Calling... stukas
speaking of photos with german bias....come and get him, ladies!(yes, i know who it is)
Quote from: Kading on 12-01-2010, 22:01:53Rip Michael Wittmann; good tank commander.
Ernst Barkmann > Wittman
In April of 1945, SS-Hauptscharführer Karl Körner (platoon commander from the 2nd Company) was supporting an infantry counterattack in the Bollersdorf area (east of Berlin), when he encountered two Soviet JS-II heavy tanks at a distance of 200m. He quickly destroyed the first one and second one trying to reverse in order to take a firing position drove into an anti-tank ditch and was abandomed by the crew. On the road from Bollersdorf to Strausberg, Körner observed additional 11 JS-II tanks and around 120 to 150 enemy tanks in the process of being refuelled and re-armed on the egde of the village. He then fired and destroyed all 11 JS-II tanks on the road and attacked the rest of the tanks and their suprised crews. Number of fuel and ammunition trucks exploded causing even more panic among the Russian tankers, while Körner fired all 39 rounds he had left and knocked out 39 enemy tanks before he withdrew. Following this action, sSSPzAbt 503 and other units were falling back to defend Berlin. On his way to Berlin, Karl Körner destroyed over 100 Soviet tanks and 26 anti-tank guns in total, achievement for which on April 29th, he was awarded the Knights Cross in the bunker of Reichs Chancellery. After the ceremony, Körner returned to his unit on the frontline at Charlottenburg district of Berlin. On May 2nd, last King Tiger from sSSPzAbt 503 was destroyed during an attempt to break out of the city on the Spandau Bridge.
On August 14, 1941, the vanguard of the German 8th Panzer Division approached Krasnogvardeysk (Gatchina) near Leningrad (St Petersburg), and the only Soviet force available at the time to attempt to stop the German advance consisted of five well-hidden KV-1 tanks, dug in within a grove at the edge of a swamp. KV-1 tank no. 864 was commanded by the leader of this small force, Lieutenant Zinoviy Kolobanov.German tank vanguard attack plan and positions of three soviet KV-1 tanksSoviet newspaper article of 1941German forces attacked Krasnogvardeysk from three directions. Near Noviy Uchkhoz settlement the geography favoured the Soviet defenders as the only road in the region passed the swamp, and the defenders commanded this choke point from their hidden position. Lieutenant Kolobanov had carefully studied the situation and readied his detachment the day before. Each KV-1 tank carried twice the normal amount of ammunition, two-thirds being armour-piercing rounds. Kolobanov ordered his other commanders to hold their fire and await orders. He did not want to reveal the total force, so only one exposed tank at a time would engage the enemy.On August 14, the German 8th Panzer Division's vanguard ventured directly into the well-prepared Soviet ambush, with Kolobanov's tank knocking out the lead German tank with its first shot. The Germans falsely assumed that their lead tank had hit an anti-tank mine, and failed to realize that they had been ambushed. The German column stopped, giving Kolobanov the opportunity to destroy the second tank. Only then did the Germans realize they were under attack, but they failed to find the source of the shots. While the German tanks were firing blindly, Kolobanov knocked out the trailing German tank, thus boxing in the entire column.Although the Germans correctly guessed the direction of fire, they could only spot Lieutenant Kolobanov's tank, and now attempted to engage an unseen enemy. German tanks moving off the road bogged down in the surrounding soft ground, becoming easy targets. 22 German tanks and 2 towed artillery pieces fell victim to Kolobanov's No. 864 before it ran out of ammunition. Kolobanov ordered in another KV-1, and 21 more German tanks were destroyed before the half-hour battle ended. A total of 43 German tanks were destroyed by just five Soviet KV-1s (two more remained in reserve).After the battle, the crew of No. 864 counted a total of 135 hits on their tank, none of which had penetrated the KV-1's armour. Lieutenant Kolobanov was awarded the Order of Lenin, while his driver Usov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Later on, former Captain Zinoviy Kolobanov was again decorated by Soviet authorities, despite having been convicted and downgraded after the Winter War for "fraternizing with the enemy." After the end of World War II, Lieutenant Kolobanov served in the Soviet occupation zone in East Germany, where he was convicted again when a subordinate escaped to the British occupation zone, and was transferred to the reserves.
QuoteIn April of 1945, SS-Hauptscharführer Karl Körner (platoon commander from the 2nd Company) was supporting an infantry counterattack in the Bollersdorf area (east of Berlin), when he encountered two Soviet JS-II heavy tanks at a distance of 200m. He quickly destroyed the first one and second one trying to reverse in order to take a firing position drove into an anti-tank ditch and was abandomed by the crew. On the road from Bollersdorf to Strausberg, Körner observed additional 11 JS-II tanks and around 120 to 150 enemy tanks in the process of being refuelled and re-armed on the egde of the village. He then fired and destroyed all 11 JS-II tanks on the road and attacked the rest of the tanks and their suprised crews. Number of fuel and ammunition trucks exploded causing even more panic among the Russian tankers, while Körner fired all 39 rounds he had left and knocked out 39 enemy tanks before he withdrew. Following this action, sSSPzAbt 503 and other units were falling back to defend Berlin. On his way to Berlin, Karl Körner destroyed over 100 Soviet tanks and 26 anti-tank guns in total, achievement for which on April 29th, he was awarded the Knights Cross in the bunker of Reichs Chancellery. After the ceremony, Körner returned to his unit on the frontline at Charlottenburg district of Berlin. On May 2nd, last King Tiger from sSSPzAbt 503 was destroyed during an attempt to break out of the city on the Spandau Bridge.