What+were+the+major+Special+Forces+of+Germany+in+WWII?

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=Panzer=
 * [[image:http://www.ww2shots.com/gallery/d/19846-1/WW2+Panzer+V+Panther-ww2shots-army.jpg]] ||
 * WW II Panzer ||


 * The Panzer was a very powerful piece of German engineering. It was used by Hitler in his Blitzkrieg against the French and Polish. Made from iron, the main shell of the Panzer was light and powered by a small but powerful engine, making it very fast. While they were very valuable and worth having, they were very expensive because of their design. There were 27 main Panzer revisions. The first ten had up to 300 tanks while the other divisions afterward had around 100. The panzer divisions could be recognised by the pink flags that they had (2worldwar2.com/panzer). **

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 * During the war, Hitler ordered a newer Panzer, called the German King Tiger II (Koenigstiger). It was to replace the Tiger I and was, "the most powerful tank of world war 2" (worldwar2aces.com) It had a larger gun than the Tiger I and was able to pierce the armor of the enemies tanks even at a long distance range. ****The Koenigstiger was brought to the battle field in 1944 and saw action on both the western and eastern fronts. Although very powerful and feared, this Panzer did have some problems, especially regarding breakdowns. However, it remained in use until the very end of the war. For further information on the German King Tiger II, see attached link: **

=U-Boats=

==== **At first, Adolf Hitler was not impressed with German naval power (Sparticus.Schoolnet.co/Uboat). Especially after the power of the German navy was restricted after WWI and the Treaty of Versailles. However, he decided to take the advice of a naval officer, Karl Donitz, who recommended that the German Reich invest a lot of money in ship building, especially U boats (Under water boats). Once the war began, the Nazis used the U-boat mainly against the British, but then also against the Americans once they entered the war. While very successful at sinking many British naval ships, Doenitz felt that there were not enough U- boats made at the beginning of the war (57) to win the war at sea. And even though many more U-boats were manufactured during the war, the British and Americans developed ways of destroying the U-boats, especially towards the end of the war. Still, "The Allies and neutral countries lost 2,828 ships to the submarines of Germany, Italy and Japan during the war. The largest proportion of these were sunk by German U-boats," according to an article by the Encyclopedia of the Second World war by Sparticus Educational.** ====

=Luftwaffe=



====**The Luftwaffe was the air force of the Germans during WWII and was, **** "notable in putting the world's first jet fighter and the world's only rocket powered fighter into action during the war" ([|www.ww2.dk]). **** The Luftwaffe was used in the bombing of England, as well as destroying enemy aircraft with brutal force. The Luftwaffe included fighter aircraft (Messerschmidts) and bombers (Junkers and Heinkels). Many of these planes, especially the fighters were very fast and maneuverable, making them a hard target for slower and less maneuverable Allied aircraft. The pilots themselves were also very well trained and had practice years before the war began, while members of Britain's RAF (Royal Air Force) only trained for a few weeks before going out to bomb targets, which often resulted in relatively unsuccessful missions. Throughout the entire war, the Luftwaffe was a feared power that destroyed countless lives with their bombing raids on Britain. The following is a rare clip of footage of the bombing of London posted recently on Youtube: **====

media type="youtube" key="bu0G1jjtReo" height="315" width="420" by Lars Kruus

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