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119-462: The Sturmpanzer was a development of the Panzer IV tank designed to provide a vehicle offering direct infantry fire support, especially in urban areas. It used a Panzer IV chassis with the upper hull and turret replaced by a new casemate -style armoured superstructure housing a new gun, the 15-centimetre (5.9 in) Sturmhaubitze (StuH) 43 L/12 developed by Skoda . It fired the same shells as

238-623: A 30-millimetre (1.18 in) face-hardened appliqué steel plate welded (later bolted) to the glacis—in total, frontal armour was now 80 mm (3.15 in) thick. This decision to increase frontal armour was favorably received according to troop reports on 8 November 1942, despite technical problems of the driving system due to added weight. At this point, it was decided that 50% of Panzer IV production would be fitted with 30 mm (1.18 in) thick additional armour plates. On 5 January 1943, Hitler decided that all Panzer IV should have 80 mm (3.15 in) frontal armour. To simplify production,

357-399: A 37-millimetre (1.46 in) anti-tank gun, the new vehicle would have a short-barreled, howitzer -like 75-millimetre (2.95 in) as its main gun , and was allotted a weight limit of 24 tonnes (26.46 short tons). Development was carried out under the name Begleitwagen ("accompanying vehicle"), or BW, to disguise its actual purpose, given that Germany was still theoretically bound by

476-507: A 50 mm (1.97 in) gun — based on the 5 cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun — on a Panzer IV Ausf. D. However, with the rapid German victory in France, the original order of 80 tanks was cancelled before they entered production. In October 1940, the Ausf. E was introduced. This had 30 millimetres (1.18 in) of armour on the bow plate, while a 30-millimetre (1.18 in) appliqué steel plate

595-527: A conference with Hitler, it was decided to improve the Panzer IV's main armament. Krupp was awarded the contract to integrate again the 50 mm (1.97 in) Pak 38 L/60 gun into the turret. The first prototype was to be delivered by 15 November 1941. Within months, the shock of encountering the Soviet T-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks necessitated a new, much more powerful tank gun. In November 1941,

714-568: A corresponding modification of track width from 380 to 400 mm (14.96 to 15.75 in) to reduce ground pressure. The wider tracks also facilitated the fitting of track shoe "ice sprags ", and the rear idler wheel and front sprocket were modified. The designation Ausf. F was changed in the meantime to Ausf. F1, after the distinct new model, the Ausf. F2, appeared. A total of 471 Ausf. F (later temporarily called F1) tanks were produced from April 1941 to March 1942. On 26 May 1941, mere weeks before Operation Barbarossa , during

833-500: A formidable opponent. The bocage countryside in Normandy favoured defense, and German tanks and anti-tank guns inflicted very heavy casualties on Allied armour during the Normandy campaign , despite the overwhelming Allied air superiority. German counter-attacks were blunted in the face of Allied artillery, infantry-held anti-tank weapons , tank destroyers and anti-tank guns , as well as

952-550: A front that included the river Neisse . Before dawn on the morning of 16 April 1945 the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of General Konev started the attack over the river Neisse with a short but massive bombardment by tens of thousands of artillery pieces. Some of the Army Group Centre continued to resist until 11 May 1945, by which time the overwhelming force of the Soviet Armies sent to liberate Czechoslovakia in

1071-538: A general reduction in height of the superstructure. This redesign also introduced a ball mount in the front superstructure for a MG 34 machine gun with 600 rounds. The vehicle commander's position was modified to use the cupola of the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G, which could mount a machine gun for anti-aircraft defense. The first unit to take the Sturmpanzer into battle was Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 216 . It

1190-503: A postponement of the offensive against Moscow in order to conquer Ukraine first. The commander in chief as of 19 December 1941 was Günther von Kluge (for a short time before Christmas of 1941, this role was fulfilled by Günther Blumentritt ). 1942 opened for Army Group Centre with continuing attacks from Soviet forces around Rzhev. The German Ninth Army was able to repel these attacks and stabilise its front, despite continuing large-scale partisan activity in its rear areas. Meanwhile,

1309-624: A result, the Finnish Army often referred to the PzKpfw IV Ausf.J as the "shaker" for its rough ride, when compared to their StuG IIIs which by comparison had the much better torsion-bar suspension of the PzKpfw III. According to the Finnish this not only affected general crew comfort, but also hampered the accurate aiming of the main gun whilst on the move. What exactly caused these "vibrations" that gave

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1428-508: A support tank for use against enemy anti-tank guns and fortifications . Ideally, each tank battalion in a panzer division was to have three medium companies of Panzer IIIs and one heavy company of Panzer IVs. On 11 January 1934, the German army wrote the specifications for a "medium tractor", and issued them to a number of defense companies. To support the Panzer III, which would be armed with

1547-506: The Wirbelwind and Ostwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun , and the Brummbär self-propelled gun . The Panzer IV saw service in all combat theatres involving Germany and was the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war. It was originally designed for infantry support, while the similar Panzer III was to fight armoured fighting vehicles . However, as

1666-518: The Panzergranate ( armour-piercing shell ) at 430 metres per second (1,410 ft/s) the KwK ;37 could penetrate 43 millimetres (1.69 in), inclined at 30 degrees, at ranges of up to 700 metres (2,300 ft). A 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 34 machine gun was mounted coaxially with the main weapon in the turret, while a second machine gun of the same type was mounted in the front plate of

1785-402: The Panzergranate 39, the KwK 40 L/43 could penetrate 77 mm (3.03 in) of steel armour at a range of 1,830 m (6,000 ft). The longer 7.5 cm guns made the vehicle nose-heavy to such an extent that the forward suspension springs were under constant compression. This resulted in the tank tending to sway even when no steering was being applied, an effect compounded by

1904-452: The 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun. Thirty-eight rounds, with separate propellant cartridges, could be carried. It used the Sfl.Zf. 1a sight. The combined weight of the shell and cartridge (38 kilograms (84 lb) for an HE shell and 8 kilograms (18 lb) for a propellant cartridge) made the work of the loader arduous, especially if the gun was elevated to a high angle. An MG 34 machine gun

2023-482: The Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. Most of the 11 panzer divisions that saw action in Normandy initially contained an armoured regiment of one battalion of Panzer IVs and another of Panthers, for a total of around 160 tanks, although Waffen-SS panzer divisions were generally larger and better equipped than their Heer counterparts. Regular upgrades to the Panzer IV had helped to maintain its reputation as

2142-455: The Battle of Kursk proved that the driver's compartment was too lightly armoured and it was reinforced. The gunner's hatch was removed and a ventilator fan was fitted, much to the relief of the crew. Internally sprung, steel-rimmed road wheels replaced the front two rubber-rimmed road wheels in an effort to reduce the stress on the forward suspension that was only partially successful. Production of

2261-697: The Panther was not delivered to German units in the Soviet Union until May 1943. The extent of German reliance on the Panzer IV during this period is reflected by their losses; 502 were destroyed on the Eastern Front in 1942. The Panzer IV continued to play an important role during operations in 1943, including at the Battle of Kursk . Newer types, such as the Panther, were still experiencing crippling reliability problems that restricted their combat efficiency, so much of

2380-600: The Prague Offensive gave them no option but to surrender or be killed. By 7 May 1945, the day that German Chief-of-Staff General Alfred Jodl was negotiating surrender of all German forces at SHAEF , the German Armed Forces High Command (AFHC) had not heard from Schörner since 2 May 1945. He had reported that he intended to fight his way west and surrender his army group to the Americans. On 8 May 1945,

2499-689: The Red Army after the end of the war. These tanks were of many different models and were in very bad shape —many of them were missing parts and the side-skirts. These German T4 tanks remained in service until 1950, when the Army decided to use only Soviet equipment. By 1954, all German tanks in Romanian military service had been scrapped. While their numbers remain uncertain, Syria received around 60 Panzers that were refurbished in France between 1950 and 1952, followed by 50 others purchased from Czechoslovakia in 1954, per

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2618-695: The Six-Day War in 1967. Panzer IVs also participated in 1973 Yom Kippur War , with some dug in as pillboxes. Several of Syria's Panzer IVs were captured by the Israeli Army and donated to the Yad La-Shiryon museum, which later traded an Ausf H from this collection to the American Armored Foundation Tank Museum in Danville, Virginia in exchange for an M5 Stuart . In addition, Turkey

2737-648: The Somua S35 and Char B1 . Although the Panzer IV was deployed to North Africa with the German Afrika Korps , until the longer gun variant began production, the tank was outperformed by the Panzer III with respect to armour penetration. Both the Panzer III and IV had difficulty in penetrating the British Matilda II's thick armour, while the Matilda's 40-mm QF 2 pounder gun could knock out either German tank;

2856-534: The Treaty of Versailles ban on tanks. MAN , Krupp , and Rheinmetall-Borsig each developed prototypes, with Krupp's being selected for further development. The chassis had originally been designed with a six-wheeled Schachtellaufwerk interleaved-road wheel suspension (as already adopted for German half-tracks ), but the German Army amended this to a torsion bar system. Permitting greater vertical deflection of

2975-600: The Wehrmacht that the main Soviet summer offensive would be launched further south, against Army Group North Ukraine . The German High Command was fooled and armored units were moved south out of Army Group Centre. The Soviet offensive, code-named Operation Bagration , was launched on 22 June 1944, the third anniversary of Germany's own invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. 185 Red Army divisions, comprising 2.3 million soldiers and 4,000 tanks and assault guns, smashed into

3094-514: The " Krali Marko Line", remained in use until the fall of communism in 1989. Twenty Panzer IV Ausf. Hs and ten StuG III Ausf. Gs were supplied to Spain in December 1943, a small fraction of what Spain had originally asked for. The Panzer IV represented the best tank in Spanish service between 1944 and 1954, and was deployed along with T-26s and Panzer Is. Spain sold 17 Panzer IVs to Syria in 1967, with

3213-463: The Allies, Zimmerit paste was added to all the vertical surfaces of the tank's armour. The turret roof was reinforced from 10-millimetre (0.39 in) to 16-millimetre (0.63 in) and 25-millimetre (0.98 in) segments. The vehicle's side and turret were further protected by the addition of 5-millimetre (0.20 in) hull skirts and 8-millimetre (0.31 in) turret skirts. This resulted in

3332-467: The Ausf H was fitted with a hydrostatic transmission but was not put into production. Despite addressing the mobility problems introduced by the previous model, the final production version of the Panzer IV—the Ausf. J—was considered a retrograde from the Ausf. H. Born of necessity, to replace heavy losses, it was greatly simplified to speed production. The electric generator that powered

3451-410: The Ausf. B. Improvements included the replacement of the original engine with the more powerful 300 PS (220.65 kW) Maybach HL 120TR, and the transmission with the new SSG 75 transmission, with six forward gears and one reverse gear. Despite a weight increase to 16 t (18 short tons), this improved the tank's speed to 42 kilometres per hour (26.10 mph). The glacis plate

3570-599: The Czechoslovakia-Syria arms deal. A Soviet 12.7mm DShK machine gun on an anti-aircraft mount was retrofitted on the cupola. These ex-German tanks were used to shell Israeli settlements below the Golan Heights , together with Soviet-supplied T-34s, and were fired upon in 1965 during the Water War by Israeli Super Sherman and Centurion tanks. Syria received 17 Panzer IVs from Spain, with these seeing combat during

3689-520: The First Company and it departed for Budapest on the following day. Bomb damage to the rails delayed its arrival until 19 October, by which time it was no longer needed as a pro-German government had been installed. It was moved by rail to St. Martin, Slovakia for more training. The battalion was transferred to the vicinity of Stuhlweissenburg to relieve trapped German forces in Budapest . It remained in

