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Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory Or join the TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv/signup/ How did the Panzer I and Panzer II help Germany defeat armies equipped with more powerful tanks? Armed with machine guns or a 20mm cannon, these little panzers helped spearhead a very big, very ugly war. In this episode of Nazi Rearmament, Spartacus Olsson follows Germany’s early light tanks from their interwar development and the Spanish Civil War to the invasions of Poland, France, and the Soviet Union. We examine their design, armament, armor, production, and battlefield performance, and how they helped build the Panzerwaffe before more capable tanks were available in sufficient numbers. Against opponents such as the French Char B1 bis and British Matilda II, their limitations were severe. But tank battles alone did not decide campaigns. Training, communications, concentrated mobile formations, and cooperation with infantry, engineers, artillery, and aircraft helped turn these modest vehicles into effective instruments of conquest. In France in 1940, those advantages combined with a risky German operational plan and Allied command failures to produce a devastating victory. Their story also exposes the growing gap between Hitler’s ambitions and Germany’s industrial resources. Early victories encouraged further aggression, bringing occupation, exploitation, and mass murder to millions while drawing Germany into a war against an increasingly powerful coalition. For more on the German breakthrough in France, watch our Ten Days in Sedan series. Check out our TimeGhost History YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timeghost Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrG5J-K5AYAU1R-HeWSfY2D1jy_sEssNG Follow WW2 Day by Day on Instagram: @ww2_day_by_day Follow TimeGhost History on Instagram: @timeghosthistory Follow our Moderators on Instagram! Spartacus Olsson: https://www.instagram.com/spartacusolsson/ Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimeGhostHistory/ Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson Director: Astrid Deinhard Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson Creative Director: Iryna Dulka Community Management: Anna Deinhard & Tom Aldis Written by: Tom Aldis Edited & Animated by: Andreas Olsson A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.