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.
Generalmajor Rudolf Sieckenius (1896-1945) was born on 18 August 1896 in Ludwigsthal in Silesia as the second of nine children of the businessman Alexander Sieckenius and Luise Rittner, and he entered military service as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 5 in August 1914 before transferring to the Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 154 where he rose to Leutnant der Reserve and served as Zugführer, Kompanieführer and Adjutant on the Western Front. After the war he joined the Schutzpolizei in Elberfeld and Wuppertal, rising to Polizei-Hauptmann and commanding mounted units, until he returned to the Heer in 1934 as Rittmeister and later transferred into the Panzertruppe, commanding a Kompanie in Panzer-Regiment 2, the I. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment 15 and then Panzer-Abteilung 66. As Oberstleutnant he led Panzer-Abteilung 66 through the Polish campaign of 1939, earning the first Eisernes Kreuz of his division, and in the Westfeldzug of 1940 he commanded under Erwin Rommel until wounded at Cambrai. On 1 May 1941 he assumed command of Panzer-Regiment 2 within the 16. Panzer-Division of the 1. Panzergruppe under Heeresgruppe Süd and led it into Operation Barbarossa. After the Battle of Uman, on 12 August 1941 the regiment advanced toward the Black Sea; although cut off from the main forces, Kampfgruppe Sieckenius fought a three-day battle against superior Soviet troops and on 16 August captured Nikolayev, the first Black Sea port taken by German forces, an action for which Oberstleutnant Sieckenius was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 September 1941. Promoted to Oberst and later Generalmajor, he commanded the rebuilt 16. Panzer-Division in Italy during the Salerno landings of 1943, then the 263. Infanterie-Division and finally the 391. Sicherungs-Division; on 29 April 1945, while attempting a breakout from the Halbe pocket near Teupitz, he was severely wounded in the abdomen and took his own life, being buried in a mass grave at the Kriegsgräberstätte Teupitz.
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.
Leutnant der Reserve Karl-Heinrich Gsell (1922-1945) was born on 28 August 1922 in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and served as a Leutnant der Reserve in the Heer during the Second World War. He was assigned to Panzer-Regiment 35 of the 4. Panzer-Division, one of the most highly decorated armoured regiments of the German Army, which had fought from the invasion of Poland in 1939 through the campaign in the West in 1940 and then continuously on the Eastern Front from 1941 onward. As Führer of the 2./Panzer-Regiment 35, Gsell distinguished himself in the hard fighting of late 1943, particularly during Operation Nikolaus conducted between 20 and 24 December 1943 in the central sector of the Eastern Front. In this action the regiment, operating under difficult winter conditions against determined Soviet forces, carried out successful local counter-attacks and defensive operations that helped stabilise critical sectors of the front. For his personal leadership, initiative and the effective employment of his company of panzers in these engagements, Gsell was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 February 1944. Prior to this highest distinction he had already received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse, the Panzerkampfabzeichen in Silber and the Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Schwarz, reflecting both his combat experience and the wounds he had sustained while serving with Panzer-Regiment 35. Gsell continued to serve with the regiment as the 4. Panzer-Division was committed to further heavy fighting in 1944, including operations around Kowel and later in the Baltic region and West Prussia. On 25 February 1945 he succumbed to wounds at Feldlazarett motorisiert 102 near Lębork (Lebork), Poland, at the age of twenty-two, only two days after the first anniversary of his Ritterkreuz award. His brief but intense career as a young reserve officer and company leader exemplified the heavy losses suffered by the German panzer arm in the final years of the war on the Eastern Front.
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PANZER VI TIGER I
The Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E, commonly known as the Tiger I and designated Sd.Kfz. 181, was a German heavy tank of the Second World War that entered operational service in 1942. Developed primarily by Henschel & Son under designer Erwin Aders after competitive trials against a Porsche prototype, it was produced from August 1942 to August 1944 with a total of 1,347 units completed. Weighing approximately 54 to 57 tonnes in combat configuration, the Tiger I featured frontal armour up to 100 mm thick on the hull and 120 mm on the turret mantlet, providing exceptional protection against contemporary Allied anti-tank weapons. Its primary armament was the powerful 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 gun, derived from the famous Flak 36 anti-aircraft gun, capable of destroying most enemy tanks at long ranges, supplemented by two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns. Powered by a Maybach HL 230 P45 V-12 petrol engine delivering around 700 horsepower, it achieved a maximum road speed of about 45 km/h though cross-country performance was limited to 20–25 km/h, with a typical operational range of 100–195 km depending on conditions. The five-man crew consisted of a commander, gunner, loader, driver, and radio operator. First deployed near Leningrad on the Eastern Front in September 1942 and later in North Africa, the Tiger I was normally organized into independent schwere Panzer-Abteilungen attached to army or corps headquarters rather than regular Panzer-Divisionen. Despite its formidable firepower and armour that made it highly feared by Allied forces, the tank suffered from mechanical unreliability, high fuel consumption, complex interleaved road-wheel suspension prone to clogging in mud or snow, and expensive production that limited numbers. It saw extensive combat across the Eastern Front, Italy, and Western Europe until the end of the war, after which production shifted to the Tiger II. Today only a handful of examples survive in museums.
