Finally Finished!: 80 Years ago today Cologne Cathedral tank duel between a Pershing and a Panther tank
WARNING : This article will include some images of war that are gruesome in nature. Reader discretion is advised.
Monday, March 6th, 1945.
Allied forces are trying to capture an intact bridge that crosses the Rhine. There is an intact bridge near the Cologne Cathedral, called the Hohenzollern Bridge. The bridge has been rigged with explosives by the Germans and is ready to detonate at any time. The German Army is keeping it open to allow their units and civilians to cross until the very last moment. All that is keeping the bridge standing, is waiting for the order that will be coming down from German High Command to destroy it.
The American Army is desperately trying to capture this bridge... intact. Doing so will allow the Allies to quickly move units and weapons into Germany, crossing the Rhine. This is what the German Army is trying to prevent.
So the Americans have sent armor and infantry units in to do this job. The Battle for Cologne lasted for three days, from March 5th, through March 7th, 1944. One of these tanks that was sent to the battle was a brand new and somewhat secret M-26 E3 that was known later in the month of March, 1945, as the "Pershing".
10 M-26 E3 Pershing's were assigned to each company of the 32nd and 33rd Armored Regiments after training was completed by the best tank crews from each Company.
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- 1. E-7 bumper number
- 2. 3rd Armored Div. 32nd Armored Regiment
- 3. serial number 30119836
One such tank crew was manning a M-26 Pershing that was called "Eagle 7" based off the assigned vehicle number "E-7" which was painted on the fenders like this.
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- 1. Smoyer
- 2. Earley
- 3. Davis
- 4. McVey
- 5. Deriggi
This tank had the following crew:
Commander: Sgt. Robert M. Earley, from Fountain, Minnesota.
Gunner: Cpl. Clarence E. Smoyer, from Lehighton, Pennsylvania.
Loader: Pvt. John S. Deriggi, from Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Driver: T/5 William D. McVey, from Jackson, Michigan.
Assistant Driver: Pvt. Homer L. Davis, from Morehead, Kentucky.
During the night of March 3rd, Allied aircraft dropped leaflets telling the civilians to disobey the directives of the Nazi leadership, and they asked the citizens not to evacuate the city. During the battle for the city, there were approximately 20,000 civilians still remaining from the original number of 800,000 occupants.
The remaining citizens of Cologne were advised to remain in their cellars or basements if possible. They were told not to go out on the streets, as the Allies would consider anyone who was out on the street as a combatant, and they would be fired upon. These leaflets also told the civilians that the Allies would do no harm to them otherwise. The leaflets told the civilians they had nothing to fear from the forthcoming troops.
Two of these civilians were killed during this tank duel. A man and a woman who were trying to flee the city in a small car were killed by machine gun fire from the Pershing tank, "Eagle 7" where Clarence Smoyer was the gunner, and a German Panzer Mk IV tank. Unfortunately for these two, they drove directly in between the opposing tanks.
When this happened, a German Panzer Mk IV opened fire on the civilian car. The different colored tracer rounds alerted Clarence Smoyer, the gunner in Eagle 7, that a German tank was nearby. He also opened fire on the car at the same time.
Once the car stopped moving, (because the driver had been killed), Smoyer judged where the German tank would be located based off the angle of the incoming fire. So he fired several rounds into the building the tank was hiding behind. This caused enough damage to make masonry debris fall down on top of the German tank, which turned out to be a Panzer Mk IV. The German gunner was 18-year-old Gustav Schäfer.
This is the civilian woman who was also killed in the car. Her name was Katherina Esser and she was 26 years old.
This photo shows her being treated by American medics.
Sadly she died moments later. She was not ran over by an American tank as has been published on various internet websites.
https://anicursor.com/esser_E.html
This is the website where these pictures were obtained.
They were also credited to Adam Makos, who has written an outstanding book on this tank duel, called "Spearhead".
Someday I hope to get a signed copy of his book.
In the Panzer Mk IV J version, the tank was simplified to allow for quicker production. One of the things that was no longer used was a separate powered motor that operated the turret. This made it necessary for the gunner to manually crank the turret around by hand, where the previous versions had a power operated turret.
It is my estimation that some of the debris from the building fell on top of the turret, causing the side skirt armor plates that were welded on the sides of the turret to become lodged tightly against the upper hull.
This would have made it impossible for the gunner to traverse the turret right or left.
