German tank commanders of the Second World War formed the backbone of the Wehrmacht’s armoured forces and played a decisive role in the early Blitzkrieg victories as well as the prolonged defensive battles on all fronts. Trained at specialised schools such as the Panzertruppenschule in Wünsdorf and later at the Panzertruppenschule in Bergen, these officers and senior NCOs learned to lead from the front in vehicles ranging from the early Panzer I and II to the formidable Panther, Tiger I and Tiger II. They operated within the framework of combined-arms tactics that emphasised speed, radio coordination and concentration of force, allowing formations like the 1., 2., 7. and 13. Panzer-Divisionen to achieve spectacular breakthroughs in Poland, France and the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa. Many rose from company and battalion commanders to regimental or divisional leadership; among the most celebrated were men such as Michael Wittmann, Otto Carius, Kurt Knispel and Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz, whose personal tallies of destroyed enemy armour became legendary, though often exaggerated in postwar accounts. Commanders were expected to fight dismounted when necessary, direct fire from the turret, and maintain unit cohesion under extreme conditions of mechanical breakdown, fuel shortage and overwhelming numerical inferiority after 1943. Their effectiveness declined as Allied air superiority, improved anti-tank weapons and attrition took their toll, yet individual skill and tactical flexibility continued to extract a high price from opposing forces until the final days of the war. After 1945 many survivors contributed to the reconstruction of the Bundeswehr’s armoured branch, bringing hard-won experience into the new West German army.
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PANZER IV
The Panzerkampfwagen IV, commonly known as the Panzer IV and designated Sd.Kfz. 161, was a German medium tank developed in the mid-1930s by Krupp as the primary infantry-support vehicle to complement the Panzer III. Designed under the codename Begleitwagen, it entered production in 1937 with the Ausf. A and remained in continuous manufacture until 1945, becoming the most numerous German tank of the Second World War with approximately 8,553 vehicles completed. Initially armed with the short-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 howitzer for high-explosive fire support, the Panzer IV featured a five-man crew, leaf-spring suspension, and a Maybach HL 120 engine producing around 300 horsepower. Early models such as Ausf. A to F1 carried relatively light armour of 15 to 50 mm and served mainly in the close-support role during the Polish, French, and early Eastern Front campaigns. Encountering the superior Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks in 1941 prompted a decisive upgrade: from the Ausf. F2 onward the vehicle received the long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 40 L/43 or L/48 anti-tank gun, transforming it into an effective tank-killer. Subsequent versions Ausf. G, H and J added thicker frontal armour up to 80 mm, spaced Schürzen side skirts, and simplified production features while retaining a combat weight of roughly 25 tonnes and a road speed of about 40 km/h. The chassis also formed the basis for numerous specialised vehicles including the Jagdpanzer IV, StuG IV, Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär, Nashorn and Flakpanzer IV variants. Reliable, adaptable and continuously improved, the Panzer IV formed the backbone of German Panzer-Divisions on every front until the end of the war and was exported in limited numbers to several Axis allies.
Oberstleutnant Herbert Gomille (1913-2009) was born on 15 August 1913 in Waldmohr in Bavaria, Germany, and later served as an officer in the Heer during the Second World War. He began his career with Panzer-Regiment 4 of the 13. Panzer-Division and was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1941. On 14 April 1942 he assumed command of the II. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment 4. For earlier successes he received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 29 September 1939, the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse on 23 May 1940, and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 14 February 1942 while leading the 5. Kompanie. In September 1942, while his Abteilung operated in the sector of the 111. Infanterie-Division east of Malgobek, it destroyed forty-six enemy tanks and one artillery piece, captured ten mortars and various vehicles, and played a major role in holding the German bridgehead at Mosdok. For these achievements Gomille was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 October 1942 as Hauptmann and Kommandeur of the II. Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 4. He was promoted to Major on 1 February 1943 and subsequently served in the Führerreserve OKH, at the Panzertruppenschule Wünsdorf, as Kommandeur of the III. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland, and as Inspekteur der Panzertruppen. After the war he lived in Switzerland, where he died on 18 May 2009 in Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country at the age of ninety-five.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/09/album-foto-komandan-panzer-dan.html
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