Uploads from World War Two

Currently Playing: The Backbone of the Nazi Panzer War - Panzer III - Nazi Rearmament 04

The Panzer III was intended to become the backbone of Nazi Germany’s panzer divisions. Emerging from clandestine Weimar-era experimentation and formally developed from 1934, it combined mobility, a five-man crew, a three-man turret, and comprehensive radio communication in one highly effective prewar design. In this episode, Spartacus follows the Panzerkampfwagen III from secret German-Soviet tank trials at Kama through its production and deployment in Poland, France, North Africa, and Operation Barbarossa. We examine its evolution from the 3.7 cm gun to increasingly powerful 5 cm weapons, the advantages provided by crew specialization and radio-coordinated warfare, and why the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 exposed its diminishing margins in armor and firepower. By 1943, the Panzer III had been displaced as Germany’s principal gun tank by the more adaptable Panzer IV. Its chassis, however, found an extraordinarily productive second life beneath the Sturmgeschütz III. The Panzer III was not a failed tank. It was an effective prewar design overtaken by an armored arms race it lacked the capacity to survive. Its fate also reflected Nazi Germany’s wider strategic failure: it had built weapons for short campaigns, then unleashed a coalition war whose demands exceeded Germany’s resources. Watch our episode on the Sd.Kfz. 251: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHJeNNNuQp8 Watch Ten Days in Sedan:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsIk0qF0R1j4gr04rGiL1UZ_UDuAYp_El Support TimeGhost and help us continue making history: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory https://timeghost.tv/ Which piece of German rearmament should we examine next? Let us know in the comments. Never Forget HASHTAGS: #PanzerIII #WW2 #TankHistory #MilitaryHistory #OperationBarbarossa 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/ Indiana Neidell: https://www.instagram.com/indy_neidell/ 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 by: Iryna Dulka Artwork by: Spartacus Olsson Sound design by: Marek Kamiński Source literature list: https://bit.ly/SourcesWW2 Archive footage: https://www.screenocean.com Image sources: Oberst v. Eimannsberger Yad Vashem United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Bundesarchiv Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound: Deepstar - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen At the Front - Phoenix Tail Break Free - Fabien Tell Prescient - Howard Harper-Barnes Other Sides of Glory - Fabien Tell Easy Target - Rannar Sillard Sailing for Gold - Howard Harper-Barnes In All Seriousness - Howard Harper-Barnes Last Point of Safe Return - Fabien Tell A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.