Nazi Germany’s 5 Most Lethal Weapons of War

Kyle Mizokami

The forces of Nazi Germany in World War II were some of the most
formidable fielded in any war. Backed by German science, engineering and modern
mass-production techniques, it was a new type of highly mechanized warfare.
Faster paced and deadlier than the armed forces that fought in the Great War
just twenty years before, it overwhelmed slower-moving enemies and helped
Germany subjugate an entire continent. Here are five examples of German war
technology that very nearly ended Western civilization as we know it.

The Panzerkampfwagen VI (Tiger
Tank)

The tank’s modern reputation as a fast, hard-hitting, deadly war
chariot is largely due to the German Army’s use of the tank in the early years
of World War II. Although first invented by the British in World War I, the
Wehrmacht and SS took the tank to its logical conclusion, in doing so swinging
the pendulum of war from defense as the dominant form of warfare back to the
offense.

Although the bulk of German tank forces was composed of smaller
tanks such as the Panzerkampfwagen III and IV, the Panzerkampfwagen VI—or Tiger
tank—was designed to be the decisive factor on the armored battlefield. At
fifty-four tons, it was considerably larger than contemporary tanks, and
together with its thick armor and eighty-eight-millimeter main gun, made the
Tiger a so-called “heavy” tank. Introduced in 1942, the Tiger’s KwK 36 gun
could gut any mass-produced Allied tank built during the war, and the tank’s
thick armored hide could shrug off most Allied antitank rounds.

This story
was originally published by The National Interest

Tigers were organized into heavy tank battalions and deployed by
German Army commanders where they were needed the most. As a result, unlike
other German tanks which prioritized protection and mobility over firepower in
a general offensive, the Tiger emphasized firepower and protection over
mobility, as it typically had specific objectives in mind.

Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter