"On January 26th, 1944, the second day of the Korsun-Shevchenkovo Offensive, the contours of the pocket in which Army Group Center would be caught in were already being drawn on the map. The German response was a powerful counterattack in the zone of the Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front. If it was successful, P. Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank army would be encircled instead of the Germans.
In this battle on the snowy fields of the Ukraine, shiny new Panthers from the 1st battalion of the 26th tank regiment were supposed to be the ace up the German sleeve. Even though the unit only entered battle on January 28th, its adventures started much earlier, on the way to the USSR.
Gremlins from the Kremlin
76 Panthers under the command of Major Glesgen were loaded on a train in France. Judging by what happened next, the tanks were attacked by "gremlins from the Kremlin" from the Warner Brothers cartoon. On screen, they gnawed at Hitler's airplane, but it seems that in real life they settled for tanks from the 1st battalion…"
More here
link
Major Glesgen words: "The Panther sucks…!" (smile)
Amicalement
Armand
looks at some WWII German tank-hunters.
