I will double check. Thanks for the info.
The picture is excellent.
Yes i heared about mythical tigers ( which really were the Panthers , PzIV with armoured shields or something else) in the Kursk battle. And certainly real Tigers suffered less from the soviet AT-guns ant T-34-76.
I thin that if the germans where beater organised they could succesfuly beaten the russian army because you can always destroj 6-7-8- T-34 but there will always be the 9 T-34 that will fire on you.What i wont to say is that the T-34 was a mass production taank and it could ber driven by anyone but the german thanks couldnt.That is the reason that there was russian superiority in armour.My vote is the Tiger tank because it was everybodys worsat nightmare
Well Strina, i’m not sure you easy could drive T-34 
The t-34 as many other russian tank was everything but easy to drive.
Panthers of the Gross deustchland Div in action.
Ernst Barkmann, Panther ace:
[LEFT]Ernst Barkmann was born in Kisdorf in Holstein on August 25th of 1919.He was a son of a local farmer. [/LEFT]
[LEFT]
On April 1st of 1936, Ernst Barkmann joined SS-Standarte Germania as a volunteer and after three months of training joined the III Battalion of the Standarte at Radolfszell. Barkmann took part in Polish Campaign of 1939 serving with 9th Kompanie of SS-Standarte Germania as a machine gunner and was wounded there.
In Autumn of 1941, Barkmann was seriously wounded during fighting near Dnieprpetrowsk (Operation Barbarossa) and received the Iron Cross (Second Class). [/LEFT]
[LEFT]In late 1941, Barkmann was transferred to Holland as an instructor of European SS-Volunteers but in early 1942, he volunteered for service with division’s Panzer Regiment. Ernst Barkmann returnedto the Eastern Front in winter of 1942 and was transferred to 2nd Kompanie of 2nd Panzer Regiment of 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.Barkmann’s unit was equipped with tanks panzerkampfwagen III with 50 mm guns which were outclassed by Soviet t-34 and others. In early 1943, 2nd Panzer Regiment took part in the Battle for Kharkov, where Barkmann won the Iron Cross (First Class). In mid 1943, Barkmann was transferred to 4th Kompanie which was equipped with new Panther tanks.
In late 1943, Ernst Barkmann was promoted to the rank of SS-Unterscharfuhrer. In early 1944, the entire division was transferred to Bordeaux area in southern France for rest and refitting as a panzer division. Following the D-Day (June 6 of 1944), 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich was ordered to move northwards and was committed to battle.
In early July of 1944, Das Reich was moved to Saint Lo to halt the advance of the US Army’s 9th and 30th Infantry Divisions and the 3rd Armored Division. On July 8th, Barkmann’s Kompanie was a spearhead of Regiment’s attack on the advancing American units. On this day, Ernst Barkmann knocked out his first Allied Sherman tank near St.Lo. On July 12th, he destroyed two more Shermans while disabling the third one. During that engagement Barkmann moved his camouflaged Panther to ambush position and awaited for more Allied armor, knocking out three Shermans. After that Ernst Barkmann’s tank was hit by an anti-tank gun which caused fire. He decided to abandon his burning Panther and along with his crew he quickly put out the fire. After that engagement his Panther ended up in the workshop for repairs. After a day of rest, in morning of July 14th, Barkmann was ordered to recover four Panthers that had been cut off behind enemy lines. He succeeded in his task and added three more Shermans to his score.
On the same day at noon, Ernst Barkmann was ordered by the Regimental Commander SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Tychsen to recover wounded German soldiers from their American captors.
Once again he succeeded and in the evening his own Panther was returned to him from the workshop. On July 26th, Barkmann’s Panther suffered from engine problem and was sent to field workshop.When mechanics were working on it, field workshop was attacked by Allied fighter-bombers and Barkmann’s Panther was hit in the engine compartment. By the dawn of July 27th, his Panther was repaired but he was cut off from the rest of the Kompanie and was on his way to rejoin it. On his way back, near the village of Le Lorey, Barkmann was stopped by the retreating German infantrymen who reported that Americans were closing in.
Ernst Barkmann decided to send two of his men to verify that report. They soon returned with news of American column made up of some 15 Shermans and other vehicles approaching.