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3808-569: The German invasion of Poland in September 1939 came to an end, it was decided to scale up production of the Panzer IV, which was adopted for general use on 27 September 1939 as the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 161 (Sd.Kfz. 161). In response to the difficulty of penetrating the thick armour of British infantry tanks ( Matilda and Matilda II ) during the Battle of France , the Germans had tested

3927-431: The German positions on a 200km-wide front. The 850,000-strong Army Group Centre was almost completely destroyed by the attack. It is estimated that over 450,000 Germans were killed, wounded, or captured, notably the 57,000 soldiers captured east of Minsk , who were paraded through Moscow on 17 July on Stalin's orders as proof of the immense success of the Soviet offensive. The Soviet forces raced forward, liberating Minsk and

4046-569: The German salient there until it was withdrawn back to the Reich at the end of December. The Allied landing at Anzio on 22 January 1944 caused the battalion, fully independent once more, to be transferred there in early February with 28 vehicles to participate in the planned counterattack against the Allied beachhead, Unternehmen Fischfang . This failed in its objective, but the battalion remained in Italy for

4165-458: The German strategic focus on the Eastern Front shifted to southwestern Russia, with the launching of Operation Blue in June. This operation, aimed at the oilfields in the southwestern Caucasus , involved Army Group South alone, with the other German army groups giving up troops and equipment for the offensive. Despite the focus on the south, Army Group Centre continued to see fierce fighting throughout

4284-419: The Germans faced the formidable T-34 , the Panzer IV had more development potential, with a larger turret ring to mount more powerful guns, so it swapped roles with the Panzer III whose production wound down in 1943. The Panzer IV received various upgrades and design modifications, intended to counter new threats, extending its service life. Generally, these involved increasing the armour protection or upgrading

4403-592: The Interior), later called 'Escadron Autonome de Chars Besnier', was equipped in December 1944 with at least one Panzer IV. Army Group Center Army Group Centre ( German : Heeresgruppe Mitte ) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II . The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa , Germany's invasion of

4522-542: The L/43 tank gun available. At the time, these were the only German tanks that could defeat T-34 or KV-1 with sheer firepower. They played a crucial role in the events that unfolded between June 1942 and March 1943, and the Panzer IV became the mainstay of the German panzer divisions. Although in service by late September 1942, the Tiger I was not yet numerous enough to make an impact and suffered from serious teething problems, while

4641-682: The Matilda II's major disadvantage was its low speed. By August 1942, Rommel had only received 27 Panzer IV Ausf. F2s, armed with the L/43 gun, which he deployed to spearhead his armoured offensives. The longer gun could penetrate all American and British tanks in theater at ranges of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), by that time the most heavily armoured of which was the M3 Grant . Although more of these tanks arrived in North Africa between August and October 1942, their numbers were insignificant compared to

4760-499: The Panzer IV Ausf. F started. It featured 50 mm (1.97 in) single-plate armour on the turret and hull, as opposed to the appliqué armour added to the Ausf. E, and a further increase in side armour to 30 mm (1.18 in). The main engine exhaust muffler was shortened and a compact auxiliary generator muffler was mounted to its left. The weight of the vehicle was now 22.3 tonnes (24.6 short tons), which required

4879-516: The Polish Army possessed less than 200 tanks capable of penetrating the German light tanks, Polish anti-tank guns proved more of a threat, reinforcing German faith in the value of the close-support Panzer IV. Despite increased production of the medium Panzer IIIs and IVs prior to the German invasion of France on 10 May 1940, the majority of German tanks were still light types. According to Heinz Guderian,

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4998-582: The PzKw IV Ausf. J such a bad name among Finnish tank crews remains somewhat unclear as it isn't mentioned in any German or Allied descriptions, but the inadequate leaf spring suspension and comparison with the very smooth ride of the StuG III seems to be the most likely cause. After 1945, Bulgaria incorporated its surviving Panzer IVs into defensive bunkers as strongpoints along its border with Turkey , along with Soviet T-34 turrets. This defensive line, known as

5117-485: The SGR ;75 transmission with five forward gears and one reverse, achieving a maximum road speed of 31 kilometres per hour (19.26 mph). As main armament, the vehicle mounted the short-barreled, howitzer -like 75 mm (2.95 in) Kampfwagenkanone 37 7.5 cm KwK 37 tank gun, 24 calibres in length which was a low-velocity weapon mainly designed to fire high-explosive shells. Against armoured targets, firing

5236-401: The Soviet Union but instead ended up being used against Nazi Germany during their withdrawal through Lapland . After the war, they served as training tanks and one portrayed a Soviet KV-1 tank in the movie The Unknown Soldier in 1955. The additional weight, going from the 18.4 tons (Ausf. A) to about 25 tons (Ausf. J), of these modifications strained the simple leaf springed suspension. As

5355-522: The Soviet Union was expected by mid-November. The Army Group's other operational missions were to support the army groups on its northern and southern flanks, the army group boundary for the later being the Pripyat River . Bitter fighting in the Battle of Smolensk as well as the Lötzen decision delayed the German advance for two months. The advance of Army Group Centre was further delayed as Hitler ordered

5474-487: The Soviet Union, as one of the three German Army formations assigned to the invasion. After Army Group North was trapped in the Courland Pocket in mid-1944, it was renamed to Army Group Courland and the first Army Group Centre was renamed "Army Group North". The second iteration of Army Group Centre was formed by the redesignation of Army Group A as the replacement for the first Army Group Centre. The army group

5593-474: The Soviet Union. Their armies, totaling over three million men, were to advance in three geographical directions. Army Group Centre's initial strategic goal was to defeat the Soviet armies in Belarus and occupy Smolensk. To accomplish this, the army group planned for a rapid advance using Blitzkrieg operational methods for which purpose it commanded two panzer groups rather than one. A quick and decisive victory over

