Panther in Action

Development of an improved replacement for the PzKpfw IV medium tank had proceeded at a slow pace, since the IV had proven to be a reliable and versatile design. Despite fairly high losses during certain stages of the Polish and French campaigns, the Germans were relatively satisfied with the PzKpfw II, III, and IV. Though certain pre-war incidents should have warned them that the Soviet Union was preparing a new and heavy armored force, the German military leaders disregarded these warnings. One such incident took place during the spring of 1941 when Hitler specifically ordered that a Russian military commission be shown the latest develop­ments in tank designs. After viewing the Panzer IV the Russians refused to believe this was the latest and heaviest German tank and were so insistent that the German Ordnance Office concluded that the Russians must already possess better and heavier tanks. The attack on the Soviet Union ran into the KV-1 heavy tank and the T-34/76 Medium tank, completely new types which soon proved to be a most serious threat to the German plans for "Operation Barbarossa". Only lack of numbers and poor armor tactics reduced the deadly effectiveness of these two fine Russian tanks.

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