German armored forces in action during Unternehmen Zitadelle in the Summer of 1943

0:00 Later model Panzer III variants armed with the 5cm KwK 39 L/60 main gun followed by an early Tiger tank with its Feifel pre-filters at the rear and drum type commander's cupola. There is also a flag draped over the turret for identification from the air. In subsequent shots a StuG assault gun appears followed by a relatively rare Sturmpanzer 43 "Brummbär" that put a 15cm howitzer on a Panzer IV chassis. This would have been from the first series of 60 vehicles that had entered production just a few months prior to the footage being filmed, seeing combat at Kursk for the first time with Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 216.
0:25 Tigers and StuG IIIs on the move followed by a battery of Sd.Kfz. 165 "Hummel" self-propelled 15cm howitzers in action, followed by a Tiger and Panzer III, with the latter lighter vehicles often operating in close concert with and support of the heavier tanks. An Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track rolls past with the aftermath of a large explosion in the background followed by intermediate model Panzer IIIs armed with the 5cm KwK 38 L/42 main gun and a T-34/76 burning in the distance.
0:53 An Sd.Kfz. 251 nearest to the camera accompanying a pair of smaller Sd.Kfz. 250 half-tracks, with the vehicles bearing the trident insignia associated with 2. Panzer-Division. The burning remains of a blown apart T-34/76 follow, with the tank appearing to have been shot through the barrel. In the subsequent shot German personnel examine a T-34/76 Model 1943 has driven over a fellow tank stuck in a ditch. An Sd.Kfz. 124 "Wespe" self-propelled gun mounting a 10.5cm howitzer on a Panzer II chassis rolls by, with this type first seeing combat just months before the Citadel offensive.
1:16 The barely recognizable remains of a US-built M3A1 Stuart light tank supplied to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease, followed by a Panzerbefehlswagen III command tank with a dummy gun and carrying wounded personnel. A T-34/76 appears burned out in a treeline followed by a similar tank of earlier vintage with the single turret hatch open, followed by BM-13N Katyusha rocket launchers on US-built Studebaker US6 2½-ton 6×6 trucks and an Sd.Kfz. 7 half-track towing a 15cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 heavy howitzer.
1:53 Panzer IV Ausf. G fording a small river followed by a Panzer III Ausf. J fitted with Schürzen spaced armor plates. In the subsequent shot a battery of Sd.Kfz. 124 "Wespe" and Sd.Kfz. 165 "Hummel" self-propelled guns are seen firing, followed by a relatively rare "Grille" Ausf. H mounting a 15cm howitzer on a Panzer 38(t) chassis.
2:29 StuG IIIs advance supported by infantry and a Tiger fires its main gun as Soviet tanks burn in the distance. Prisoners are escorted to the rear as Tigers move forward and fire at distant targets, followed by shots of troops observing burning T-34/76 tanks. An early StuG III Ausf. G with extra armor plates bolted on rolls past, followed by Tigers, a Wespe and a mid production Tiger.
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[@AussieVet]

Crystal clear footage!

[@jamarico16]

Stunning quality !

[@northernskys]

Just awesome footage as usual. Quite a mix of vehicles, and tanks. Loved seeing the "Brummbar", and the "Grill". You don't see many shots of them, especially the "Grill". Great work as usual bringing us some amazing shots!

[@jbrush91]

„Grille“ 😉

[@sheepdip6452]

Very cool, great footage. Wow.

[@mmotorhead]

Awesome footage... lots of references ... thanks a lot

[@richstone2627]

Love it. I could watch hours of this. I had some old footage but it can no longer be viewed due to age and condition.

[@derekbaker3279]

WOW! What spectacular footage rendered with exquisite resolution & dynamic range! I swear that just this 3 minutes, 23 seconds of footage contains a couple dozen 'screenshots' that could inspire excellent modeller dioramas! Thank you!

[@johnfranborra]

Just one word for what's conveyed: apocalyptic. All that armor, munitions, space, carnage. Landscape reminds me of my boyhood home on the Kansas prairie.

[@derekbaker3279]

I agree John..."apocalyptic" indeed!👍FWIW, the scale of Zitadelle & the amount of steel dominating the battles remains mind-boggling to me as well.🤔 Regarding the landscape....also an excellent point!👍Yes, the "Steppes" of southern Russia & Ukraine are almost identical to the Canadian & U.S. "Prairies", both in terms of climate & terrain.... just as the more northern "Taiga" that stretches from Sweden to Finland, then across northern Russia to Siberia also mirrors the pine forests (Boreal Coniferous Forest) on the Canadian Shield & upper parts of the states of Michigan, Wisconsin & Minnesota. For me, this helps me imagine the conditions in which the bloodiest war in the history of humankind took place, e.g. the brutally frigid winds of winter blowing across featureless white fields (*), and humid, mosquito-infested summers among the pines. Yuck! (*) superbly represented in the closing parts of the epic 1993 movie "Stalingrad" (IMHO, the best war movie of all time..even better than SPR.).