Then Barkmann moved his tank up the road to the crossroad where he positioned his Panther in the surrounding oak trees, awaiting the enemy. When the American column approached, Ernst Barkmann opened fire, knocking out two leading tanks and then tanker truck.Two Shermans tried to go around burning wreckage that blocked the road and one of them was knocked out followed by the other one.
Ernst Barkmanns (Das Reich, 2nd SS Panzer Division) famous day long solo engagement against an American Armoured breakthrough towards St. Lo, Normandy, 26th July 1944. (art by David Pentland)
In the response, Americans retreated and called up the tactical fighter support and Barkmann’s Panther was damaged and some of the crew members were wounded. Using the element of suprise two Shermans attacked “wounded” Panther but were also knocked out.Barkmann and his crew repaired their Panther and knocked out single Sherman while leaving.His driver managed to moved their damaged Panther to the safety of nearby village of Neufbourg. During that brave engagement often called “Barkmann’s Corner”, Ernst Barkmann destroyed approximately nine Sherman tanks and many other various vehicles.
On July 28th, Barkmann reached Coutances and joined the rest of his Kompanie. During two day period, he destroyed fifteen Shermans and other vehicles. On July 30th, Americans surrounded Granville but Barkmann towing one more damaged Panther was able to break out. In order to destroy their disabled Panther their crew decided to set it on fire and soon by mistake both Panthers caught fire. Both crews were forced to make their way to the German lines 7 kilometers away on foot. Barkmann reached Avranches on August 5th, and was warmly welcome by his comrades who heard about his exploits. For his bravery and skills Ernst Barkmann was recommended for Knight’s Cross and was accepted on August 27th and was awarded on September 5th.
SS-Oberscharfuhrer Barkmann continued his successful career and took part in the Ardennes Offensive in December of 1944, where on December 25th he was seriously wounded. During the Ardennes Offensive, Barkmann’s Panther drove into the group of American tanks from the 2nd Armored Division. Quickly combat begun and outnumbered Barkmann managed to knock out few Sherman tanks. One Sherman rammed Barkmann’s Panther but didn’t cause much damage although both tanks got stuck and Panther’s engine stall. After few minutes, Barkmann’s mechanic managed to restart the engine and Panther retreated with blocked turret. Even with the damage, Barkmann knocked out Sherman that waspursuing him and retreated to safety although his Panther was beyond the point of repair.
In March of 1945, Barkmann was once again fighting with Soviets in the area of town of Stuhlweissenburg, where he knocked out four T-34s and brought the total score of the Das Reich Division for the war so far to 3000 enemy tanks destroyed. At the time Das Reich was exhausted by non-stop fighting and lack of replacement tanks. Barkmann’s unit alone had only nine fully operational vehiclesfrom which three were soon lost to Soviet Josef Stalin tanks.
The remaining six Panthers were ordered to link up with the remnants of the Panzer Regiment of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler commanded by SS-Standartenfuhrer Jochen Peiper.By April of 1945, Barkmann saw action south of Vienna during the fighting in Austria. There his Panther was hit by a mistake by friendly soldiers and Barkmann along with his crew members was wounded. Later on his Panther was disabled in a huge bomb crater and was destroyed by its crew. Ernst Barkmann was able to reach British zone of operation where he was taken into captivity.
During his very successful career, Ernst Barkmann earned Knight’s Cross for his bravery and skills along with the Panzer Assault Badge for 25 and 50 engagements with the enemy. He survived the war and lives in Kisdorf, Germany, where he was the long-time fire-chief and also major (Burgmeister).
[/LEFT]
Mostly Modern Color Video Clips:
Pzkw VI TIGER I
German Tiger tank No 131 at the
Bovington Tank Museum. It is the
only Tiger I left that is capable
of running under its own power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mihak7XPcQ
Bovington UK 1943 Tiger Tank working restored original.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzLRbDzk3mk
Bovington Tiger 2006 scene 1 by Vince Abbott
Tiger I running at Tankfest 2006 in Bovington, England.