5712-822: The StuH 43, was built as the StuH 43/1. Some of the weight was saved by reducing the armour on the gun mount itself. This gun was used from the third production series onwards. Zimmerit coating was applied to all vehicles until September 1944. Production of the first series of 60 vehicles began in April 1943. Fifty-two of these were built using new Panzer IV Ausf. G chassis and the remaining 8 from rebuilt Ausf. E and F chassis. Survivors, about half, were rebuilt beginning in December 1943; they were mostly rebuilt to 2nd series standards. Production restarted in December 1943 with another 60 vehicles, using only new Ausf. H chassis, and continued until March 1944. The Sturmpanzer's baptism in combat at

5831-461: The T-34 at ranges of up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) at any angle. The 75 mm KwK 40 L/43 gun on the Panzer IV could penetrate a T-34 at a variety of impact angles beyond 1,000 m (3,300 ft) range and up to 1,600 m (5,200 ft). Shipment of the first model to mount the new gun, the Ausf. F2, began in spring 1942, and by the summer offensive there were around 135 Panzer IVs with

5950-506: The Turmzielfernrohr 5f/1 optic. The next version, the Ausf. H, began production in June 1943 and received the designation Sd. Kfz. 161/2. The integrity of the glacis armour was improved by manufacturing it as a single 80-millimetre (3.15 in) plate. A reinforced final drive with higher gear ratios was introduced. To prevent adhesion of magnetic anti-tank mines, which the Germans feared would be used in large numbers by

6069-581: The Voronezh defensive operations, the army high command expected another attack on Army Group Centre in early 1943. However, Hitler had decided to strike first. Before this strike could be launched, Operation Büffel was launched to forestall any possible Soviet spring offensives, by evacuating the Rzhev Salient to shorten the frontline. The commander in chief as of 12 October 1943 was Ernst Busch . The following major anti-partisan operations were conducted in

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6188-613: The Wehrmacht dearly. Of the 2,300 tanks and assault guns it had committed to Normandy (including around 750 Panzer IVs ), over 2,200 had been lost. Field Marshal Walter Model reported to Hitler that his panzer divisions had remaining, on average, five or six tanks each. During the winter of 1944–45, the Panzer IV was one of the most numerous tanks in the Ardennes offensive , where further heavy losses—as often due to fuel shortages as to enemy action—impaired major German armoured operations in

6307-456: The Wehrmacht invaded France with 523 Panzer Is, 955 Panzer IIs, 349 Panzer IIIs, 278 Panzer IVs, 106 Panzer 35(t)s and 228 Panzer 38(t)s . Through the use of tactical radios and superior tactics, as well as greater mobility generally, the Germans were able to outmaneuver and defeat French and British armour. However, Panzer IVs armed with the KwK 37 L/24 75-millimetre (2.95 in) tank gun found it difficult to engage French tanks such as

6426-486: The West thereafter. The Panzer IVs that took part were survivors of the battles in France between June and September 1944, with around 260 additional Panzer IV Ausf. Js issued as reinforcements. Finland bought 15 new Panzer IV Ausf. Js in 1944. The remainder of an order for 40 tanks and some StuG IIIs were not delivered and neither were necessary German tank instructors provided. The tanks arrived too late to see action against

6545-503: The amount of matériel shipped to British forces. The Panzer IV also took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia and the invasion of Greece in early 1941. With the launching of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the unanticipated appearance of the KV-1 and T-34 tanks prompted an upgrade of the Panzer IV's 75 mm (2.95 in) gun to a longer, high-velocity 75 mm gun suitable for anti-tank use. This meant that it could now penetrate

6664-691: The army group's commander until he was injured in October 1943 and replaced by Field Marshal Ernst Busch , who would then be replaced by Field Marshal Walter Model in June 1944. When Model was transferred to the Western Front in August 1944, he was replaced by Ferdinand Schörner , who would command the army group until his desertion in May 1945 after Germany surrendered to the Allies. On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany and its Axis allies launched their surprise offensive into

6783-485: The army group's sector that year, Operation Mars , took place in November. It was launched concurrently with Operation Uranus , the counteroffensive against the German assault on Stalingrad . The operation was repulsed with very heavy Soviet losses, although it did have the effect of pinning down German units that could have been sent to the fighting around Stalingrad. Following the disaster of Stalingrad and poor results of

6902-962: The army groups in the east changed names later that month. The force known as "Army Group Centre" at the start of the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive on 12 January 1945 was renamed "Army Group North" less than two weeks after the offensive commenced. At the start of the Vistula-Oder Offensive, the Soviet forces facing Army Group Centre outnumbered the Germans on average by 2:1 in troops, 3:1 in artillery, and 5.5:1 in tanks and self-propelled artillery. The Soviet superiority in troop strength grows to almost 3:1 if 200,000 Volkssturm militia are not included in German personnel strength totals. On 25 January 1945, Hitler renamed three army groups. Army Group North became Army Group Courland , Army Group Centre became Army Group North, and Army Group A became Army Group Centre. Army Group Centre fought in

7021-620: The assembly lines. The Panzer IV was one of the most widely exported German tanks of the Second World War. In 1942, Germany delivered 11 tanks to Romania and 32 to Hungary, many of which were lost on the Eastern Front between the final months of 1942 and the beginning of 1943 during the battles around Stalingrad, at which the Hungarian and Romanian troops there were almost annihilated by the attacking Soviet forces. Romania received approximately 120 Panzer IV tanks of different models throughout

7140-424: The battalion had 17 Sturmpanzers operational and another 14 in maintenance. Most of the battalion was not trapped in the Falaise Pocket and managed to retreat to the northeast. It had only 22 vehicles in October, which were divided between the 1st and 2nd Companies; the surplus crews were sent to Panzer-Ersatz Abteilung 18 . It participated in the Battle of the Bulge , only advancing as far as St. Vith . It

