Why the Panzer IV was NOT the Workhorse of the Wehrmacht

Video Description

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/ »» GET BOOKS & VIDEOS «« » Stukabook - Doctrine of the German Dive-Bomber - http://stukabook.com » The Assault Platoon of the Grenadier-Company November 1944 (StG 44) - http://sturmzug.com » Army Regulation Medium Panzer Company 1941 - http://www.hdv470-7.com » Tank Assault - Combat Manual of the Soviet Tank Forces 1944 - http://stm44.com » IS-2 Stalin's Warhammer - http://www.is-2tank.com » StuG: Ausbildung, Einsatz und Führung der StuG Batterie - http://stug-hdv.de » Achtung Panzer? Zur Panzerwaffe der Wehrmacht - http://panzerkonferenz.de » Panzerkonferenz Video - http://pzkonf.de »» SUPPORT MHV «« » patreon - see videos early (adfree) - https://www.patreon.com/join/mhv » subscribe star - https://www.subscribestar.com/mhv » paypal donation - https://paypal.me/mhvis » YouTube Membership - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK09g6gYGMvU-0x1VCF1hgA/join »» MERCHANDISE «« » teespring - https://teespring.com/stores/military-history-visualized »» 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?