The Panzer IV is often called "the workhorse of the Wehrmacht", yet, I looked at the numbers production and deployment and it just does not add up with some minor exceptions.
Yet, the problem is bigger than just a wrong "nickname", since the name carries large assumptions about mass production (efficiency) and tactical aspects as well, as such the term "workhorse" does a disservice by creating concepts that are fundamentally wrong.
We also look at the Sherman and T-34 in comparison that illustrate that the Panzer IV was mostly an "imagined workhorse" or "absent workhorse" not a real one.

Cover Image: Panzer IV at the Tank Museum at Bovington, 2022. Cover Design by vonKickass.

DISCLOSURE: I was invited by the Deutsche Panzermuseum in 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2023.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DasPanzermuseum/featured

Sherman's from https://www.ww2armor.org/ big thanks to Steve, Josh and the others!

Various footage recorded at Militracks 2019 at the Overloon War Museum: https://www.militracks.nl - https://www.oorlogsmuseum.nl/en/home/

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»» SOURCES ««

Jentz, Thomas L. (Hg.): Panzertruppen I: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany’s Tank Force, 1933-1942, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.: Atglen, PA, USA, 1996.

Jentz, Thomas L. (Hg.): Panzertruppen II: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany’s Tank Force; 1943-1945, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.: Atglen, PA, USA, 1996.

Töppel, Roman: Die Offensive gegen Kursk 1943: Legenden, Mythen und Propaganda. Master's thesis, Dresden University of Technology, 2001.

Pöhlmann, Markus: Der Panzer und die Mechanisierung des Krieges: Eine deutsche Geschichte 1890 bis 1945, Ferdinand Schöningh: Paderborn, Germany, 2016.

Schwarzmann, Peter: Panzerketten: Die Gleisketten der deutschen Kettenfahrzeuge des Zweiten Weltkrieges, Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus: Königswinter, Germany, 2013.

Zetterling, Niklas: Normandy 1944: German Military Organization, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness, Fully revised edition, Casemate: Philadelphia, 2019.

Zetterling, Niklas/Frankson, Anders: Kursk 1943: A Statistical Analysis, Frank Cass: London, UK, 2000.

BArch, RH 10/101K: Anlage 6 zu Gen. Insp. PzTru, Abt. Org / Kartei Nr. 2500 / 44 g.K. vom 15.8.44

Buckley, John: British Armour in the Normandy Campaign, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Ltd: London, UK, 2006.

Michaels, Conrad: Rüstungsmanagement der Ministerien Todt und Speer das Beispiel Panzerentwicklung/Panzerkommission, Aschendorff Verlag: Münster, Germany, 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_combat_vehicle_production_during_World_War_II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_armored_fighting_vehicle_production_during_World_War_II

#tanks #ww2 #panzeriv #panzer #ww2myth #panther #sherman #t34 #mythvsreality

00:00 Intro
01:09 Production Numbers
02:28 Comparison with T-34 & Sherman
03:00 USA Tank Production
03:37 Soviet Union Tank Production
04:25 Germany vs Allied Comparison
05:58 Why Panzer I & II
06:27 Why is this relevant?
06:56 Deployment Numbers 39-41
07:48 Barbarossa Detail: Medium Tank Company
08:36 Deployment 1942
09:31 Deployment 1943
10:35 Deployment 1944
11:57 End of War
12:12 What about Chassis Sharing Vehicles?
13:27 Summary
14:25 Conclusions: Why does this matter?