As the war in the East reached its brutal zenith in 1943,
the depleted Wehrmacht forces made up what they lacked in critical supplies
with the fearlessness and wits of the men determined to bring victory to Germany.
One such man was Otto Carius, a soldier who fiercely fought during those desperate days,
overcoming ever-worsening odds and performing one astonishing feat after another.
Carius was a renowned German Panzer Ace credited with destroying over 150 enemy tanks
and was well-known by the enemy. The soldier would achieve most of his accomplishments aboard his
fearsome Tiger one, one of the most influential and resilient armored vehicles in the world.
One fateful day, as Carius and his unit found themselves pummeled by enemy fire
from relentless Sturmovik fighter aircraft on the Eastern Front,
he and his gunner got increasingly annoyed by the constant attacks.
They had orders to hold their position no matter the cost, and thus,
as they heard a squad of approaching assault bombers, Carius positioned the tank,
and his gunner then aimed its powerful 88-millimeter cannon at them.
Protecting their Panzer unit was their priority, and it was now or never…
The Aircraft
The Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft was a Soviet assault bomber
that made the bulk of the military air forces in the Soviet Union.
Including its variations, a total of 42,330 Il-2s were built,
making it not only the most produced military aircraft in the war but also in aviation history.
Also known as Sturmovik, the single-seat assault bomber that would become the
backbone of the Soviet air force during World War 2 is commonly considered the
finest ground-attack aircraft produced by any nation during the conflict.
The warplane was conceived by Sergey Ilyushin in 1938
and would go into production by 1940, with the first 249 units reaching the battlefront by 1941.
It was a robust and capable assault bomber that could carry a payload of half a ton of explosives,
but it could also be fitted with rockets. As the war progressed, subsequent iterations took
two 37-millimeter cannons, and a two-seat version had provision for a tail gunner.
In addition, the whole frontal part of the Il-2 was made out of a single armor-plated shell
that offered extreme protection to the pilot as he dove in for a frontal attack.
Early versions were armed with two 23-millimeter cannons and two 7.6-millimeter machine guns
installed in the wings. The Il-2’s heavy firepower capabilities made it particularly effective at
destroying tanks, and its use as a counter to the German panzer divisions from 1941 to 1943
was crucial in turning the tide of battle in the Soviets’ favor.
The aircraft was so ubiquitous and vital to the Soviet Union’s war efforts
that when factories fell behind on deliveries, Joseph Stalin famously told the factory managers
that the Il-2s were: (QUOTE) “As essential to the Red Army as air and bread.”
The Tank
Soldier Otto Carius didn’t command any German tank;
he stormed the Soviet positions aboard the legendary Tiger 1.
The heavy tank would become an almost mythical entity during the war as its hefty armor, massive
gun, and ludicrous speed made it an unstoppable colossus feared by Allies on both fronts.
The machine was indeed impressive, but its 88-millimeter gun, massive armor plates,
and swift speeds came at a high cost. Carrying so much weight at such ambitious speeds meant
the Tiger was prone to malfunctions, overheating, and downtime if it wasn’t periodically serviced.
Still, during the first few months after its debut,
it performed impressively and appeared to have it all.
In reality, the Tiger was a hastily developed response to the Soviet T-34.
It went into production in August of 1942 and, like the Panther,
first entered combat in large numbers at Kursk.
The Tiger emphasized firepower and survivability at the expense of reliability. Its long-barreled,
high-velocity 88-millimeter gun, adapted from the Germans’ magnificent anti-aircraft Flak guns,
could pierce even the most heavily armored Soviet tanks at exceptionally long ranges.
The powerful tank entered Soviet territory serving as a mobile wall,
as its 4-inch-thick frontal armor made it invulnerable against almost any anti-tank
gun used by the Red Army at the time, and light gunfire didn’t even leave a dent on its hull.
The rear and side armor plates were three inches thick,
providing more than enough protection against most Soviet flanking attacks. But the tank’s
high caliber gun and hefty armor seriously compromised its mobility and reliability,
as moving the 55-ton machine put a significant strain on the engine and the suspension system.
Having the engine running at its limit also meant the Tiger consumed high amounts of fuel,
and its complex internal systems and expensive replacement parts
made it a nightmare to maintain on the field.
Despite their raw power, impressive features, and almost mythical perception, only about 1,340
had been built when Germany ended production in August of 1944 due to their high development cost.
The Man
Otto Carius wrote a book titled “Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander
Otto Carius” to pay respects to his fellow soldiers who lost their lives during World War 2.
He also claims to have used the opportunity to revindicate the German soldiers fighting
at the front so newer generations might get a more objective perspective of the German servicemen’s
experience and realize that, like any other military force, not all members were monsters
and many of them were just carrying out what they were told was their duty.
Despite the political implications of his actions and his personal opinion about the typical German
soldier, the fact is he was known as a remarkable soldier and an unparalleled Tank Commander.
Carius graduated from school in 1940, one year after the start of World War 2.
