From the early days of World War II, it was clear that the Wehrmacht's antitank units would need to be motorized as existing horse- or automobile-drawn units were too slow to be effective. Initially, antitank guns were mounted onto available, usually obsolete, tank chassis, such as the Panzerj輍er I and II. However German engineers would soon turn to the heavy chasses of the Panzer IV, the Panther, and the Tiger for their tank hunters. It became apparent during the invasion of France that enemy antitank guns were both more powerful and better armored, and improvement became a priority during Barbarossa as German units faced off against the new Soviet tanks. The appearance of the Soviet T-34 in July 1941 meant that the Germans had to quickly come up with something equally powerful. The result was the motorized panzerj輍er, faster and more mobile than older towed versions. This was followed in 1942 by the introduction of the 7.5cm gun. Further designs and modifications were informed by rep
The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" was one of 38 divisions of the Waffen-SS in World War II. Notorious for its brutailty, most notably a mass execution of British prisoners in the battle of France