Hauptmann der Reserve Walter Scherf (1917-2003) was born on 21 February 1917 in Giessen and died on 7 April 2003 in Essen at the age of 86. He served as a highly decorated officer of the Reserves in the Heer during the Second World War, eventually reaching the rank of Hauptmann der Reserve. Scherf took part in the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, and prolonged combat on the Eastern Front. He received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 21 May 1940 and the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse on 22 December 1940. Further decorations included the Panzer Badge in Silver (II and III Grade), the Eastern Front Medal, and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold awarded on 7 October 1943 while serving as Oberleutnant der Reserve and Chef of the 3. Kompanie of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503. On 23 February 1944 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as Oberleutnant der Reserve and company commander of the 3./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503, then attached to schwere Panzer-Regiment Bäke. This decoration recognized his leadership during the intense fighting in early 1944 to relieve German forces trapped in the Tscherkassy Pocket near Korsun. At that time the battalion, equipped with Tiger tanks and reduced to roughly eighteen operational vehicles after earlier losses, operated under his temporary command following the wounding of the regular battalion commander. Scherf directed the company’s aggressive employment in the relief attempts mounted by III. Panzer-Korps, contributing to the breakthrough efforts that enabled substantial numbers of encircled troops to escape the Soviet ring. After the regiment was disbanded later that month he continued service with the unit, later leading Kampfgruppe Y of Panzer-Brigade 150 in December 1944 and receiving the Ehrenblattspange des Heeres und Waffen-SS on 5 February 1945. Scherf survived the war and lived until 2003.
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STURMGESCHÜTZ III
The Sturmgeschütz III, officially designated Sd.Kfz. 142 and later Sd.Kfz. 142/1, was the most extensively produced fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War, with approximately ten thousand units manufactured between 1940 and 1945 primarily by Alkett and MIAG on a modified chassis of the Panzerkampfwagen III. Conceived in 1936 following proposals by Erich von Manstein for dedicated Sturmartillerie units to provide direct-fire support to the Infanterie, the vehicle featured a fixed, low-profile armoured superstructure instead of a rotating turret, mounting initially the short-barrelled 7,5-cm-StuK 37 L/24 gun optimised for high-explosive shells against fortifications and infantry. Early variants from Ausf. A to Ausf. E retained this armament and frontal armour of fifty millimetres, entering combat during the 1940 campaign in France and proving highly effective in close support roles. Confronted by superior Soviet tanks such as the T-34 on the Eastern Front, production shifted in 1942 to the longer 7,5-cm-StuK 40 L/43 and subsequently L/48 guns, transforming the Sturmgeschütz III into a formidable tank destroyer capable of engaging enemy armour at extended ranges while retaining its original infantry-support function. The definitive Ausf. G, introduced in December 1942 and accounting for the majority of output, incorporated improved frontal armour up to eighty millimetres, a redesigned superstructure, a commander’s cupola, and later Schürzen side skirts, powered by the Maybach HL 120 TRM engine that delivered a top road speed of forty kilometres per hour. Crewed by four men—the Fahrer, Kommandant, Richtschütze and Ladeschütze—these vehicles were organised into Sturmgeschütz-Abteilungen and later Sturmgeschütz-Brigaden attached to Infanterie-Divisionen or held at higher command levels, serving with distinction on every front from the Soviet Union to North Africa, Italy and Western Europe. A parallel Sturmhaubitze 42 variant armed with a 10,5-cm howitzer further enhanced high-explosive firepower, ensuring the Sturmgeschütz III remained a versatile and cost-effective backbone of German armoured forces until the end of the conflict.
Major Peter Frantz (1917-2001) was born on 24 July 1917 in Leipzig-Schleußig and died on 11 March 2001 in Cologne. After completing his Abitur he entered the Wehrmacht in autumn 1936 as a Fahnenjunker in Artillerie-Regiment 4, attended the Kriegsschule in München in 1937, and was posted to Artillerie-Regiment 74 where he was promoted to Leutnant on 1 September 1939. Following the Polish campaign he transferred to the Sturmartillerie as Zugführer in Sturmgeschütz-Batterie 640, which was subordinated in April 1940 to Infanterie-Regiment “Großdeutschland”. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 August 1940, he distinguished himself in the defensive fighting near Jassnaja Poljana during the winter of 1941/42 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 19 January 1942 while serving in the IV./Infanterie-Regiment “Großdeutschland”. In April 1942 he became Batteriechef of the 1. Batterie of the newly formed Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung of Infanterie-Division “Großdeutschland” and was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 May 1942. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 June 1942 as Oberleutnant und Chef of the 16./Infanterie-Regiment “Großdeutschland” (mot.) for his actions between 12 and 14 December 1941 at Strukowo, where his Sturmgeschütz-Kompanie destroyed fifteen tanks, one dual-purpose anti-tank/air gun and a further anti-tank gun, thereby preventing a Soviet breakthrough through the woods that would have cut off the retreat route of German forces along the Tula road. After further woundings he assumed command of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung “Großdeutschland” and, on 14 March 1943 near Stanowoje east of Borrisowka during the fighting around Kharkov, directed his Sturmgeschütze in support of the capture of the village, destroying fifteen T-34 tanks, then ambushed a major Soviet counter-attack of approximately 120 tanks and eighty trucks with mounted infantry; by holding fire until close range and then striking from the flank his unit destroyed forty-three enemy tanks in total. For this outstanding success he received the Eichenlaub (228th award) to the Ritterkreuz on 14 April 1943 as Hauptmann und Kommandeur of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung “Großdeutschland”. Promoted to Major on 1 June 1943, he relinquished command in February 1944 to attend a Generalstabslehrgang, later serving as Quartiermeister of XXXXI. Panzerkorps in East Prussia; at the war’s end he was taken into American captivity from which he escaped.
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/09/album-foto-komandan-panzer-dan.html
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