The Tiger II was a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, often shortened to Tiger B. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 182.. It was also known informally as the Königstiger. Contemporaneous Allied soldiers often called it the King Tiger or Royal Tiger.
The Battle of Villers-Bocage took place during the Second World War on 13 June 1944, one week after the Normandy landings, which had begun the Western Allies' conquest of German-occupied France. The battle was the result of a British attempt to exploit a gap in the German defences west of the city of Caen. After one day of fighting in and around the small town of Villers-Bocage and a second day defending a position outside the town, the British force retreated.
The Panther tank, officially Panzerkampfwagen V Panther with ordnance inventory designation: Sd.Kfz. 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used in most European theatres of World War II from mid-1943 to the end of the war in May 1945.
The Panzergrenadier Division "Großdeutschland", also commonly referred to simply as Großdeutschland or Großdeutschland Division, was an elite combat unit of the German Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
The 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen 38(t), also known as Grille was a series of self-propelled artillery vehicles used by Nazi Germany during World War II. The Grille series was based on the Czech Panzer 38(t) tank chassis and used a 15 cm sIG 33 infantry gun.
101st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion was a German heavy tank battalion in the Waffen-SS during World War II. With the introduction of new Tiger II tanks in late 1944, the unit was renumbered as the 501st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion.
The Panzer-Lehr-Division was an elite German armoured division during World War II. It was formed in 1943 onwards from training and demonstration troops stationed in Germany, to provide additional armored strength for the anticipated Allied invasion of western Europe. On 4 April 1944, the division was officially designated as the 130th Panzer Division; however, it is usually referred to as the Lehr Division. It was the only Wehrmacht Panzer division to be fully equipped with tanks and with halftracks to transport its mechanized infantry. On several occasions it fought almost to destruction, in particular during Operation Cobra, and by the end of the war in Europe bore little resemblance to the unit that had originally been activated.
The 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion was a German heavy Panzer Abteilung equipped with Tiger I and Panzer III tanks. In 1944, it was re-equipped with the new Tiger II. The battalion saw action on the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. As with other German heavy tank battalions, it was normally not assigned to a single corps, but shuffled around according to war circumstances. Later the battalion became part of the newly formed Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle as the Feldherrnhalle Heavy Tank Battalion.
The 509th Heavy Panzer Battalion was a German heavy Panzer Abteilung, equipped with heavy tanks, during the Second World War.
Operation Jupiter was an offensive by VIII Corps of the British Second Army from 10 to 11 July 1944. The operation took place during the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. The objective of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was to capture the villages of Baron-sur-Odon, Fontaine-Étoupefour, Château de Fontaine-Étoupefour and to recapture Hill 112. An attached brigade of the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division would take Éterville, Maltot and the ground up to the River Orne and then the tanks of the 4th Armoured Brigade, supported by infantry, would advance through the captured ground and secure several villages to the west of the River Orne. It was hoped that the initial objectives could be captured by 9:00 a.m., after which the 4th Armoured Brigade would exploit the success.
The 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion was a German heavy tank battalion during World War II. The battalion was the first unit to receive and field the Tiger I. It fought on the Eastern front. It was one of the most successful German heavy tank battalions, claiming the destruction of 1,400 tanks and 2,000 guns. Otto Carius, one of the best German tank aces, was a member.
The 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion was a German heavy Panzer Abteilung equipped with heavy tanks. The battalion was the second unit to receive and use the Tiger I heavy tank, changing to Tiger IIs in mid-1944.
The 508th Heavy Panzer Battalion was a German heavy Panzer Abteilung, during World War II, equipped with heavy tanks. It fought at Anzio and later defended German-held Northern Italy opposing the Allies during the Italian Campaign. It fought in Italy until it surrendered at the end of the war in May 1945.
The 102nd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion was a German heavy tank battalion of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It fought as part of the II SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of Normandy and was nearly destroyed. Renumbered as 502nd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion in late 1944, the unit was destroyed in the Halbe Pocket in Spring 1945.
103rd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion was a German heavy tank battalion of the Waffen-SS during World War II.
Lehr-Brigade (mot.) 900 was formed 17 June 1941 by the German Army from school units in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. As such it was considered an elite as many of its personnel were instructors in tactics from various branch schools. It fought in most of the battles in the central sector of the Eastern Front during Barbarossa, notably the Battles of Minsk, Smolensk, Operation Typhoon and the Battle of Moscow before its remnants were withdrawn in April–May 1942.
This article deals with the tanks serving in the German Army throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, the Cold War tanks of the West German and East German Armies, all the way to the present day tanks of the Bundeswehr.
The Tiger I was a German heavy tank of World War II that began operational duty in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted the 8.8 cm (3.5 in) KwK 36 gun. 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944. After August 1944, production of the Tiger I was phased out in favour of the Tiger II.
Heinz von Westernhagen was a SS-Obersturmbannführer in the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a member of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) and commander of the 501st (101st) SS Heavy Panzer Battalion.
The 506th Heavy Panzer Battalion was a german heavy Panzer Abteilung equipped with Tiger I tanks until 28 July 1944. During the period from 20 August to 12 September 1944, it was re-equipped with a full complement of 45 Tiger Ausf. B tanks. Some of the first Tiger IIs delivered to the 506th were examples fitted with the early production turret. The battalion saw action on the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. As with other German heavy tank battalions, it was attached as needed to larger formations. The 506th was unique in being the only Tiger battalion to include a fourth company. German: schwere Panzerkompanie Hummel, equipped with Tiger I tanks, was consolidated with the 506th in 1944. It was also unique in that it regularly received new vehicles and replacements from other units to maintain a full complement. The unit served until the collapse of the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945, being officially disbanded by the battalion commander on 14 April. The unit performed well despite often poor conditions of deployment, officially credited with over 400 tank kills during its service with fewer than 75 combat losses.
Germany 
Wehrmacht 