SS panzerkorps at the third battle of Kharkov

Probably the only upper hand Germany had during the war was that out of all the things they neglected to cover prior to starting war, they actually made sure that their gunnery was up to par. The average German tank crew was able to put rounds-on-target in devastating order. Best examples are the ambush of British armour in the Caen area following Normandy and rear-guard actions against the Soviets during the retreat from Hungary. Had Germany started the war with just Panthers, it would have been all over.

Another thing they used against us which went against the grain of every Allied soldier, was the Kampfgruppe principle where every single soldier from the lowest private to the highest general knew every intimate detail about the battle/operation. So if a captain was killed leading an advance, any sergeant or corporal would be able to move the dead body aside and continue the mission. This also enabled the Germans to grab stragglers and incorporate them in to operations at a moment's notice.

PO3 Donald Murphy - We borrowed the Kampfgruppe principle in late 1943 when we began to form Combat Commands after we got our butts kicked at Kasserine Pass. The SS Kampfgruppe was the most task organized around mobile artillery, Panther and Tiger Tanks and Panzergrenadier in half tracks. The 1st, 2nd, 5th, 9th and 12th SS Panzer Divisions were the most task organized this way.

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