Lucky_Strike’s Mods presents …
Bodenständig PzKpfw IV Panzer-Kompanie (bo) Berlin, 1945
a mod for Combat Mission: Red Thunder
Some background …
This mod is a bit of a departure from my usual nature-inspired mods. It was conceived after discussions about modding defensive works and directly influenced by the excellent book Panzers in Berlin 1945 published by Panzerwrecks ISBN: 9781908032164
Whilst messing about with NPye’s astonishing Battle for Berlin mega mod pack I started to look at putting a Panzer IV into a ditch to represent one of the less familiar Panzerturm used for the defence of Berlin in April and May 1945. Unlike the more familiar Pantherturm, already available in the game, these Panzer IVs were somewhat more improvised. In February 1945 an order was issued to raise a Panzer Kompanie which was subsequently equipped with 10 Panthers and 12 PzKpfw IVs all designated as Schadpanzer – damaged tanks returned from the front but considered beyond economical repair. The unit was named Panzer- Kompanie (bo) Berlin and assigned to Festungs-Pak-Verband III for the defence of Berlin. The abbreviation ‘bo’ refers to Bodenständig which translates as ‘immobile’.
The tanks were all stripped of anything useful which they didn’t need and then emplaced primarily at important road junctions, sometimes in supporting pairs. Each had a crew of three – commander, loader and gunner. Some were dug into deep positions with concrete and rubble backfill, whilst others were placed in hastily prepared positions then given extra protection with whatever came to hand. Very little is known about their effectiveness.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-QcPkJMCGnRx4rf0wGsk2nTBfy6Pzurh/view?usp=share_link
