SS Panzers Hit the Twin Villages and Bazooka Teams Stopped Them
Mil Undecided
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SS Panzers Hit the Twin Villages and Bazooka Teams Stopped Them
Dawn on the eighteenth of December, nineteen forty-four, in the fog outside a Belgian village called Rocherath. A column of Panthers from the twelfth ess ess Panzer Division came down the road with the longest gun and the thickest frontal armor on that field.
The matchup, laid bare:
December 17-19, 1944, on the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge: the rebuilt 12th SS Panzer Division hits the Twin Villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath
The Panther out-ranged and out-armored every American tank, but fog cut sight to about forty feet and took its long gun out of the fight
Riflemen with cheap bazookas stalked the panzers street by street, hitting the thin side plates the front armor never covered
Lt Col McKinley's battalion held the Lausdell crossroads through the night; PFC William Soderman and Sgt Jose Lopez each earned the Medal of Honor
Seventeen knocked-out Panthers sat in front of Rocherath when the 12th SS pulled back with nothing to show for three days
The call sheet on Twin Villages is pinned up top.
Subscribe for more armor history, and call the next matchup in the comments.
#WW2 #BattleOfTheBulge #Panther #Bazooka #ElsenbornRidge #12thSSPanzer #Krinkelt
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Panthers knocked out in front of Rocherath: seventeen tanks. (script)
German AFVs destroyed in the Rocherath area: roughly 47-48 (disputed). (tankmuseum.org)
Bazooka share of the Rocherath kills: more than 20 armored vehicles. (tankmuseum.org)
Engagement range in the fog: about 40 feet. (script)
Panther main gun: long 75mm, penetrates at over 1 mile. (sonar)
57mm anti-tank gun result: one effective turret hit in the whole engagement. (after-action report DTIC ADA232842)
McKinley's 1st Bn, 9th Inf at Lausdell: about 600 in, just over 200 out. (eucmh.com / sonar)
Dates and place: December 17-19, 1944, Krinkelt-Rocherath, Belgium. (script)
SS Panzers Hit the Twin Villages and Bazooka Teams Stopped Them
Mil Undecided
5,019 views
SS Panzers Hit the Twin Villages and Bazooka Teams Stopped Them
Dawn on the eighteenth of December, nineteen forty-four, in the fog outside a Belgian village called Rocherath. A column of Panthers from the twelfth ess ess Panzer Division came down the road with the longest gun and the thickest frontal armor on that field.
The matchup, laid bare:
December 17-19, 1944, on the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge: the rebuilt 12th SS Panzer Division hits the Twin Villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath
The Panther out-ranged and out-armored every American tank, but fog cut sight to about forty feet and took its long gun out of the fight
Riflemen with cheap bazookas stalked the panzers street by street, hitting the thin side plates the front armor never covered
Lt Col McKinley's battalion held the Lausdell crossroads through the night; PFC William Soderman and Sgt Jose Lopez each earned the Medal of Honor
Seventeen knocked-out Panthers sat in front of Rocherath when the 12th SS pulled back with nothing to show for three days
The call sheet on Twin Villages is pinned up top.
Subscribe for more armor history, and call the next matchup in the comments.
#WW2 #BattleOfTheBulge #Panther #Bazooka #ElsenbornRidge #12thSSPanzer #Krinkelt