The rebuilt engine is running smoothly and shows how the
Tiger would have sounded during the war.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3I1dj7SJ0A
Bovington Tiger 2006 scene 2 by Vince Abbott
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPdEtq_INh0
Bovington Tiger 2006 scene 3 by Vince Abbott
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KmvVQn5m-k
Tiger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1JKd6hiCu4
Tiger Tank 131
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDTtBEdKVqI
Tiger 131 again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DArKBhOlwAY
Tiger 131 Backing Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17zhWLY5kPA
Tankfest 2006 - Tiger 131
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2ecuTygoow
Panzer VI (Tiger 1) and Panzer III at Tankfest 2006
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7Xc7M-N9nw
Inside a German Tiger I tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFzlZbfpQUo
Pzkw VI B King Tiger / Tiger II
Tiger II. in Aberdeen Proving Grounds
8mm movie film taken when 332 arrived at APG in the summer of 1945
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34GezMHX77w
Königstiger 104 is dragged out of one of the halls at Bovington Tank Museum,
17th June 2003.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEpADL9MI9Y
A restored King Tiger driving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSmgMzFdv4M
Tiger II tank - restored & running
From the Musee de Blindes in Saumur, France this footage is of the last running Tiger II panzer.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7696001690439086249&pr=goog-sl
Musee de Blindes in Saumur, France
www.musee-des-blindes.asso.fr
http://www.musee-des-blindes.asso.fr/2blindes/2jpresent.htm
Pzkw V Panther
Restored Panther tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSc6dWyVMhg
Restored Panther is back again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_ZuYstvQ8k
Another restored Panther
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf1KrH1ZelY
Pzkw V Panther versus M26 Pershing - WWII video footage
Duel in Cologne (Koln), Germany.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqH_WEqNK5Y
Sherman Tank
Colour footage of some Sherman tanks during World War 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-7JZIHsRN0
A Bridge Too Far movie clip - Artillery support and Sherman armored column
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCBHtf4hYWQ
A Bridge Too Far movie clip - ambush of Sherman armored column
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbV2v2eBhYE
Tankfest 06 Easy 8 Sherman and Valentine set off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPeBzJduEZc
Sherman tank Firefly from the Royal Army Museum of Brussels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrqqi6OJv4c
Sherman M4A1 "Combat Camel"of the Brussels Army Museum
is going to the garage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ntf7XYUO8
Sherman tank - ‘Ron’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6mzLSvL938
Sherman tank M4A1 driving lesson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La1n_qIFZhs
A Sherman tank driving away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHGYy7wT9bc
Sherman tank in action at Bovington Museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROQCCf1N0oU
Sherman tank M4 105mm “Spit Oil” at Tanks
in town 2006 event, at Mons in Belgium.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bkhhZYKMQU
Sherman tank M4 105mm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyOxeYXXWPA
Sherman tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSEgXZYCzUU
Sherman tank reenactment in Luxembourg (10 september 1944-2004)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6clUhvjYaKg
Sherman M4A1 and Swiss made Panzer 68 in Mons-Belgium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suqOTSxpizQ
Sherman tank running over car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCg4xSq1ezE
Sherman M74 Tank recovery driving past
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn41pW4WCLs
Sherman Tank at Bayeaux War Museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmcfGkk3yTc
Sherman Tank Engine. This is an 1100 Cu in. all aluminum
Ford 4 cam, 32 valve v-8 that is used in a WWII Sherman Tank.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt5uSx3eFYU
Sherman tank M4A1 sound of the Continental R-975-C4 engine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n100GpJ7UB4
T-34 Tank
T34 Tank driving around at the Imperial War Museum Duxford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H2yB97-QnU
Soviet T34 Tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoTgSNtHXFA
Cross of Iron - Battle Scene WW II - Eastern Front
A tribute to James Coburn, Sam Peckinpah, some T34
and the Landsers on the eastern front.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-u24EjzD-Y
Stalingrad movie clip - Germans fighting off a Russian tank and troop
advance near Stalingrad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq5edjlhcaQ
T34 cap.1 Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqYF56cF8z4
T34 cap.2 Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgfZreNYrbo
T34 cap.3 Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLP7Vb0akhA
T34 Tank
Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, driving one of his very own!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osHI0_MRLac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg15U2ruOZc
T-34 russian tank recovered from the swamp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtJkyd3JJWE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZHVgMzfD38
T-34 tank used in Budapest protests 2006
Anti-government protesters start up a T-34 tank that was part
of an exhibition commemorating the 1956 uprising.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohz9NzpkrQ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUbZDhgF8kg
Is it alright if I copy a story from another forum?It is a game community forum and you have to be registered to view the page otherwise.
