German tanks in Berlin

[Tom Phoenix]

I tried asking in the TO&E department but nobody was able to awnser my question. So I want to try my luck here. Does anyone know what German tanks the Soviets faced in Berlin? If you got any information on quantity numbers, that would also be welcome.

[joea]

I read somwhere (or was it in some game scenario?) that the Germans set up tank turrets without the rest of the tank as insta-pillboxes around the city.

[R.N. Armstrong]

The Panzer Division "Muncheberg" fought from the Kustrin bridgehead back into Berlin. Reporting, rapid changes in status, and exact numbers were, as to be expected, erratic. On 16 Apr 45, the division reported 3 Pz IV, 31 Panther although it possessed a handful of Tigers during this period(they could have been down for maintenance/repair on that day).

In a report on 18 Apr the division provided a summary report that 14 Panthers and 5 Tigers were total write-offs for the time period 14-17 Apr.

A large portion of the division was encircled in Berlin. During the morning of 26 Apr, the division attacked southward from Tempelhof airport with its last 10 tanks.

Ther may have been other handfuls of tanks trapped in Berlin, but the Muncheberg was the only German panzer unit I have followed through the Berlin battle.

[Tom Phoenix]

Thanks a lot, mate. That is actually more helpful then I could have asked for.

Btw, since you seem to have lots of sources available...do you also happen to have a map of Berlin (city and with nearby area) during the period? I especially need a map which shows all Berlin airfields as modern maps dont seem to have them (not all are probably used anymore).

[tanker55]

I would have to say king tigers, panthers,tigers and panzers pretty much every tank.

[amvas]

Originally Posted by Tom Phoenix

Thanks a lot, mate. That is actually more helpful then I could have asked for.

Btw, since you seem to have lots of sources available...do you also happen to have a map of Berlin (city and with nearby area) during the period? I especially need a map which shows all Berlin airfields as modern maps dont seem to have them (not all are probably used anymore).

I have German plan of Berlin. some sheets are not of very good quality though...

[R.N. Armstrong]

Originally Posted by Tom Phoenix

Thanks a lot, mate. That is actually more helpful then I could have asked for.

Btw, since you seem to have lots of sources available...do you also happen to have a map of Berlin (city and with nearby area) during the period? I especially need a map which shows all Berlin airfields as modern maps dont seem to have them (not all are probably used anymore).

Inside the cover of Cornelius Ryan's The Last Battle is an excellent city map of Berlin, 1945.

[thomas.tmcc]

the after the battle folks do the allied Berlin Intelligence Map on amazon


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1...66239&v=glance

[owen36]

Originally Posted by Tom Phoenix

I tried asking in the TO&E department but nobody was able to awnser my question. So I want to try my luck here. Does anyone know what German tanks the Soviets faced in Berlin? If you got any information on quantity numbers, that would also be welcome.

Berlin was defended by the units commanded by an army corps(the 56pz corps) under command of General Der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling. His forces consisted of a mix of infantry divisions thrown in with elements of the ss pz grenadier division Nordland, the aforementioned muncheberg division and the 18 pz gren division and some tanks from the 503 ss heavy tank battalion with King Tiger II aus B.

This would give it a mix of PZ IV G and H, Panters and Stugs and some King Tiger II. It's not likely there would have been much king tigers and stuff like hunting tigers or jagd panthers (although the latter might be more probable)as most of the armored elements of the 9 army( the army 56 was part of) had been transferred to south to the army group under schoerner prior to the battle because hitler was convinced the russians would ignore berlin and head southwards.
So what armor(not that i say armor) there would have been would probaly been a mix of PZ IV and Panthers and whatever the germans would have scraped together from the repair shacks.
It would be more in line with things that most armor was of the stug kind, like the stug III and stug IV kind. There might also have been some hetzers around probably from one of the armored units.
Note that many eyewitness not from the army would easily mistake a stug or a motorized gun like a hummel or hetzer for a tank while a military observer would probably spot the difference.
Personally I would say that there wouldn't have been many tanks in berlin.

[m kenny]

Lots of info here

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtop...anzers&start=0