Profile of Affe

Jump back to quoted post30 Jul 2014, 18:48 PMcoh2player

That doesn't mean that they were engaged in combat.

Most of the 501th SS' tigers did not fight at all.

The 506th had little presence in the battle as well.

Ninth Army's advance through the Rur plains
..............
Meanwhile in the north 2nd Armored Division also had commenced its attack on Gereonsweiler and Linnich. The advance was very steady, and already on the next day the towns Puffendorf and Immendorf were taken. This alarmed the German command and Rundstedt authorized the release of the 9th Panzer Division for a heavy armored counterattack against the two towns. Attached to this unit was the schwere Panzerabteilung 506 (506th Heavy Tank Battalion) with about 36 King Tiger tanks. At Immersdorf, the Germans were able to break into the town, but were soon repelled at close quarter fighting at dawn. The main fighting however was at Puffendorf. Since 2nd Armored Division also wanted to continue its advance towards Gereonsweiler, the division was caught in the open when about 30 German tanks approached it. In the ensuing battle, the Americans were pushed back into Puffendorf with heavy losses. Fighting continued then around the towns. German losses for this day were 11 tanks, while the 2nd Armored Division lost about 57 tanks in the fighting.

Jump back to quoted post30 Jul 2014, 18:40 PMcoh2player

I've studied the battle of the bulge and I don't remember any Tiger Is being actually used in combat.

Some of the Tiger IIs were encountered in the 6th SS army's sector (attached to KG Peiper in La Gleize and elsewhere) but most the battalion did not manage to engage US forces in combat.

Jump back to quoted post30 Jul 2014, 18:20 PMcoh2player

It's difficult to say, as the US army rarely encountered Tiger Is in 44-45. The 3 Tiger I bats were used in Normandy but primarily in the UK/CW sector. They were already being refitted with Tiger IIs by the time the falaise pocket closed.

The Sherman jumbos were issued pro-rata in platoons to US Sherman battalions. They were not that popular as they had less operational readiness and the weight stressed the Sherman's components too much. (lower than the superb 90-95% that US tank battalions generally had). The Sherman was not designed to carry that kind of weight.