Is it alright if I copy a story from another forum?
Is all right as long you quote the source.
George…that is a gallery. 
WWII: Were you able to clear a route through?
Langanke: We reached the area of the one-sided fight and shortly drove off the American infantry into a field to the left. Back on the road we were hit by a round from an anti-tank gun and were deeply shocked. The driver and radio operator cried, “We are burning, we can’t see anything anymore.” Here, for the first time in the war, we experienced phosphorus shells. It must have been a towed gun, because I couldn’t see any armor. We backed up a couple of meters and crawled into a small side lane. Just around the corner and out of sight we ran our tank up onto a big heap of ammunition boxes and other junk, thereby killing the motor. Several attempts by the driver to start the motor were in vain. We didn’t dare let the Panther roll forward down that heap because we would be helpless in sight of the enemy. We had to crank up the motor. I jumped out of my turret and put some boxes together so I could stand on them. I stuck in the crank at such an angle that I could force down its handle with my stomach and push it up with my arms. I did this several times as quickly as possible, and finally the motor turned over. Fear increases your strength considerably; normally you needed two men for this action. We then rushed around the corner and, firing with cannon and machine guns, we eliminated the anti-tank gun. The way was now free, and we returned to the head of our column. All that had taken some time, and under the impression that we couldn’t break through the roadblock, Schreiber had decided to turn back, swing to the west and try another route south. I pleaded with him not to do that, pointing out the traffic jams and the fact that, come daylight when aircraft were overhead, there would be no movement at all. He insisted, and I had to obey, of course. At the next corner, we talked to the leader of a small battle group that had already been in contact with the enemy. He was confident he could hold his position. He was too optimistic.
WWII: Was it still dark when you were done with all this?
Langanke: The night was gone by now, and we moved in full daylight. Pretty soon aircraft dotted the sky. First they were busy north and south of us, and we were able to drive another three to four kilometers in the next hour or so, thereby passing St. Martin-de-Cenilly. Then our route was taken care of – after the first attacks, the road was blocked for good. The planes could then, quite calmly, pick target after target. Since there was no defense, it must have been a picnic for those guys in the air. For us on the ground it was terrible. To make it even worse, artillery started shelling us. Here we were with quite a bit of combat capacity and no chance to use it, just being smashed. Our division lost about two-thirds of its weapons and equipment in the pocket. When all was over in the afternoon, I guess the same number of vehicles as were destroyed could still have moved. But the jam on the road was complete. Just before the first attack on our column, we had reached a point some 200 meters from the Hambye-Roncey Road near la Valtolaine. In front of us a burned-out tractor with a big artillery piece and other vehicles blocked the way. Schreiber jumped off our Panther and tried to find out what was going on in front of us. He ran across the Hambye-Roncey Road, but American troops had established a roadblock at that point, and he couldn’t come back. From then on, the rest of the men relied on me.
WWII: Were there no other officers present at that point to take command?
Langanke: Yes, but this was an unusual and unexpected situation. Normally the next rank took over, but this was different. It just happened. Somebody had to do it, and I was the guy on whose tank Schreiber had sat.
WWII: Now that you unexpectedly found yourself in command of this ad hoc force, what did you do?
Langanke: After the first couple of attacks, the radio sets on the back of my Panther caught fire. I quickly opened the back hatch of the turret, leaned out and pushed the ignited stuff off the vehicle. I burned one hand, but it wasn’t too bad. What was real bad was that the planes had seen one tank left down there, seemingly still operable and with the crew in it. They now concentrated on us. It was finally a considerable number that dealt exclusively with us. The continuous rattle of the bullets on all sides of the turret drove you crazy. Then a big bang! In the turret roof there was a hole, where a discharger for smoke grenades should be installed. When that piece of equipment was not available, this opening was covered with a round plate fastened with four bolts. We had such a lid. The enormous number of bullet impacts had broken the bolts and flung the lid away. Daylight in the turret! The loader and myself had the same reaction. We grabbed our blankets, turned them together into a kind of cone and wedged them into the hole so it served as a backstop. Twice, the impact of so many projectiles threw our contraption down, but luckily we had it in again before more bullets rained down on us.
