As far as i read from documents, the first time Soviet army encountered Tiger II is Sandomir battle. Tiger II might be really good if the German made better steel, because the steel of late period was awfull and didnt have the benefits like the early or mid -period ones. They also made tanks in the great haste and that caused mechanical issues.
Yes indeed, i agree with you there, i read however that it was at Minsk the Tiger II first saw combat, with the sPzAbt501.
Also SS panzer divisions were superior in the early period of war, most of them died in snows near Moscow, they were beaten on Caucasus and destroyed in Kursk battle.
There were no SS Panzer divisions early in the war... They were motorized infantry for a long time, eventually they were upgraded to Panzer divisions in '42.
The success attributed to the SS is mostly based on their war diaries (Tigers in Combat). The diaries had little to do with reality (Tigers in Normandy). Even the Wehrmacht slashed the claims of the SS in half when estimating their performance, and Schneider’s research shows that even that was an optimistic figure. For example, Wittmann’s famous battle at Villers-Bocage where he is claims 20 kills only had 7 to his name. His victory was blown out of proportion by SS propaganda, since they were desperate for a tank ace among their own, routinely assigning an entire unit’s accomplishments to one tank/crew.
He did destroy 20 vehicles and AT guns, whereas only 7 where tanks. It wasn't a lie, and sure the attack would have been much more succesful had he ordered his company to attack instead of just his tank, and yes the propaganda did blow it out of proportions, but every side and branch was doing this.
Most people focus on the three SS divisions that were LAH, Reich, and Totenkopf, which were equivalent to a Wehrmacht division at the best of times. The remaining SS divisions were barely Volkssturm quality, assigned to rear line duties such as executing civilians and fighting partisans.
What? Are you saying, the high tier SS divisions were just equivalent to a Heer one? Those three divisions arguably represent the fiercest fighting force the Wehrmacht possesed. They were armed with the newest weapons, they were armed with a lot of those weapons. The soldiers were fierce and fanatical, they would often fight to destruction if they didn't succeed in their objectives. Remember that these were the formations that almost single handedly destroyed Mobile Group 'Popov' and retook Kharkov.
The SS Divisions 1-28 were all good fighting formations, some being better than others of course, but they were all a force to be reckoned with and were certainly equals to thei Heer counterparts. Sure, the anti-partisan formations such as the 1. SS-Infantrie Brigade or the SS-Kavallerie Brigade were not ideal for fighting enemy formations, since their duty was to round up and shoot partisans...