7259-407: The cadre for Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 218 in January 1945, but it was never pulled out of the front lines to do so. Sturmpanzer-Kompanie z.b.V. 2./218 was raised simultaneously with Sturmpanzer-Kompanie z.b.V. 218 , but was transferred to the Paris area on 20 August. Nothing is known of its service in France, but company personnel were sent to Panzer-Ersatz Abteilung 18 at the end of

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7378-419: The core of Germany's armoured divisions, including elite units such as the II SS Panzer Corps , through 1944. In January 1945, 287 Panzer IVs were lost on the Eastern Front. It is estimated that combat against Soviet forces accounted for 6,153 Panzer IVs, or about 75% of all Panzer IV losses during the war. Panzer IVs comprised around half of the available German tank strength on the Western Front prior to

7497-449: The decision to up-gun the Panzer IV to the 50-millimetre (1.97 in) gun was dropped, and instead Krupp was contracted in a joint development to modify Rheinmetall 's pending 75 mm (2.95 in) anti-tank gun design, later known as 7.5 cm Pak 40 L/46. Because the recoil length was too great for the tank's turret, the recoil mechanism and chamber were shortened. This resulted in the 75-millimetre (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/43. When

7616-399: The defence of Slovakia and Bohemia-Moravia as well as sections of the German heartland. Between January and February 1945, Army Group Centre sustained 140,000 casualties, including 15,000 dead, 77,000 wounded (not counting non-evacuees), and 48,000 missing. The last Soviet campaign of the war in the European theater, which led to the fall of Berlin and the end of the war in Europe with

7735-420: The designation Versuchskraftfahrzeug 622 (Vs.Kfz. 622), "experimental motor vehicle 622", production began in 1936 at Fried. Krupp Grusonwerk AG factory at Magdeburg . The first mass-produced version of the Panzer IV was the Ausführung  A (abbreviated to Ausf. A, meaning "Variant A"), in 1936. It was powered by a Maybach HL108 TR , producing 250 PS (183.87 kW), and used

7854-412: The driver and radio operator, who doubled as the hull machine gunner, seated at the front-left and front-right, respectively. In the turret , the tank commander sat beneath his roof hatch, while the gunner was situated to the left of the gun breech and the loader to the right. The torque shaft ran from the rear engine to the transmission box in the front hull between the driver and radio operator. To keep

7973-426: The effort fell to the 841 Panzer IVs that took part in the battle. Throughout 1943, the German army lost 2,352 Panzer IVs on the Eastern Front; some divisions were reduced to 12–18 tanks by the end of the year. In 1944, a further 2,643 Panzer IVs were destroyed, and such losses were becoming increasingly difficult to replace. Nevertheless, due to a shortage of replacement Panther tanks, the Panzer IV continued to form

8092-400: The elimination of the vision ports located on the hull side, as the skirts obstructed their view. During the Ausf. H's production run, its rubber-tired return rollers were replaced with cast steel, a lighter cast front sprocket and rear idler wheel gradually replaced the previous components, the hull was fitted with triangular supports for the easily damaged side skirts, the Nebelwurfgerät

8211-405: The end of May. It departed 1/2 July for the Normandy Front . It had to detrain in Condé sur Noireau , some 170 kilometres (110 mi) behind the front lines, because the Allies had heavily damaged the French rail network . Many of the battalion's vehicles broke down during the road march to the front lines. The first mention of Sturmpanzer s in combat is on 7 August near Caen . On 19 August,

8330-407: The end of the war. It was the most widely exported tank in German service, with around 300 sold to Finland, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria. After the war, Syria procured Panzer IVs from France and Czechoslovakia , which saw combat in the 1967 Six-Day War . The Panzer IV was the brainchild of the German general and innovative armoured warfare theorist Heinz Guderian . In concept, it was intended to be

8449-409: The engine deck to the rear of the chassis, and cold weather performance was boosted by adding a device to heat the engine's coolant, as well as a starter fluid injector. A new light replaced the original headlight and the signal port on the turret was removed. On 19 March 1943, the first Panzer IV with Schürzen skirts on its sides and turret was exhibited. The double hatch for the commander's cupola

8568-454: The engine was replaced with the improved HL 120TRM. The last of the 140 Ausf. Cs was produced in August 1939. Production changed to the Ausf. D; this variant, of which 248 vehicles were produced, reintroduced the hull machine gun and changed the turret's internal gun mantlet to a 35 mm (1.38 in) thick external mantlet. Again, protection was upgraded, this time by increasing side armour to 20 mm (0.79 in). As

8687-628: The entire war it comprised 30% of the Wehrmacht ' s total tank strength. Although in service by early 1939, in time for the occupation of Czechoslovakia , at the start of the war the majority of German armour was made up of obsolete Panzer Is and Panzer IIs . The Panzer I in particular had already proved inferior to Soviet tanks, such as the T-26 , during the Spanish Civil War . When Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, its armoured corps

8806-684: The entire war. To arm Bulgaria , Germany supplied 46 or 91 Panzer IVs, and offered Italy 12 tanks to form the nucleus of a new Italian Army armoured division. These were used to train Italian tank crews while the-then Italian leader Benito Mussolini was deposed shortly after the Allied conquest of Sicily but were then retaken by Germany during its occupation of Italy in mid-1943. The Falangist Spanish government petitioned for 100 Panzer IVs in March 1943 but only 20 were ever delivered by December that same year. Finland bought 30 but only received 15 in 1944 and in

8925-520: The hull. The main weapon and coaxial machine gun were sighted with a Turmzielfernrohr 5b optic while the hull machine gun was sighted with a Kugelzielfernrohr 2 optic. The Ausf. A was protected by 14.5 mm (0.57 in) of steel armour on the front plate of the chassis, and 20 mm (0.79 in) on the turret. This was only capable of stopping artillery fragments , small-arms fire, and light anti-tank projectiles. A total of 35 A versions were produced. In 1937, production moved to

