Leopard’s Guide: The Tiger I Heavy Tank

The Tiger I tank, also known as the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. H, was Germany’s penultimate heavy tank for most of World War II; and it shocked the Allied and Soviet armies when they first encountered it. The Tiger battled fast moving Shermans in the desert mountains of North Africa, hordes of T-34s on the Russian tundra, and stout British Churchill tanks in the hedgerows of Normandy; all the while dealing with chronic shortages of fuel and spare parts. However, the battlefield is not the only part of the story of the Tiger tank; for in a total war the factory floor is as important as the front-lines. The Tiger had many flaws that ultimately made it a poor choice for this kind of warfare; as it’s prohibitive cost represented not just wasted resources and man-hours; but also wasted opportunities to invest in better air cover or more economical land platforms such as the Panther or the Stug. This book aims to look at the big picture in regards to the Tiger tank; from the evolution of heavy tank doctrine in the blitzkrieg theory (as influenced by the Spanish Civil War) to the German assembly methods that were thankfully unprepared to churn out these armored behemoths. In addition time will also be spent on the Soviet T-34 tank as it is important to understand the primary opponent of the Tiger to know why the designers made the decisions that they did. Numerous photos throughout the book, from all sides, help fully illustrate the impact the Tiger had; and why it was inevitably defeated by the Allies.