WWII: Can you describe the scene around your tank?
Langanke: Some 20 to 30 meters in front of us a group of paratroopers had been mowed down by the first air attack. Among those pilots must have been some extremely queer characters. Time and again they buzzed this group and fired into the dead bodies. They flew just above the treetops, so they must have seen all the details. Slowly the limbs were torn off, the intestines were spilled. It’s one of the most terrible impressions I remember from the war. The gunner had a view out of the tank with his sighting telescope and its narrow field of vision. That, unfortunately, was pointed at this group of dead soldiers. In this tremendous stress we all had to suffer, the horrible sight tipped the scale, and he cracked up. Hollering and swearing, he wanted to get out. He was for a short while out of his mind. I drew my pistol and stuck the barrel in his neck, hollered back at him and told him to stop playing the crazy idiot. He immediately got back to normal. This man was one of the finest comrades we had, absolutely reliable, sturdy and imperturbable. But I am sure every man exposed long enough to really extreme pressure will have a weak moment.
WWII: Clearly the pressure was mounting. How did you keep your group together?
Langanke: I had to change the situation somehow. We started the motor, turned to the right and hit the hedgerow regardless of the danger for our drive sprockets and reduction drives. Behind the hedgerow there was a very big orchard where we could hide. The planes strafed and bombed that area for a while but then lost interest and gave up. Soon thereafter, one of the roaming soldiers told us that close by, in a bunker at a farmhouse, a regimental commander of some infantry and 10 or 12 officers sat together. I assumed they were discussing what action to take to cross the Hambye-Roncey Road and continue their retreat. I told my crew I would run over and find out how we could join this group. Still close to my tank, I got caught in a burst of artillery fire. All around me shells fell. I felt forlorn, hit the ground and started crawling around in an absolutely senseless way. It was my breakdown. When I had myself under control again, I first ascertained that my crew hadn’t seen me. Most probably there is no closer and unrestricted comradeship than in a tank crew that has to live and fight together through real hard times. If they had watched me crawling, those nice guys would have asked me – in a mighty compassionate way, of course – what kind of beetles I was trying to catch or was it moles or other nonsense like that.
An American halftrack rumbles through the wreckage of Roncey. During his escape, Langanke’s column stumbled upon several halftracks, destroyed them and drove off their crews. (NATIONAL ARCHIVES)
WWII: Once you regained your composure, did you continue to the farm?
Langanke: I got to the bunker, snapped to attention and reported to the regimental commander and asked for orders. He didn’t have any for me, and I left the shelter. For the next two or three hours I was quite busy. I ran back 200-300 meters down the road looking for vehicles from our task force and others. Most of the men who had abandoned their vehicles were back now. I found two operable Panthers and one Panzerkampfwagen IV. With them I was able to move enough obstacles so that our halftrack and wheeled vehicles could pass. We formed quite a column. I told those with me that, come darkness, we would break out. I reported this fact to the regimental commander and checked in another two or three times. He finally told me not to make any noise and wait. He would, under cover of darkness, sneak stealthily through the American blockade with his infantry and all the stragglers, without shooting. I thought he was kidding me, because that was mere nonsense.
WWII: It sounds like that officer was losing his nerve.
Langanke: Shortly after my last encounter, some seasoned parachute noncoms came and said to me: “You poor bastard. You’re the only one around here who doesn’t know what’s cooking. Those guys don’t plan anything. They are going to surrender.” I felt ashamed for my stupidity. I went over to the bunker and told them I would start with my column at 2200 that evening and the hell with them. Then two officers came to my tank. One, a major, was the commander of an assault gun battalion, and the other was his adjutant. They had camouflaged their two vehicles in a sunken lane close by. They asked me whether they could join our column. By that time I had given up wondering why an officer of his rank would ask a platoon leader, who wasn’t even an officer, if he could join instead of taking over command. I then drove with my tank back to the road and broke two passages through the hedgerow on the left side in order to pass the big gun and other destroyed vehicles in front of us. In the attempt to move the destroyed vehicles to the side of the road, one of my Panthers had broken a sprocket wheel and had to be abandoned.
