The Germans were caught badly off-guard by the first encounters with the KV-series spent the rest of the war building bigger and bigger tanks under the assumption that the Allies were working on similar projects and that Germany needed to beat them to the punch.
Also as said, a lot of the even whackier late-war designs like the Ratte and Monster were essentially vehicles (pun intended) for graft and embezzlement.
To be fair, I don't think it was as obvious at the time where tank development would be going. The one thing I don't get (I understand why but it's just so painfully in your face) is how Germans kept building bigger tanks while even Soviet subhumans understood that maybe you should try and keep them small even if you add tons of armour because the bigger it is the more armour you need.
Didn't they convert a bunch of them into makeshift bunkers when they got rid of them? I vaguely remember reading something about that.
11 months ago
Anonymous
I doubt it. By the time they were retired they would have been useless for bunkers. I assume they were scrubbed as only like 38 are still in existence.
11 months ago
RC-135 Rivet Joint
possibly used them for static defenses(tank turret on top of bunker) on the Pacific Islands in the Soviet Far East
>Volkssturm and Maus
Vgh, peak germanic military. I conquered Western Europe with such an army comp in HOI. >ywn see a suicidal paradrop that would make the vdv blush behind the lines of the British encircled at the Gibraltar strait irl
It actually unironically is. Peak German autism, heaviest tank to date which requires a miracle to move at all surrounded by old malnourished men with last resort weapons hammered from scrap steel.
Replace the tank with a heavily armored knight and volkssturm with dirty illiterate peasants with polearms made from scythes and you get the same feeling, which makes it so much more visceral when it's not set in medieval times but in industrialized, modern world.
>spent the rest of the war building bigger and bigger tanks under the assumption that the Allies were working on similar projects
They weren't entirely wrong since the Allies did have some pretty heavy stuff in the works, they just weren't able to come up with effective counters that weren't teutonic autismbunkers like the Jagdtiger.
I don't know but knowing porsche it could've been. He was an insufferable primadonna and wanted to shoehorn his overly complicated systems to be mass produced at all costs, even when simpler and more reliable designs were introduced.
>build big tank >big tank can't be kill >big tank kill all >big tank cheaper than 100 smol tank >big tank kill 300 smol tank >big tank cheaper in long run
This was the logic behind super heavy tanks and it would have worked if it wasn't for air and arty.
The victories are getting closer to Berlin every day so the logistics of moving big tanks keeps getting easier. Might as well design something that can be deployed to defend the front steps of the factory that built it
it big 🙂
Keep engineers looking busy so they can keep embezzling and not get drafted to fight. A lot of late war german projects are the same story.
The Germans were caught badly off-guard by the first encounters with the KV-series spent the rest of the war building bigger and bigger tanks under the assumption that the Allies were working on similar projects and that Germany needed to beat them to the punch.
Also as said, a lot of the even whackier late-war designs like the Ratte and Monster were essentially vehicles (pun intended) for graft and embezzlement.
To be fair, I don't think it was as obvious at the time where tank development would be going. The one thing I don't get (I understand why but it's just so painfully in your face) is how Germans kept building bigger tanks while even Soviet subhumans understood that maybe you should try and keep them small even if you add tons of armour because the bigger it is the more armour you need.
They didn't, until Khruschev banned development of vehicles over 37 tons.
>T-10M remained in russian service until at least 1996
Surprising we haven't seen any yet.
Didn't they convert a bunch of them into makeshift bunkers when they got rid of them? I vaguely remember reading something about that.
I doubt it. By the time they were retired they would have been useless for bunkers. I assume they were scrubbed as only like 38 are still in existence.
possibly used them for static defenses(tank turret on top of bunker) on the Pacific Islands in the Soviet Far East
No
Hey I was close enough
No
>Volkssturm and Maus
Vgh, peak germanic military. I conquered Western Europe with such an army comp in HOI.
>ywn see a suicidal paradrop that would make the vdv blush behind the lines of the British encircled at the Gibraltar strait irl
It actually unironically is. Peak German autism, heaviest tank to date which requires a miracle to move at all surrounded by old malnourished men with last resort weapons hammered from scrap steel.
Replace the tank with a heavily armored knight and volkssturm with dirty illiterate peasants with polearms made from scythes and you get the same feeling, which makes it so much more visceral when it's not set in medieval times but in industrialized, modern world.
>spent the rest of the war building bigger and bigger tanks under the assumption that the Allies were working on similar projects
They weren't entirely wrong since the Allies did have some pretty heavy stuff in the works, they just weren't able to come up with effective counters that weren't teutonic autismbunkers like the Jagdtiger.
Appears to be just a good solid tank.
Hitler's wunderbrappens were out of control
Not to be that guy but the Maus wasn't Hitlers idea at all. It was ordered by the OKW
Wasn't that more of a Ferdinand Porsche special idiocy?
I don't know but knowing porsche it could've been. He was an insufferable primadonna and wanted to shoehorn his overly complicated systems to be mass produced at all costs, even when simpler and more reliable designs were introduced.
The Big Boss wants a bigger tank.
So he gets a bigger tank, even if all the military guys know it's fricking stupid.
Autismus.
Keep adding more armor. What could go wrong? :^)
The heavy tank battalions had success, so I assume it was a logical step to make even heavier tanks. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA415948
germans didnt count a tank that got repaired as a loss.
What's your point?
>build big tank
>big tank can't be kill
>big tank kill all
>big tank cheaper than 100 smol tank
>big tank kill 300 smol tank
>big tank cheaper in long run
This was the logic behind super heavy tanks and it would have worked if it wasn't for air and arty.
but killing tanks isn't the primary job of tanks
Depends on the size
This became the defacto purpose of the German heavy tank battalions once they were no longer on the offensive trying to make breakthroughs.
Plopping this down on a tabletop wargaming board to see historical accuracy oldfarts seethe
They could not let the French go uncontested. The Maus is heavier but I believe the Char2c is larger by volume.
>larger by volume
Who will step up and make the loudest tank?
What do you think the T14 was for, anon?
Honestly, if you know it's over, frick it greenlight! Let's make it weird!
To keep the tank designers away from the battlefield
>fix the Panther's transmission
>make an useless tank
The victories are getting closer to Berlin every day so the logistics of moving big tanks keeps getting easier. Might as well design something that can be deployed to defend the front steps of the factory that built it
guys don't show him the Panzer 1000
longer effective range than JS2 and ISU152