He was a scrawny young man eager to join the fight, but he would be rejected two times for
military service for being underweight before he was finally given a chance
He initially served in the infantry before volunteering for the Panzer branch
in blatant opposition to his father’s wishes, who considered tanks “metal deathtraps.”
Carius was then assigned to the 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion and did most of his fighting on the
Eastern Front in 1943, where he quickly proved to be an effective and brilliant tank tactician.
Even as his enemy tank hits mounted, the situation on the Eastern Front became
bleaker by the minute for the German forces. In his book, Carius describes
his excitement at witnessing the arrival of a large shipment of supplies to the front line;
after being almost wholly depleted, it was a sight for sore eyes.
However, the good news would soon turn sour; in a surprise night attack during a night blizzard,
the Soviets stormed the German positions and captured the supplies, severely demoralizing
the German troops. Later, the Soviets would use the Luftwaffe uniforms stolen during the raid
to ambush German soldiers, leading to massive casualties.
The ambushes led to Carius’s unit being tasked with putting down
every man in Luftwaffe uniform they encountered,
and the soldier would end up shooting several comrades who had been isolated from their units.
Despite the dark episodes he had to endure, Carius would remain a determined and patriotic soldier
who was credited with destroying more than 150 enemy tanks: most of them on the Eastern Front.
The Idea
On December 10, 1943, Carius was serving in the 502 Panzer Battalion,
and his unit had been tasked with providing cover to the retreating German forces
after their disastrous attempt to break the siege in the nearby city of Leningrad.
The panzer platoon, made out mostly of mighty Tiger 1s,
found itself constantly under heavy Soviet air attack as wave after wave of Ilyushin Il-2s
pursued the fleeing troops and struck at the supporting tanks in the area.
Although the Sturmoviks were armed with some anti-tank ammunition,
it was not enough to destroy the heavily armored Tigers.
Most of their attacks consisted of cannon fire, which the Tigers were utterly invulnerable to.
Despite not being able to cripple Carius’s platoon, the air raids did offer significant
disruption to their operations, forcing the German tank crews to remain inside the vehicles
at all times and making refueling and resupply operations impossible for the Panzer Battalion.
In addition, the Germans had no anti-air support in the area,
and they were forced to endure the frustrating onslaught of Soviet air attacks.
The only weapon the Tigers had that could shoot an aircraft down was their turret-mounted machine
gun, but leaving the inside of the tank was too risky amid the relentless aircraft attacks.
Even opening the tank’s hatch momentarily could leave the crew exposed to the fire rain
and lead to an immediate demise. This caused the tank’s crew,
especially Carius, to become increasingly frustrated and enraged at the desperate situation.
Even more, if they were to use their machine guns, they would most likely be
ineffective against the aircraft known as ‘The Air Tank’ for its exceptional armor protection.
At that moment, Carius’s gunner, Unteroffizier Kramer,
had the wildest idea. The young gun operator approached Carius and suggested using the
Tiger’s 88-millimeter main gun to try to shoot down the approaching Stormoviks.
The mere thought was incredulous; not only did they not have a single round
of anti-aircraft ammunition, but the Tiger was not designed to perform deflection shooting.
Anti-aircraft systems employ deflection shooting to lead the target,
firing not where the target is but where it will be when the projectile reaches a certain altitude.
The Tiger was designed to fire while entirely stationary,
and hitting a fast-moving target like a warplane would be practically a miracle.
Still, out of desperation or sheer curiosity, Carius complied; after all, the Tiger’s main
gun had once been an anti-air weapon, and it had the speed to achieve the seemingly ludicrous task.
The Event
The tank crew had one advantage, as the Sturmoviks always struck their position
from the same direction and they knew exactly where they would appear over the horizon.
Carius then positioned the tank to face the path of the incoming warplanes, while Kramer
elevated his gun and loaded a conventional armor-piercing round into the chamber.
All they had to do was wait for the Soviet aircraft to make another pass.
The crew could hear the Stormoviks approaching as they prepared for the fateful moment,
and as the warplanes swooped in to deliver their now expected assortment of cannon fire and bombs,
Carius gave the order to fire.
The blast soared through the air at high speed, but the aircraft
had already left the spot when it reached its target altitude.
Still, Carius was determined, and they loaded a second round and readjusted their sights.
As the enemy assault bombers drew close for a second time, Kramer fired again. The projectile
pierced the snowy sky, and just as a formation of Sturmoviks flew by, the weapon clipped one of the
aircraft's wings sending it into an out-of-control downwards spiral towards the frozen wilderness.
The Ilyushin Il-2 plummeted to the ground leaving a trail of dark smoke behind it,
and a huge ball of fire climbed from the tree line well inside German territory as it crashed.
The members of Carius’s platoon then burst into cheers while others just watched, stupefied,
not sure if to believe what they had just witnessed.
Carius himself would call the event: (QUOTE): “Unparalleled on the Eastern Front,”
and it would come to be one more fantastic story in the
remarkable career of the legendary Tank Ace who destroyed over 150 enemy tanks.
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