(Warm tips: this article is about 4500 words, with 19 pictures, original is not easy, thank you for your patience to read.) ）
In the later stages of World War II, Soviet and Allied tanks had to face traditional opponents such as German tanks and anti-tank guns on the battlefield, and they had to be wary of a new enemy, that is, the German army's large number of individual anti-tank weapons: "Panzerfaust" and "Panzerschreck". The former was a disposable anti-tank grenade developed by hasAG Leipzig in 1942, and the latter was a reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by the German army inspired by the American "Bazooka", both of which used the principle of forming charge, using high-temperature metal jets to penetrate armor.
■ During the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944, an anti-tank team of German paratroopers passed by a destroyed American Sherman tank, noting that the paratroopers were equipped with both the Iron Fist and the "Nightmare of Chariots".
"Iron Fist" has a variety of models, with a range of 30 to 150 meters and an armor-piercing thickness of 140 to 200 mm; the "Chariot Nightmare" has a range of 150 meters and an armor-piercing thickness of 160 to 230 mm, which is better than that of "Iron Fist". Although the range of these two weapons is relatively close, but full of power, carried by infantry, flexible and concealed, in complex terrain and street battles even more threatening than tanks and anti-tank guns, in the late stages of the war became the German army's most equipped, the most widely used anti-tank weapons, the "Iron Fist" production of up to 8.25 million pieces, "chariot nightmare" production of nearly 290,000 pieces. So, what is the specific equipment and establishment of these two weapons? This article will talk about this topic.
The "Iron Fist" outfit
In July 1943, a small trial production of the Tekken 30 (divided into two models according to the size of the warhead used) was sent to the Eastern Front for actual combat testing, and it is not surprising that the more powerful Tekken 30 (large) combat effect is better. In August of the same year, HASAG began to deliver the mass-produced "Iron Fist" to the military, the corresponding combat technical manual was released in September, and in the autumn of the same year, this new weapon began to be installed in the German troops on the Eastern Front. In October 1943, the "Iron Fist" began to be widely used in anti-tank warfare, with a monthly consumption of 500 pieces, increased to 3800 pieces in November, and soared to 20600 pieces in December, which shows that its combat effectiveness was quickly recognized by the front-line troops.
■ The "Iron Fist" object preserved today in the Military Museum of Helsinki, Finland.
Although the number and scope of equipment of the "Iron Fist" continued to grow, there was no specific number of equipment in the German Army's troop establishment equipment table, because as a single-use weapon, the "Iron Fist" was regarded by the German Army as expendable ammunition like grenades, rather than reloadable weapons such as rifles and artillery. So according to what standard did the German logistics department distribute the "iron fist" to the front line? The answer is based on the ammunition base. The Germans counted the "Iron Fist" as expendable ammunition and also stipulated the corresponding ammunition base. The German ammunition base was based on the standard of ammunition consumption for three days of average intensity combat or one day of high-intensity combat.
■ A German soldier demonstrating the operation of firing the "Iron Fist" aims through the raised ruler and presses the trigger above the launch tube to fire.
"Iron Fist" as a main anti-tank weapon for infantry use, infantry units are the main object of equipment, the German army stipulates that infantry divisions are issued with a base of 2000 "Iron Fist", an average of 36 per infantry company. Due to its strong anti-tank capabilities, the "Iron Fist" distribution base is small, with 1000 armored divisions and 1500 panzergrenadier divisions. In addition to front-line combat units, the "Iron Fist" was also distributed to the rear troops such as communications, transportation, and security, usually in the proportion of 60 to 70 pieces per battalion. However, the ammunition base is primarily a record for logistical supply, not a fixed number of equipment. In actual combat, depending on the combat situation, the number of "iron fists" is often changed, for example, the troops on the flanks of the front may be issued with 0.5 bases, while the troops in the center of the front will be issued with 3 bases of "iron fists".
■ In the autumn and winter of 1943, a sergeant in the German army on the Eastern Front was teaching soldiers how to use the "Iron Fist".