WWII: What other preparations did you make for your anticipated breakout?
Langanke: I set up a march formation. First my tank with grenadiers on the left side and about 50 to 60 paratroopers on the right side as a safeguard against close combat fighters with bazookas. Then the two assault guns, the wheeled vehicles of our task force, various stragglers, self-propelled infantry guns and mobile flak followed. The rear was brought up by the Panzer IV and my second Panther. The frequency of our radio communication was set, and at 2200 hours we started. Of course, no scouts had moved at all before this.
WWII: Had the other three Panthers of your platoon been knocked out by that time?
Langanke: No. The second Panther that took part in the breakout was the only one from my platoon left. The commander’s name was Panzer. Sounds funny! The other Panthers were stuck in traffic or mechanically disabled. On the right side a farm was in flames. In the wavering light I thought I saw a Sherman in the field to the left. We fired twice and hit it, but it didn’t burn. Then I drove full speed across the Hambye-Roncey Road, where I expected stiff American resistance and, if I remember correctly, we rolled over an anti-tank gun. I shot into the lane that led into the main road from the other side and stopped. Passing the intersection, I saw two Shermans to my right side standing at right angles, sticking their heads into the hedgerow. Now I realized these were the machine guns that had fired at our paratroopers when we started and had wounded a number of them. We had to be quick to use the surprise effect, so I ordered the assault guns to rush to the crossing, turn right and knock out the two tanks that showed them their sides. They hesitated and started deliberating. I was enraged. I turned my turret and told them to start immediately or I would knock them out. They did, turned right and had no problems destroying the American tanks. I proceeded down the lane. To my right side there was a wider field with a hedgerow bordering it. Along this hedge a number of armored vehicles were parked, pointed toward the main road. I was lucky. We hit the last one, probably an ammunition carrier, and it was like fireworks at a summer festivity. The flare ammunition with the different colors was a fantastic sight. The whole area was illuminated, and I could easily pick out another four to six of these armored halftracks. I don’t remember the exact number. With all this, a great many soldiers of the infantry units behind the north-south road were encouraged to jump up and follow us. They did this in an unmilitary manner, with shouts and yells, firing in the air and the like. At first I was appalled, but then I realized it was quite useful. The Americans seemed to be completely surprised and even dumbfounded. They left a number of cars, which were taken over by Germans, and there was practically no further resistance. I drove on and maybe 150 meters in front of me an American tank raced from the right toward the road. We wanted to stop it, and that thing happened that all tank crews are most afraid of – you pull the trigger or push the button, and the gun doesn’t fire. Figuring that was the end for us, I turned my head and got an even bigger shock. From the south, four American tanks rushed onto the road that joined ours, which came from la Valtolaine. They turned back and disappeared at full speed. I again looked forward. That first tank had such momentum when it hit the road that it couldn’t stop in time and got stuck with its nose in the ditch next to the road. Only with great trouble could it get out, turn around and get away. We were sitting there in our Panther, not only undamaged but even unmolested and almost couldn’t believe it
German Marder III self-propelled guns sit idle amid the ruins of Roncey following the fighting. (NATIONAL ARCHIVES)
Langanke: The column we had started with comprised about 300 men. By now it was around double that number. As we moved farther, our progress was made easier by a number of captured [Allied] vehicles. Some stragglers joined us, while others separated and chose different ways. We were a motley, mixed bunch. I figured that combat action would occur in this intersection area, which appeared to be more than a mere roadblock. I ordered the other Panther to take the lead, and I brought up the rear. Radio communication still worked, and we began our erratic wandering. We first reached Lengronne, continued to Carences, crossed the Sienne River and drove on to Gavray.
WWII: What did you find in Gavray?
