Comments by "David Himmelsbach" (@davidhimmelsbach557) on "The Hetzer's Useless Uncle? - Marder III Ausf. H." video.

  1. All of these thin-skinned quasi-panzers were normally buddied up with mobile/mechanized infantry battalions organic to panzer divisions and mechanized divisions. They had to be, as they could not perform in any way like Stug IIIs, Mark IVs -- let alone Panthers. While pitched as an anti-tank resource, in practice, the usual drill was for these tank hunters to function as direct fire platforms in direct support of mobile infantry on the flanks or base of a panzer thrust -- only later to function as a first-response anti-tank screen. By the time these machines were widely available, the Germans were on the defensive -- almost always. So they shifted over to the panic-response snap-ambush role. By this stage, any sane national leader would've thrown in the towel. It's rather amazing that the factory was still cranking these duds out. Rationally, it would've been far better for production to shift to just sub-components of other, successful, panzers -- to be assembled elsewhere. Even half-tracks would've been more worthwhile. As the Chieftain establishes, even the Hetzer was a DOG. It boggles the mind that the Hetzer served any army after WWII.
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