[@LeonardGarcia-yn2ej]

5 STARS ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank You 🙏🏼 For Sharing Salutations from Long Beach Ca.🌊🧜‍♀️🐬⚓️🏴‍☠️🍀🌃

[@malemesjager41]

Greatest Combat Soldiers and Weapons....PERIOD

[@repeat7023]

The Grestest dont start and then lose wars. By the way two times. They are the worst. If want to win a war i would never ever ask a german. 😂

[@vampi-chan3793]

@@repeat7023 They only lost cuz they fought basically against the entire world while having very bad allies. But they were far superior in a lot of aspects.

[@peterpan3547]

​@@repeat7023Genau! Und wenn es nicht läuft, nimmt man Atombomben...😎 Nur Eines, mein Hase- Beim dritten Mal, brennt auch Dein Hintern!😁👍😇🙏

[@gweher43]

@@repeat7023 one on one they are greatest. Political maneuvering and alliances they are the worst

[@bcgraham3512]

​@@repeat7023 It's a bit tricky when you start by being surrounded.

[@sgtellioman]

I love this channel

[@man_vs_life]

Really interesting footage, thank you.

[@limingchung9130]

Partly of pictures first seen ever

[@user-un1ce8yr9l]

Грамотно воевали.

[@HedgeWalker]

They really did try for us, lads 😢

[@hiroshikangaroo]

listen to PanzerFront music while this watching.

[@RupertMay]

Looking like IVAN had a bad day

[@N_Wheeler]

1:56 the driver got a lap full of water, I think.

[@Grandizer8989]

The last of the Good ole Days for the Germans

[@bwilliams463]

1:19 Busted M3 Lee, I think. Another instance where the only time you see Soviet Lend Lease equipment is in Axis combat footage.

[@derekbaker3279]

Question: Who is the tank commander featured from 2:42 ? I know that some Tiger commanders (e.g. Wittman, Carius, etc..), Pz. Kpfw IV commanders (e.g von Ribbentrop's son, Rudolf) and Panther commanders (e.g. Ernst Barkmann) who were propaganda favourites at the time & participated in Zitadelle, but I do not recognize this man.

[@Grandizer8989]

Stephen Miller

[@otdosa]

1:00 isn't this a wreck of an ISU-152? Judging by the gun with its tip?

[@flatheadgg2443]

1:07 sometimes you look at things and just wonder how the fuck they ended up there

[@ondrejdobrota7344]

Mabye good current music under it Eternxlkz - SLAY!

[@markusram8715]

👍👍👍

[@Oligodendrocyte139]

That's a coincidence 😊. The German WW2 Archive channel has just posted the full version with English subtitles.

[@elykeom1]

The tank commander looked too old for a ww2 battlefront :(

[@ukasz-zm9qc]

Not at all.

[@user-qo1us9oc7g]

the soviets got mauled pretty bad on the vast open steppes

[@Vladimir61532]

2:41 a Tiger from DR shooting ! Like 10 times :)

[@ik8970]

Brilliant footage. For me seen first time. But it shows the view of the German Propaganda company’s. I would be very interesting a view of the Desasters of Zitadelle. E.g. of the first 200 Panthers badly leaded, for example by Hyazinth von Strachwitz running with his tanks blind in traps, artillery fire, mine fields and hidden T34 and anti tank guns, loosing almost all of his Panzers and many crews

[@dharmindercheema8842]

Koye kuch bol Germany kol technology full c jawan

[@elkewehner4789]

Man stelle sich den Technischen riesigen Aufwand vor,dem sie sich gestellt haben... R.I.P ♡♡♡♡♡🇩🇪🙋‍♂️

[@Tersi]

Actually, in 43 the Russians defeated the Krauts at the Kursk Bulge, and here some apparently unkilled fascists at the beginning of the battle ride

[@swann433]

Like they are doing in Ukraine right now? Lol...500,000 dead so far for nothing. Russians are the worst soldiers and military in all of history.

[@Ferreal92]

Just a vast expanse of nothing.

[@mitya_the_traveler]

Очень опасный враг был. Слава советским воинам

[@Simon-vv3kl]

rip to all who died

[@Germanguy6969]

German casualties on the Kursk front: 430.000 Soldiers and ca. 2900 tanks and assault guns.

[@hendrikokara913]

any source for these numbers?

[@Vladimir61532]

ниписдИ

[@Germanguy6969]

@@hendrikokara913 Battle of Kursk Wikipedia.

[@josefhorndl3469]

@@Germanguy6969 During Unternehmen (Operation) Zitadelle 11.043 German soldiers were killed or missing (in action) and more than 40.000 wounded. The whole "Battle of Kursk" (incl. Zitadelle): 45.444 German soldiers kia or mia and about 120.000 wounded. Please read your sources again and you will see ;)

[@Germanguy6969]

@@josefhorndl3469 your source?

[@swann433]

Lotta Russian fan boys here crying about all their tanks being blown up....amazing they had anyone left by the end of WW2. And look how bad they are in Ukraine...

[@Ze_Hans]

Lotta german and soviet fanboys crying over each other....