The Soviets did not realize the existence of a new weapon, the Iron Fist, until the end of 1943. At the end of December 1943, a combat report of the 30th Infantry Corps of the Guards of the 2nd Ukrainian Front first mentioned that it was encountered during the battle with "rocket-propelled anti-tank grenades with thermite agent". The Soviet top brass immediately asked the front-line troops to pay attention to the capture of this weapon, and to spy and collect relevant intelligence during the interrogation of prisoners of war. The first Allied intelligence on the Iron Fist came from operational reports on the Italian theater between January and February 1944. Overall, the Iron Fist gave priority to the Eastern Front, while the Western German forces mostly began to be heavily equipped with the Iron Fist after the Normandy landings in June 1944.
■ Two German Panzergrenadiers carrying "Iron Fists" on their shoulders, photographed in 1944, when the "Iron Fist" was the most important anti-tank weapon of the German infantry.
The installation of the "Chariot Nightmare"
Due to the technical problems of rocket propellant, the "Chariot Nightmare" is equipped slightly later than the "Iron Fist". On October 5, 1943, the first "Nightmare of Tanks" was delivered to the troops for testing, and the following month it was officially put into operation. Similar to the actual combat situation of the "Iron Fist", the frequency of use of the "Chariot Nightmare" increased rapidly over several months, from 200 rockets in October 1943 to 1300 in November and to 8300 in December. Unlike the Iron Fist, which can be discarded after fighting, the "Nightmare of Chariots" can be reloaded and fired, so it is counted in the troop establishment equipment table like other guns, specifying the specific number of formations. Initially, this new anti-tank weapon was first equipped with a specially formed anti-tank unit.
■ German "Tank Nightmare" anti-tank bazookas and their ammunition.
In order to speed up the equipment progress of the "Tank Nightmare" in the Eastern Front troops, the German Army General Command ordered in September 1943 the formation of a special unit using the "Tank Nightmare" for anti-tank tasks, the Motorized Armored Destroyer Battalion (Panzerzerstörer-Bataillone (mot.) The first batch of 10 battalions were formed, the number of which was 470-479 Battalion, and 6 battalions were established later, of which the 485th and 486th Battalions were deployed to the Western Front in the autumn of 1944. According to the compilation table, each armored destroyer battalion was equipped with 216 "tank nightmares", each equipped with 10 rockets, which is also a fixed ammunition base. Each battalion has three companies, each equipped with 54 launchers and 540 rockets, and the three companies have a total of 162 launchers and 1620 rockets, with the remaining launchers and rockets as reserves.
■ The German "Chariot Nightmare" bazooka, which conducted shooting experiments, did not have a shield in the early type of bazooka, and the shooter wore a gas mask to prevent the tail flame from burning the face.
The first batch of 10 armored expulsion battalions were deployed to the eastern front at the end of 1943, as a new type of force its command level is very high, by the army group command is responsible for deployment and use, of which the southern army group, the northern army group and the central army group group each have 3 battalions, army group A has 1 battalion, and later gradually dispersed to the group army level, usually each group army is equipped with a battalion, their main task is to quickly establish an anti-tank barrier when the Soviet army launches a tank assault, slowing the pace of the Soviet army's attack. However, due to the insufficient production of the "chariot nightmare", until the beginning of 1944, the armored expulsion battalions on the front line were facing a shortage of equipment, and most of the troops had less than half of the number of bazookas and could only use the "iron fist" with a large number of equipment to fill the vacancies, such as the armored expulsion battalion of army group South fighting in Ukraine. However, the actual combat performance of the armored destroyer battalion was not significant, so it was gradually disbanded in mid-1944.
■ Later-type bazookas were equipped with a shield to prevent the tail flame of the rocket, which was often removed in actual combat due to the increased weight.