9044-524: The initial landings having to wait for port facilities to be ready to land. It was not until July 1944 that American Shermans fitted with the 76 mm gun M1 gun achieved a parity in firepower with the Panzer IV. By 29 August 1944, as the last surviving German troops of Fifth Panzer Army and Seventh Army began retreating towards Germany, the twin cataclysms of the Falaise Pocket and the Seine crossing cost

9163-401: The installation of an auxiliary 200-litre (53 US gal) fuel tank; road range was thereby increased to 320 km (200 mi), The remaining pistol and vision ports on the turret side hatches were removed, and the engine's radiator housing was simplified by changing the slanted sides to straight sides. Three sockets with screw threads for mounting a 2-ton jib boom crane were welded on

9282-498: The introduction of the Ausführung H in March 1943. The Ausf. F tanks that received the new, longer, KwK 40 L/43 gun were temporarily named Ausf. F2 (with the designation Sd.Kfz. 161/1). The tank increased in weight to 23.6 tonnes (26.0 short tons). Differences between the Ausf. F1 and the Ausf. F2 were mainly associated with the change in armament, including an altered gun mantlet, internal travel lock for

9401-501: The late-model Panzer IV. The late-model Panzer IV's 80 mm (3.15 in) frontal hull armour could easily withstand hits from the 75 mm (2.95 in) weapon on the Sherman at normal combat ranges, though the turret remained vulnerable. The British up-gunned the Sherman with their highly effective 76 mm QF 17-pounder anti-tank gun , resulting in the Firefly ; although this was

9520-402: The longer 75 mm (2.95 in) L/70 tank gun from the developing Panther Ausf. F tank design, and partly developed by Rheinmetall from early 1944 onwards — to a Panzer IV hull. This failed and confirmed that the chassis had reached the limit of its adaptability in both weight and available volume. The Panzer IV was originally intended to be used only on a limited scale, so initially Krupp

9639-565: The main weapon, new gun cradle, new Turmzielfernrohr 5f optic for the L/43 weapon, modified ammunition stowage, and discontinuing of the Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung in favor of turret mounted Nebelwurfgerät . Three months after beginning production, the Panzer IV Ausf. F2 was renamed Ausf. G. During its production run from March 1942 to June 1943, the Panzer IV Ausf. G went through further modifications, including another armour upgrade which consisted of

9758-559: The new KwK 40 was loaded with the Pzgr. 39 armour-piercing shell, the new gun fired the AP shell at some 750 m/s (2,460 ft/s), a substantial 74% increase over the howitzer-like KwK 37 L/24 gun's 430 m/s (1,410 ft/s) muzzle velocity. Initially, the KwK 40 gun was mounted with a single-chamber, ball-shaped muzzle brake , which provided just under 50% of the recoil system's braking ability. Firing

9877-509: The only Allied tank capable of dealing with all current German tanks at normal combat ranges, few (342) were available in time for the Normandy invasion. One Sherman in every British troop of four was a Firefly. By the end of the Normandy campaign, a further 550 Fireflies were built. which was enough to make good any losses. A second British tank equipped with the 17-pdr gun, the Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger , could not participate in

9996-488: The rear of Army Group Centre, alongside many smaller operations: Increasing coordination of the partisan activity resulted in the conducting of Operation Concert against the German forces. In the spring of 1944, the Soviet High Command started concentrating forces along the front line in central Russia for a summer offensive against Army Group Centre. The Red Army also carried out a deception campaign to convince

10115-469: The rear of the superstructure through two armoured covers. Sideskirts were fitted on all vehicles. Early vehicles were too heavy for the chassis, which led to frequent breakdowns of the suspension and transmission. Efforts were made to ameliorate this from the second series onwards, with some success. In October 1943, it was decided that the StuH 43 gun needed to be redesigned to reduce its weight. A new version, some 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) lighter than

10234-455: The remaining three left conserved. These can be found in Madrid, Burgos and Santovenia de Pisuerga (Valladolid). Most of the tanks Romania had received were lost during combat between 1944 and 1945. These tanks, designated T4 in the army's inventory, were used by the Army's 2nd Armoured Regiment. On 9 May 1945, only two Panzer IVs were left. Romania received another 50 captured Panzer IV tanks from

10353-572: The rest of Belorussia by mid-July, and reaching the Vistula and the Baltic States by early August. In terms of casualties this was the greatest German defeat of the entire war. The commander in chief of Army Group Centre as of 28 June 1944 was Walter Model . The commander in chief as of 16 August 1944 was Georg Hans Reinhardt . Discussion of the army group's situation in January 1945 should note that

10472-578: The rest of the war. The battalion still had 42 vehicles on hand when the Allies launched their Po Valley offensive in April 1945, but all were blown up to prevent capture, or lost during the retreat, before the war ended in May. Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 217 was formed on 20 April 1944 at the Grafenwöhr Training Area from cadres provided by Panzer-Kompanie 40 and Panzer-Ersatz Abteilung 18 , although it did not have any armoured fighting vehicles until 19 Sturmpanzers were delivered at

10591-404: The road wheels, this was intended to improve performance and crew comfort both on- and off-road. However, due to the urgent requirement for the new tank, neither proposal was adopted, and Krupp instead equipped it with a simple leaf spring double-bogie suspension, with eight rubber-rimmed road wheels per side. The prototype had a crew of five; the hull contained the engine bay to the rear, with

10710-442: The same year a second batch of 62 or 72 was sent to Hungary (although 20 of these were subsequently diverted to replace German military losses). The Croatian Ustashe Militia received 10 Ausf. F1 and 5 Ausf. G in the autumn of 1944. In total, 297 Panzer IVs of all models were delivered to Germany's allies. The Panzer IV was the only German tank to remain in both production and combat throughout World War II, and measured over

