Armored wedge
The armored wedge was used for the first time in the tank battle of Kursk during World War II . It is a tank formation in which heavy tanks (then e.g. of the Panzer VI Tiger type ) form the tip of a wedge, medium-weight tanks (then e.g. of the Panzer V Panther type ) form the flanks and weaker ones (then e.g. B. of the type Panzer III or IV ) are positioned protected in the middle. The heavy tanks at the front were supposed to draw fire, while the enemy gun crews had to constantly realign their anti-tank guns ( anti-tank guns ) due to the depth of the formation . The armored wedge should act like a spearhead and was primarily intended for use against tight anti- tank bars .
literature
- Wolfgang Schneider : Tank tactics - German operational principles 1935 until today . Armor Research 2008, ISBN 3-935107-12-9 .
- Rudolf Steiger : Tank Tactics as Reflected in German War Diaries 1939–1941 . Verlag Rombach (1973), ISBN 3-7930-0171-7 .
- Oskar Munzel : tank tactics . Vowinckel Verlag (1959).