

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    3. The armor on the King Tiger wasn't increased once it reached production. But it was too heavy.

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  2. Geeez.....that King Tiger is big, look at the size of the turret compared to the crew. Just a few seconds inattention and Death strikes. That a wine bottle on top of the turret?

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    1. Does look like one of the straw-wrapped jugs, several litres worth. I suspect such were in short supply (like food) about then.
      Another great vignette, Sarge; 2nd Plt comes through once more and the German KIA's are not "ours". If the Muse takes us to a confrontation, it's likely to be appropriately painful.
      Boat Guy

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    2. Nylon12 - Yes, they're huge. I stood next to the one in La Gleize, Belgium. Size is comparable to an Abrams, Tiger II is taller, Abrams is longer, about the same width (12 feet). Both weigh over 70 tons!

      A very big tank, when we drove there to see it, I came around the corner in my VW Jetta and there it was, the King Tiger. They look formidable.

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    3. BG - I have skated close to that confrontation again and again, I think I'm shying away from it for now because...

      Well, I like those guys, both sides.

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    4. Well, they don't have to confront each other, plenty of fighting room left in western Germany for two little units to move AWAY from a confrontation....

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    5. I'm selfish. I'd really like to see where/how Herr Major, Sauer, and our boys end up after the war. Can't forget about Opa either!

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    6. Thomas #1 - I've considered that, not sure if that will happen or not.

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    7. Thomas #2 - I will follow up with a post-war story.

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  3. This is also a great example of tanks operating with and without Infantry. Had the Konigstiger been covered by even a few Landsers the fight would have been much worse.
    Boat Guy

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    1. Their infantry had run off before the battle even started. Those Landsers felt no compunction to die for the Fatherland.

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    2. Didn't sound like the panzertruppen were all together thrilled, though perhaps a little too enamored with their tank and it's royal status. Pride goeth before a fall.
      One wonders when/if Jurgen and Manfred will no longer feel compelled...
      Boat Guy

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    3. They knew the war was over, they knew their own homeland (Prussia) was already being overrun by the Soviets. Wasn't a happy time for them.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. I need some time to get my heartbeat back to normal.

      (Deleted and replaced because of a typo. I wasn't joking about the sped up heartbeat.)

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    2. Commenting on a deleted comment is strengst verboten!

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    3. Heh, just kidding. Don't want to get your heart rate too high. 😉

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    4. Will two deleted comments make the original comment appear? :)

      My heart rate has had some ups during your series, and my tear ducts have also gotten a bit of a workout.

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    5. No. Double deletion does not replace missing text, nor does standing in front of a mirror and saying "Blogspot, blogspot, blogspot."

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    6. Did you click your heels together while chanting?

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    7. Heel clicking isn't the same with sandals as with jackboots or ruby slippers, sadly. and is far more painful.

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  5. Another random thought; the 88 AP round might have been "harmless" to our guys, but every round ever fired hits something, somewhere. Be a bummer to have that thing "drop out of nowhere" into your chow line or CP.
    Boat Guy

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    1. Yeah, that would ruin anyone's day.

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    2. Continuing on my "what if?" an 88 projectile could have a max range of between 9 and 18 miles (16,000-32,000 yards). Some "rear echelon" type might have a nasty surprise drop "out of the blue" (or gray more likely)
      Boat Guy

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    3. I'm guessing that that happened more than once during the war.

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  6. Well, the only two really easy ways to defeat a King Tiger from the ground were attacking it's rear or hitting the lower glacis plate of the front. And our troops did just that. Even using captured equipment! A demo charge would have been the other way, especially if they'd been able to get it on the engine compartment roof and wedged under the turret bustle.

    The lower plate's thinness was a known problem, but since they were meant to not be fired at from below, well, it was a rather fatal decision to many a crew. And I've heard about skipshots that were unintentional. So...

    Good job. Sucks about the Landsers deserting their posts and the crew paying for it. But at least nobody else lost their lives over it.

    And, of course, if the Shermans had tried to use tow cables to pull it, someone would have been injured by the breaking cable. Pushing it was the only reasonable way.

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    1. You had to place your armor according to the greatest threat, from straight ahead was the most common. Increase the armor too much and the thing couldn't move. On top and underneath were the thinnest spots.

