WORLD WAR II STORIES: EPIC TANK BATTLE

This story is set in Cologne, Germany in early March, 1945.

A lone Panther was sitting in the Cathedral square in Cologne, and the Americans thought it was knocked out. 2 Shermans were approaching the square when the Panther suddenly knocked out one of the M4A1. 3 men died in that tank.

Not much later a Pershing tank of the 3rd Armour was sent to destroy the Panther. It approached it from the flank and took it out with 3 shots.

Jim Bates interview (photographer)

"In the center square in front of the Cathedral was a German Tank that a Sherman tank thought was disabled but the tank put a shell through the Sherman and killed three men in it. A Tank Commander named Robert Early from E Company 32nd. Armored Regiment went on foot to investigate. I asked to go along and we went on the mezzanine of a building and saw the tank. He told me to stay there and he would come back in his tank and try to put the German tank out of commission and I could photograph it. He had one of the new M-26 Pershings with a ninety-mm gun. Sgt. Early said he would turn into the square under me, stop and fire at the German tank. When his tank came in the square under me the German tank began to traverse the gun. Cpl. Clarence Smoyer the gunner, did not wait for his tank to stop but fired before the gun was aimed at him. His first shot hit the German tank in the bottom and cut off the commander's legs. After the next shot, three of the crew bailed out but the shrapnel had got them. My pictures show the tank commander burned up with the tank, which was still smoldering the next morning. The driver got to the back of the building where he fell. The bow gunner fell over a bicycle and lay there. The gunner went down nearby. All had been killed. I was proud to meet Maj. Gen. Rose the Commander of the Third Armored Spearhead Division Today there is a Hospital in Denver, Colorado named after him."

Cpl. Clarence Smoyer (Gunner of the Pershing)

"We were fortunate to have our M-4 Sherman replaced with the M 26 Pershings Tank with the ninety mm gun.. We had been on a drive to capture Cologne and we were near the center of the square in front of the Cathedral when one of our Sherman M-4 tanks approaching the center square, was knocked out by a German Mark V Panther, killing three of the crew. When this happened, our crew was ordered to go down the adjacent street and destroy the German tank. We were told to just move into the intersection far enough to fire into the side of the enemy tank, which had their gun facing up the other street. However, as we entered the intersection, our driver had his periscope turned toward the Germans and saw their gun turning to meet us. When I turned our turret, I was looking into the Mark V gun tube; so instead of stopping to fire, our driver drove into the middle of the intersection so we wouldn't be a sitting target. As we were moving, I fired once. Then we stopped and I fired two more shells to make sure they wouldn't fire at our side. All three of our shells penetrated, one under the gun shield and two on the side. The two side hits went completely through and out the other side.

As for the German tank crew, I spent many years wondering if they survived. Only recently, after receiving the Bates' tape, did I find the answer. The tape revealed that three died outside of the tank. A letter from another soldier who looked through one of the shell holes said he saw one burned to death inside the tank. Apparently none of them survived the ordeal. The M 26 Perishing Tank with the 90 mm gun was the best tank we had during the war. We kept it till the end of the war; however, we were hit twice with panzerfausts at Paderborn and had to have repairs done"

Video of the tank battle.



Photos of the tank battle.

(Click to enlarge)







The crew of the US tank which fired at the German tank - Top Left Cmdr Robert Early, Gunner Clarence Smoyer, Asst. Gunner John Deriggi, Asst Driver Homer Davis, Driver William McVey.



Jim Bates describing his filming in Cologne.



More Cologne footage.



Images of Cologne after the war.