10829-628: The second-most numerous German fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War ; 8,553 Panzer IVs of all versions were built during World War II, only exceeded by the StuG III assault gun with 10,086 vehicles. Its chassis was also used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun , the Jagdpanzer IV self-propelled anti-tank gun ,

10948-462: The shaft clear of the rotary base junction, which provided electrical power to the turret including the motor to turn it, the turret was offset 66.5 mm (2.62 in) to the left of the chassis centre line, and the engine was moved 152.4 mm (6.00 in) to the right. Due to the asymmetric layout, the right side of the tank contained the bulk of its stowage volume, which was taken up by ready-use ammunition lockers. Accepted into service under

11067-575: The simplicity of the Panzer IV and the large number of captured parts allowed for long-term repair and continued use. At least one captured Panzer IV Ausf. H was used by the Warsaw Tank Brigade of the Polish 2nd Corps in Italy during 1944. One Panzer IV Ausf. J was used by the 5th Independent Armored Artillery Divizion from 1945. The 1st GMR (Groupement Mobile de Reconnaissance) of the FFI (French Forces of

11186-581: The surrender of all German forces to the Allies. The three Soviet Fronts involved in the campaign had altogether 2.5 million men, 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41,600 artillery pieces and mortars , 3,255 truck -mounted Katyusha rocket launchers (nicknamed "Stalin Organs" by the Germans), and 95,383 motor vehicles. The campaign started with the battle of Oder-Neisse . Army Group Centre commanded by Ferdinand Schörner (the commander in chief as of 17 January 1945) had

11305-399: The tank's turret traverse was removed, so the turret had to be rotated manually. The turret traversing mechanism was modified and fitted with a second gear which made hand-operation easier when the vehicle was on sloping terrain. On reasonably level ground, hand operation at 4 seconds to traverse to 12.5° and 29.5 seconds to traverse to 120° was achieved. The resulting space was later used for

11424-413: The third series ran from March to June 1944 with few changes from the second series. The Fahrersehklappe 80 was replaced by periscopes and the lighter StuH 43/1 was used. The superstructure was redesigned in early 1944 for the fourth series, which used the chassis and HL120 TRM112 engine of the Ausf. J, and was in production between June 1944 and March 1945. It featured a redesigned gun collar, as well as

11543-540: The turret roof while the hull roof was thickened from 11-millimetre (0.43 in) to 16-millimetre (0.63 in). In addition, the cylindrical muffler was replaced by two flame-suppressing mufflers. In June 1944 Wa Prüf 6 had decided that because bomb damage at Panzerfirma Krupp in Essen had seriously jeopardized tank production, all plates which should have been face-hardened for the Panzer IV were instead made with rolled homogeneous armour plate. By late 1944, Zimmerit

11662-719: The ubiquitous fighter-bomber aircraft. The side skirt armour could predetonate shaped charge anti-tank weapons such as the British PIAT , but could be pulled away by rugged terrain. German tankers in all theaters were "frustrated by the way these skirts were easily torn off when going through dense brush". The Allies had also been improving their tanks; the widely used American-designed M4 Sherman medium tank, while mechanically reliable, repairable, and available in large numbers, suffered from an inadequate gun in terms of armour-piercing. Against earlier-model Panzer IVs, it could hold its own, but with its 75 mm M3 gun , struggled against

11781-434: The vicinity of Budapest until forced to retreat by advancing Soviet forces. Four Sturmpanzers survive: Panzer IV The Panzerkampfwagen IV ( Pz.Kpfw. IV ), commonly known as the Panzer IV , is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War . Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161 . The Panzer IV was the most numerous German tank and

11900-406: The vision ports on either side of the turret and the loader's forward vision port in the turret front were removed, while a rack for two spare road wheels was installed on the track guard on the left side of the hull. Complementing this, brackets for seven spare track links were added to the glacis plate. For operation in high temperatures, the engine's ventilation was improved by creating slits over

12019-462: The weapons, although during the last months of the war, with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included simplifications to speed up the manufacturing process. The Panzer IV was partially succeeded by the Panther medium tank, which was introduced to counter the Soviet T-34 , although it continued to be a significant component of German armoured formations to

12138-413: The year and were supposed to have been used in the formation of Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 218 . Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 218 was ordered formed on 6 January 1945 with three companies with a total of 45 Sturmpanzers , but it received Sturmgeschütz III assault guns during February instead. Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 was originally to be formed from Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 914 , but this

12257-453: The year. While the Soviet attacks in early 1942 had not driven the Germans back, they had resulted in several Red Army units being trapped behind German lines. Eliminating the pockets took until July, the same month in which the Soviets made another attempt to break through the army group's front; the attempt failed, but the front line was pushed back closer to Rzhev. The largest Soviet operation in

12376-697: Was a buyer, with 35 Panzer IVs received until 4 May 1944 in exchange for some chromium ore. Delivery began with the Ausf. G and probably went on with Ausf. H versions. Other sources state only 15 to 22 tanks were delivered in 1943, all of the Ausf G version. The Soviet Army captured significant numbers of German armoured vehicles, including Panzer IVs (its Russian designation was "T-4"). Some of them were pressed into temporary service and some others were used for driver or anti-tank training. Sometimes, captured tanks were used in different temporary units or as single tanks. While captured Tiger I/IIs and Panthers were only permitted to be used until they irrecoverably broke down,

12495-627: Was added to the glacis as an interim measure. A new driver's visor, adopted from the Sturmgeschütz III was installed on the hull front plate. A new commander's cupola, adopted from the Panzer III Ausf. G, was relocated forward on the turret eliminating the bulge underneath the cupola. Older model Panzer IV tanks were retrofitted with these features when returned to the manufacturer for servicing. 206 Ausf. Es were produced between October 1940 and April 1941. In April 1941, production of