Langanke: When we reached the town, it was under fire. Here our column became mixed with a number of other vehicles. Outside the town we continued without loss and turned toward St. Denis-le-Gast, but before reaching it, we left the road and drove to the bridge at la Baleine. As we approached, our movement nearly stopped. I climbed out of my Panther to find out the reason. Artillery fire, which continued sporadically, or bombing had damaged this bridge, the sides of which were partly destroyed. The drivers were very reluctant to go on it. I then took over, organized the approach to the bridge and directed each vehicle across. When our tank crossed, as the last vehicle, only half the width of the tracks found footing in some places. On the south side of the river, tactical signs of quite a number of units were installed, and the column could dissolve. Most of them now knew where to go. My self-appointed mission was finished. It was full daylight by now, and the first planes appeared. We drove into a lane that led up a hill, and at the first farm with an orchard we stopped. I told the crew we would now have a good nap after three nights of nearly no sleep at all. We crawled under our tank and were lost to the world around us. It was high noon when we were awake again, and we were alone.
M4A1(76) Sherman
WWII: What happened to the remaining Panther of your platoon, Panzer’s tank?
Langanke: Panzer went along with the vehicles from Deutschland and reached the regiment. My crew and I couldn’t continue after the river crossing, we were completely spent. The driver and gunner fell asleep every so often while we were moving, and I was totally exhausted. When I got all the vehicles over the river – which was a beastly business, with yelling, swearing and threatening – all my energy was gone. Physically and mentally we were just done, we couldn’t continue, we had to get some sleep. That was the reason we stopped alone at the orchard.
WWII: What happened after you finally woke?
Langanke: Some 100 meters away we saw a Panther on the right side of the lane pointed toward us. From the left side another lane joined ours. There, Americans must have come up the hill, because the Panther was knocked out. It had a hole in the gun mantlet.
WWII: Was this Panther knocked out before you went to sleep?
Langanke: I don’t know, but I can’t believe that the Americans were already there when we reached the farm. I went over into the field on the left and met some German soldiers. They told me that there were already plenty of American troops down in the valley, and you could hear it, too. I went back and then had a mighty strenuous afternoon. The sky now swarmed with planes. I would run ahead some 50-100 meters, watch the direction of the flight of the various groups of aircraft, give a sign when it was favorable for us to move, and then the tank would race to its new position. After some hours, shortly before dark, we met a supply column of our division, where we could partly replenish our fuel. In this area Americans must have been present, because there were no planes above. We had lost one wheel set from artillery fire, and the bogies had damaged several track links. With a one-kilogram standard explosive charge we blew off the damaged part and were lucky not to harm the other tracks and suspension parts. During the night we completely lost track of our direction. In the morning we arrived at Beauchamps. Then we found a road sign that told us we had only 15 kilometers to Granville. That gave us our orientation back. We turned and sneaked around Villedieu-les-Poêles, evaded American columns several times on the roads south of that town, turned north, then east of it and reported back to our regiment during the night of July 31-August 1, in the Percy area. The regimental commander had already heard about our action and was mighty glad to see us, all the more so as he now had one more operational tank. Before the night passed we were on the way to another roadblock.
For his part in ensuring that hundreds of soldiers and their equipment managed to escape from the Roncey Pocket, Fritz Langanke was recommended for the Knight’s Cross on August 7, 1944. He was awarded that medal on August 27, 1944.
[Scource:["]http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1491929/posts]](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1491929/posts)
The link is dead though
Thanks Panzerknacker 
I posted a couple more Sherman clips to it from the movie A Bridge Too Far
http://www.ww2incolor.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94633&postcount=48
Very good story Acetankiller. A Panther with penetration in the gun mantlet ?.. 
I wonder with what weapon they do that.
posted a couple more Sherman clips to it from the movie A Bridge Too Far
Very nice, that was a movie, I gues that today the holliwood gurus would draw those DC-3 with 3d computer graphic. :rolleyes:
It is time to speak up the truth!
Panter was a Soviet tank and only due the American and Icelandic
cold war propaganda the truth has been widthheld from the public.
Here is photo from 1938 showing the wedding party of one of the tank regiment officers.
¿?
No more vokda before posting.
Panther railway Transport:
Panzerknacker,
Why do you have to be so damn serious? This is not Polish-Russian relationship, right? 
He absplutly serious when somebody touchs ( or doubt) his knowlege in german wearponry This is too personal question for him( rather then the polish-russian problems), right Panzerknacker?
Me no comprende humora hispanica!
By the way, the picture of the Panters with the stars is real, not Photoshoped.
Depicted is the unit of Senior Leitenant Sotnikov, 1945. See bottom of this page: http://www.zorich.ru/articles/b19_2.htm