*[b]DISCLAIMER[/b] [b]THIS VIDEO DOES SHOW U.S. TROOPS FIGHTING GERMAN TROOPS IN AN ACTUAL COMBAT SITUATION, THOSE BOTHERED BY VIOLENCE/BODIES DO NOT WATCH, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED[/b]
On March 6th, 1945 American troops were fighting the crumbling German military in the Ruins of the German city Cologne (Koln in German), one of the few tank battles involving an American M-26 Pershing took place. (The Pershing belonged to the U.S. 3rd Armored Division) (M-26 Pershing picture- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/M26_Pershing.jpg) The M-26 arrived extremely late in the war, originally slated to be used in the Normandy invasion, planners decided that they would not need it, and the Sherman would be adequate enough to handle it. After the disaster of the battle of the Bulge when over 400 German panthers and other miscellaneous German kitties attacked unprepared U.S. troops it was decided to expedite the production and to get them out to the troops immediately, since the American Sherman even up gunned (to the 76mm High velocity cannon) were still overpowered by there German counterparts.
In one of its few combat situations involving an engagement with enemy armor, this Pershing encounters a Panther after it had knocked out a M4 Sherman minutes before. The first shot fired by the Pershing nails the Panther in the side forcing the crew to try and bail out, the second round fired hits above the tracks and penetrates once again and rips off the crewmens legs trying to crawl out and effectively destroys the Panther.
This is an extremely rare film that I found probably a year ago, and I put a lot of research in. It is very interesting to watch, surreal even that you are actually watching a real combat situation with a tank being knocked out. This video was shot by a U.S. Signal Corp soldier who was attached to the 3rd Armored division, in the beginning it is being narrated by a U.S. newscaster, afterwords it is told in the words of the Signal corp soldier who recorded it.
Thanks for reading, and tomorrow I will be putting up a World War 2 tech post fleshing out the M-26 Pershing entirely!
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Yay, WWII!