German Tanks

Germany’s history with tanks dates all the way back to World War I. With the heavy use of trenches, the British Royal Navy taking inspiration off an American made tractor created the first tanks. Unfortunately for the German army, on the 20th of November 1917 at Cambria, the German army was overwhelmed by over 400 British tanks. This day that now lives in German history as the “Black Day” caused the birth of the first German tanks.

The first tank to come off the German armored assault assembly line was the A7V. Unfortunately because of the sheer size of these tanks the German army only made around 15. The A7V weighed a little over 30 tons and took almost entire army unit to run with 18 crew members needed to operate the monster.

After the war, the German army came to the realization that one of the main factors in their losses was their lack of adequate armored forces in the form of tanks. This led to a added push for adding more tanks to their forces. Unfortunately Germany was already going through a fuel shortage allowing them to only produce about ninety tanks, of which seventy five were captured.

Germany did not give up on their quest for the perfect armored vehicle. By the time World War II had come around the German army had gone through a few redesigns to land them with one of the most well known tanks in German history, the Panzer. The Panzer I came onto the battle field in the 1930’s but unfortunately with such light armor and only two machine guns in its arsenal, its service was short lived. The Panzer name however, lived on. The Panzer I was reborn many times until the eventual birth of the Panzer V, otherwise known as the Panther.

The Panther tank was a true masterpiece of war machinery, with huge influence of design based off the weaknesses of the Panzer I-IV series. In fact the Panther tank was considered one of the best tank designs of World War II because of its sheer abilities in its armor and fire power. The Panther served alongside the German Tiger tank series all the way up until the end of the war. Unfortunately many Panther tanks were captured and used by other countries in battle (in some cases battle against the Germans themselves) all the way up until 1950.

As for modern day Germany, the wars of its past have truly influenced their new designs. Around 1950, Germany and France came together to try and build the ultimate tank weapon. Eventually the partnership fell apart and Germany alone produced the Leopard I. Presently the German army actively uses an upgraded version, the Leopard 2, especially newer revised models like the Leopard 2A5 and even more recently the Leopard 2E. The Leopard features all of the bells and whistles of modern technology including the ability to drive underwater to depths of 13ft, improved night vision and laser capabilities, and an upgraded weapons and armor systems.

Even today the German Army continues to adapt its tank technologies based off of past experiences with battle and new technologies introduced to war market. We are sure to see that the German army will continue to change and adapt its tank forces to stay near the top for years to come.