In addition to the armored expulsion battalions, the "Chariot Nightmare" was also selectively distributed to infantry divisions and other units. In the autumn of 1943, each division was assigned only 25 bazookas, compared with only 100 per field army. With the gradual implementation of the new troop set and equipment list, more troops began to acquire the new weapon, and the number of configurations gradually increased. At the infantry regimental level, the "Nightmare of Tanks" was usually assigned to the 14th Company, the Anti-Tank Company, with three platoons, one equipped with six Pak 40 75 mm anti-tank guns, and two platoons each equipped with 18 bazookas, for a total of 36 regiments. By the autumn of 1944, in the formation sequence of the 1944 Type National Grenadier Division, the number of equipment for the "Tank Nightmare" was 72. From the end of 1944 to 1945, the German infantry regiments were mostly downsized to two battalions, each equipped with 35 bazookas, and another 13 in other units, bringing the total number of regiments to 83.
■ A German soldier holding an 88 mm rocket is on standby in a trench, and the standard stock of a bazooka is 10.
Among the Panzer Division and the Panzergrenadier Division, the "Nightmare of Tanks" was primarily equipped with Panzergrenadier units. According to the November 1943 equipment table, each infantry squad of the Panzergrenadier Battalion was equipped with 1 bazooka and the heavy weapons company was equipped with 4. Confusingly, in the April 1944 compilation equipment table, the "nightmare of the tank" disappeared from the formation sequence of the Panzergrenadier troops, and it is speculated that the armored units are equipped with a relatively sufficient number of anti-tank guns, the demand for individual anti-tank weapons is relatively low, and the "tank nightmare" is insufficiently produced, so the infantry unit is given priority. However, in the November 1944 compilation table "Nightmare of Tanks" was again equipped with Panzergrenadier units, each Panzergrenadier company consisting of an anti-tank squad consisting of a squad leader and three double teams, equipped with 3 bazookas, 1 per group. It should be noted that there is always a gap between the number of personnel and the actual number of equipment, and few troops have been able to obtain sufficient bazookas.
■ A German officer uses the "Chariot Nightmare" under his command, holding a rocket as a teaching whip.
The Soviets captured a soldier from the 58th Infantry Division of the German 16th Army at the end of 1943 and were first informed of the equipment of the "Chariot Nightmare" during interrogation. At the time of the Normandy landing in June 1944, the German static garrison division stationed at the "Atlantic Barrier" was largely not equipped with these two new weapons, but some field infantry divisions were already equipped with "tank nightmares", such as the three infantry regiments under the 275th Infantry Division in the Saint-Nazaire area, each regiment was equipped with 34 rocket launchers, for a total of 102.
■ A german anti-tank bazooka team hidden in the bushes, including a shooter and a loader.
Infantry armored hunter
For the German infantry, the equipment of the "Iron Fist" and the "Nightmare of Chariots" greatly enhanced the individual anti-tank capabilities. Compared with the previously used anti-tank rifles, anti-tank grenades, cluster explosive packs and other weapons, the power and maneuverability of the "Iron Fist" and "Chariot Nightmare" were significantly improved, allowing german infantry to covertly deliver a fatal blow to armored targets at relatively long distances without having to venture close to the tank to launch an attack.
■ The German paratrooper anti-tank group soldier model produced by Veyron is sealed, which can be seen that it is equipped with "Iron Fist" and "Chariot Nightmare" at the same time.
With the "nightmare of chariots" and the "iron fist" being widely installed, more and more "infantry tank killers" have emerged on the eastern and western fronts, which can be confirmed by the increase in the number of medallions issued by single-handedly destroying tanks. The medal was awarded in March 1942 in recognition of German officers and men who used melee weapons to destroy enemy tanks on their own, both silver and gold, and one silver armband for every tank destroyed, and one gold armband for the total destruction of 5 tanks. From March 1942 to May 1944, the Germans issued about 10,000 medallions for the destruction of tanks, and from June 1944 to April 1945, the number of medals exceeded 8,400! Interestingly, the "Nightmare of Chariots" is usually operated by two men (one shooter plus one loader) and is considered a squad weapon, so the Single Destroy Tank Armband was not initially awarded to the bazooka shooter, but the Germans changed the rules on December 18, 1943, and the bazooka shooter was also eligible for this honor.