12614-476: Was augmented to a maximum thickness of 30 millimetres (1.18 in), while a new driver's visor was installed on the straightened hull front plate, and the hull-mounted machine gun was replaced by a covered pistol port and visor flap. The superstructure width and ammunition stowage were reduced to save weight. A new commander's cupola was introduced which was adopted from the Panzer III Ausf. C. A Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung (smoke grenade discharger rack)

12733-568: Was carried that could be fastened to the open gunner's hatch, much like the arrangement on the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G. Early vehicles carried an MP 40 sub-machine gun inside, which could be fired through firing ports in the side of the superstructure. The driver's station projected forward from the casemate's sloped frontal armour plate and used the Tiger I 's Fahrersehklappe 80 driver's sight. The fighting compartment was, albeit poorly, ventilated by natural convection, exiting out

12852-551: Was changed to Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 237 in September 1944. In mid-September 1944, the brigade transferred to the Döllersheim Training Area to reorganize and re-equip. Only ten Sturmpanzers had been received when the battalion was alerted on 15 October to participate in Unternehmen Panzerfaust , the German coup to forestall Hungary's attempt to surrender to the Allies. All the vehicles were given to

12971-493: Was composed of 1,445 Panzer Is, 1,223 Panzer IIs, 98 Panzer IIIs and 211 Panzer IVs; the more modern vehicles amounted to less than 10% of Germany's armoured strength. The 1st Panzer Division had a roughly equal balance of types, with 17 Panzer Is, 18 Panzer IIs, 28 Panzer IIIs, and 14 Panzer IVs per battalion. The remaining panzer divisions were heavy with obsolete models, equipped as they were with 34 Panzer Is, 33 Panzer IIs, 5 Panzer IIIs, and 6 Panzer IVs per battalion. Although

13090-586: Was continually on the retreat for the rest of the war and was captured in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945. Sturmpanzer-Kompanie z.b.V. 218 was raised in August 1944. It was sent to Warsaw , where it was attached to Panzer Abteilung (Fkl) 302 . It remained on the Eastern Front after the Warsaw Uprising was suppressed and was eventually wiped out in East Prussia in April 1945. It was supposed to have been

13209-540: Was discontinued, and a mount in the turret roof, designed for the Nahverteidigungswaffe , was plugged by a circular armoured plate due to initial production shortages of this weapon. These modifications meant that the tank's weight increased to 25 tonnes (27.56 short tons). In spite of a new six-speed SSG 77 transmission adopted from the Panzer III, top speed dropped to as low as 16 km/h (10 mph) on cross country terrain. An experimental version of

13328-728: Was diverted to manufacture the Sturmgeschütz IV and, in the spring of 1944, the Vomag factory began production of the Jagdpanzer IV , leaving the Nibelungenwerk as the only plant still assembling the Panzer IV. With the slow collapse of German industry under pressure from Allied air and ground offensives—in October 1944 the Nibelungenwerk factory was severely damaged during a bombing raid—by March and April 1945, production had fallen to pre-1942 levels, with only around 55 tanks per month coming off

13447-515: Was formed at the end of April 1943 and transferred in early May to Amiens to train on its new assault guns. It was organized into 3 line companies, each with 14 vehicles, and a battalion headquarters with 3 vehicles. It arrived in Central Russia on 10 June 1943 to prepare for [[battle of Kursk| Unternehmen Zitadelle ]] (Operation Citadel), the German attack on the Kursk salient . For this action, it

13566-588: Was its sole manufacturer. Prior to the Polish campaign, only 217 Panzer IVs had been produced: 35 Ausf. A; 42 Ausf. B; and 140 Ausf. C; in 1941, production was extended to Vogtländische Maschinenfabrik ("VOMAG") (located in the city of Plauen ) and the Nibelungenwerk in the Austrian city of St. Valentin. In 1941, an average of 39 tanks per month were built; this rose to 83 in 1942, 252 in 1943, and 300 in 1944. However, in December 1943, Krupp's factory

13685-506: Was mounted on the rear of the hull starting in July 1938 and was back fitted to earlier Ausf. A and Ausf. B chassis starting in August 1938. Forty-two Panzer IV Ausf. Bs were manufactured. The Ausf. C replaced the B in 1938. This saw the turret armour increased to 30 mm (1.18 in), which brought the tank's weight to 18.14 t (20.00 short tons). After assembling 40 Ausf. Cs, starting with chassis number 80341,

13804-405: Was no longer being applied to German armoured vehicles, and the Panzer IV's side-skirts had been replaced by wire mesh, while the gunner's forward vision port in the turret front was eliminated and the number of return rollers was reduced from four to three to further speed-up production. In a bid to augment the Panzer IV's firepower, an attempt was made to mate a Schmalturm turret — carrying

13923-452: Was officially created by Adolf Hitler when he issued Führer Directive 21 on 18 December 1940, ordering German forces to prepare for an attack on Soviet Russia in 1941. The first commanding officer of Army Group Centre was Field Marshal Fedor von Bock , who would lead it until he was relieved on 18 December 1941 after the failure of the Battle of Moscow and was replaced by Field Marshal Günther von Kluge . Günther von Kluge would remain

14042-452: Was replaced by a single round hatch from very late model Ausf. G. and the cupola was up-armoured from 50 mm (1.97 in) to 95 mm (3.74 in). In April 1943, the KwK ;40 L/43 was replaced by the longer 75-millimetre (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/48 gun, with a redesigned multi-baffle muzzle brake with improved recoil efficiency. The longer L/48 resulted in the introduction of

14161-648: Was temporarily assigned as the third battalion of schweres Panzerjäger Regiment 656 ("Heavy Anti-tank Regiment 656") under the command of the 9th Army of Army Group Center . It remained in the Orel - Bryansk area until its transfer to the Dnepropetrovsk - Zaporozhe area at the end of August. Its vehicles were refitted there and it remained there until the Zaporozhe Bridgehead was abandoned on 15 October. The battalion retreated to Nikopol , where it helped defend

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