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  7. One of your best.

    On the photo of the Sherman, anyone know what the three roller looking things are on the left rear corner below the box of cargo?
    John Blackshoe

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    1. Stowage for spare track links, there's one on each side on late model M4A3 Shermans. Go here and scroll down to the bottom of the page. The last photo clearly shows the track cleat pattern. Spare links, three on each side.

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  8. Hey Old AFSarge;

    I can smell the tiger after that one, especially after that comment" One of the guys had looked inside the Tiger, then had closed the hatch, "Don't look in there guys, it ain't pretty." the reminders of toasted BMP's came to mind....Sorry. it is a commendation to your good writing.

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    1. Fragmentation in a small space ain't pretty. The crew didn't burn, the fire was confined to the engine.

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    2. Overcooked German stew inside. Ok, I admit, that was bad. I blame it on my dark sense of humor.

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  9. That 88 mm was a very effective and versatile weapon. Used in everything from AA to tanks to a towed howitzer. It would be an interesting list to compile - the Germans best designed weapons? I guess the MG 42 would also be on that list.

    When I was in the Army eons ago and stationed at Neubruecke, at nearby Baumholder was a German Army school - I thought it was an artillery school, but someone here corrected me. Whatever it was it has a Tiger tank out in front and darned if that thing didn't look more contemporary like the (then) M-60. No wonder the allies feared them.

    But this episode drove home the importance of supporting infantry.

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  10. MG-42 would be my pick. Still in service as the MG-3, so damn near JMB levels of brilliance. Certainly the best GP machine gun so far.
    Boat Guy

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    1. And yet some say it's overrated.

      Not those who faced it in combat though...

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    2. I "qualified" on it during an exchange and got to shoot a few hundred rounds through one cause the BW NCO took a liking to me. I liked it a lot especially compared to the Pig, but I have NO time on the M240 to compare.
      Boat Guy

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  11. Both Uncle Jim and Father-in-law Joe commented on the 88, both as artillery and mounted in Tigers.
    Their remarks were full of adjectives as you would expect from combat vets.
    "Respect" might describe their feelings toward the 88 but I think "loathing" is more accurate.

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    1. !Grudging respect no doubt, I wouldn't care to be the target of an 88~

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  12. Target! Death by Maverick from above.

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  13. Sometimes when the road was blocked a Sherman would fire H.E through the side of a building and then charge through and out the other side....[Thanks for this great series]

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  14. All I can think of is the scene in Kelly's Heroes where the Tiger is trapped in the alley and it cannot rotate its turret more than a few degrees, making it a perfect target.

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    1. Big vehicles and medieval street layouts are an ill-matched set!

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  15. (Don McCollor)...Not a nit, but would add instinctively" to checking to the rear. Not likely anyone would be standing behind gaping when they took shots at a Tiger....

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  16. Yhat was extremely lucky shot, King tiger was almost impervious frontally, with 120-160mm hull sloped front, and even more on turret.
    Infantry support made all the difference here.

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  17. 1 of the few MkVl-6 -2
    destroyed by Allied armor. Postwar analysis revealed many more were lost due to mechanical breakdowns, crew destruction for 0 fuel,or
    Simple loss of track.
    Only 480 +/- were produced. We captured some intact... Actually used some in combat.( I have pics). 1 was knocked out by an M-8 Greyhound from rear aspect.30yds,AP x 3 rounds to engine compartment. By my (admittedly amature) inexact calculation, around 80 or so were DESTROYED in combat(combat loss). Many were KNOCKED OUT. These could,and often were,repaired and returned to service. Most losses were as result of abandonment: 0 fuel, mechanical problems, stuck in mud/H2o. Air power was dissapointing . Post mission stats revealed minimal destruction compared to claims. EG: Typhoon pilots claimed around 250 panzers destroyed during Operation
    Lüttich.Actual # = 3 AFVs.
    Most dangerous opponent of King Tiger US: PERSHING...
    1 was recorded as having been destroyed. Russia : STALIN, UK SHERMAN 17 lb.
    More dangerous were AT guns. If anyone has more accurate loss data, I would certainly appreciate
    the intel. Thanks fellas.
    Hope this was helpful.

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