■ The Germans single-handedly destroyed the actual tank armbands, which were divided into two levels: gold (top) and silver (bottom).
Even if the "Iron Fist" and "Chariot Nightmare" are used to attack enemy tanks, the risk is still very high, after all, the engagement distance is basically within 100 meters, and both weapons have an obvious flaw, that is, when fired, they will produce a bright tail flame and a large amount of smoke, resulting in exposed positions and easy to be suppressed by enemy fire. Based on the difficulty of close-range anti-tank warfare, the gold content of the tank armband is also quite high, and the braves who can win this honor are all hundred battles. During World War II, the Germans issued a total of 18,451 medallions for the destruction of tanks, and 421 German officers and men also received gold armbands, many of whom used the "iron fist" to hunt steel beasts.
■ The German anti-tank bazooka team that was reloading the bomb showed that both the shooter and the loader were wearing the destroyed tank armband on their right arm.
Regarding the top tank killers in the German infantry, the information left by later generations is very rare, and in most cases the battle results can only be judged by the photos left over from the war, but the silver and gold armbands on the black and white photos are not easy to distinguish, which is easy to cause misjudgment, so the actual achievements of these "tank killers" are difficult to confirm. Over the past many years, it is widely believed that the highest record of single-handedly killing tanks was Lieutenant Gunter Wyzentz from the 10th Company of the 7th Panzergrenadier Regiment, who is reported to have received 4 gold armbands and 1 silver armband, destroying a total of 21 tanks. After the war, however, Witzenz himself said he had actually destroyed only 7 vehicles.
■ Lieutenant Gunter Witzenz is best known for his photograph, wearing seven destroyed tank medals on his right arm, and he was also awarded the Knight's Cross.
According to later historical information, the person who destroyed the most tanks in the German army may have been Lieutenant Heinrich Jubrodt, who was born in Griesheim, Bavaria on November 2, 1918, enlisted in the Army on February 1, 1940, fought on the Eastern Front, was promoted to second lieutenant in December 1942 for meritorious service, and by the summer of 1943 Jubrod had received the Iron Cross of the Second Class, first class, and the Bronze Close Combat Decoration. At the end of 1944, Jubrod, as a company commander of the 1213th Grenadier Regiment of the 189th Infantry Division, fought against the French in the Colmar region of northeastern France. From December 1944 to January 1945, Jubrod used the "Iron Fist" in combat to confirm the destruction of 11 tanks, 4 of which were destroyed in one day, and was awarded the Knight's Cross on January 18, 1945. Jubrod then destroyed 2 more tanks, raising the record to 13, but was killed at Mutzenheim on the left bank of the Rhine at the end of January.
■ This is the only photograph of Lieutenant Jubrodt that I can find so far, and he is believed to have destroyed 13 tanks using the "Iron Fist".
epilogue
The "Iron Fist" and "Chariot Nightmare" represent the highest level of individual melee anti-tank weapons during World War II, especially the "Iron Fist", which is simple in structure, easy to manufacture, easy to operate, powerful enough, and abandoned after use, so that it can be mass-produced in a short period of time and widely equipped. In addition to being used by the army, at the end of the war, it was also the main equipment of various militia forces, including the People's Stormtroopers, from white-haired old men to weak-crowned teenagers, and even women could operate "iron fists" to attack Soviet and Allied tanks, which was really a real "national weapon". However, whether it is the "Iron Fist" or the "Chariot Nightmare", it is extremely dangerous for the user, requiring great courage and superb skill to ensure that the attack can be completed while still being able to retreat, in fact, many undertrained soldiers or civilians are difficult to escape the opponent's fire counterattack after completing the launch. The large number of equipment in the "Iron Fist" and "Chariot Nightmare" precisely reflected the dilemma of the increasing scarcity of German anti-tank guns and armored vehicles in the later stages of the war.
■ People's Stormtroopers equipped with "Iron Fist" at the end of World War II. The "Iron Fist" is easy to manufacture and easy to operate, and can be called a real "national weapon".