There was reportedly a heated debate between the German tank crew at this time. Two members elected to leave the tank where it was and escaped on foot. They were captured shortly thereafter. The other three crew men were talking about using the tank in the same fashion as a Stug III or IV was used in combat, since the turret would no longer traverse. This leads me to believe the main gun was still able to elevate and depress, and most importantly... fire a main gun round at a target.
However it is unknown by me as to what fate happened to these remaining Panzer IV crew members. At around this same time, the Hollenzorn bridge was blown up. A deafening rumble and shock wave was felt throughout the immediate surrounding areas.
Based on this information, I have started building a Panzer Mk IV J "Late" version tank model. This would fit the description of what happened perfectly, since it is not known exactly what model or version the Mk IV was to my knowledge. I have the Mk IV J build process included on the build journal, which you can access here.
Meanwhile two Sherman tanks from F Company, 32nd Armored Regiment were moving cautiously down a street trying to get closer to the Cologne Cathedral, since it was so close to the bridge. They did not have Infantry supporting them.
At this very same time, an Army combat camera crew and several war correspondence reporters for the Stars and Stripes are present. One of these reporters was Andy Rooney, who later became a very famous reporter on "60 Minutes".
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- 1. Lt Kellner
- 2. Second knocked out Sherman
Rooney witnessed the death of Lt. Kellner as he tumbled out of his stricken Sherman tank... minus part of his lower leg which had been shot off by a main gun hit that was fired by the German Panther tank. His Sherman was hit twice by the Panther, and two men, possibly three of the crew were killed. The impacts made by the German Panther gunner were within inches of each other. You can see just how close this was in the following graphic photo.
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- 1. Two holes
Sadly, this picture shows the results of what happened to the driver. His name was Julian Patrick, and he was the Sherman tank driver for Lt. Kellner. Scenes like this happened all too often during the war.
Julian H. Patrick was born in Magoffin County, KY, on April 29, 1921. He was the youngest of 4 brothers serving in WWII. The three other brothers survived WWII. Julian was first buried in Belgium, his body returned in 1947 to the USA and interred in the family cemetery in Salyersville, KY.
Lest we forget. Freedom is not free, and this is hard proof of that.
This is the tank crew of Lt. Kellner's Sherman.
Tank Commander Kellner KIA
Gunner Gialluca
Loader Speer
Driver Patrick KIA
Asst. Driver / bow gunner Griffin
Another man present this day was Technical Sgt. Jim Bates, from the 165th Photo Signal Company, who caught the unfolding events on film... To my knowledge this is the only time a tank on tank battle was ever captured on film in it's entirety during WW2.
Going back to the Panther tank now...
It had a crew of five men and was commanded by Lt. Bartelborth
Who can be seen exiting his Panther immediately after the first main gun round from the Pershing hit.
Lt. Bartelborth's Panther tank was hidden in the train station tunnel, and was not visible to either of the two earlier mentioned Sherman tanks, one of which was Lt. Kellner's tank.
As the Sherman's cautiously advanced down the road towards the Cologne Cathedral, they were stopped by debris that blocked the road. A dozer tank was called for over the radio and these two Sherman tanks waited for it to arrive.
This is when the Panther opened fire on Lt Kellner's Sherman first, hitting it twice in the main gun mantlet, just inches above the driver's head. The impacts of these rounds were within mere inches of each other, which shows just how proficient the German Panther gunner was.
The second Sherman was then fired upon. It was hit, most likely in the right side track, which disabled it. The crew of this Sherman wisely bailed out quickly and left the damaged tank behind. At least one man from this crew realized that Lt. Kellner had been severely injured and can be seen running towards his tank in one photo.
Sadly Lt. Kellner bled to death near his tank. Unfortunately the Army medics were not able to stop the bleeding and he died moments later.
Meanwhile, the radio traffic was overheard by other units, and E Company, 32nd Armored Regiment sent "Eagle 7" Pershing to see what could be done to knock out the Panther tank, which was still hidden in the train station tunnel.
Eagle 7 was only a block or so away from what had just happened.
The tank commander of Eagle 7, Sgt. Earley, met with Tech Sgt. Bates the camera man, and together they worked out how the Panther would be approached and hopefully eliminated. Bates wanted to capture this engagement on film, so he climbed into an elevated position that would allow him to do this.
The Pershing crew drove their tank down a street that ran parallel to the street where the two knocked out Sherman's were.
The Panther Commander had anticipated this, so he told his driver to move his tank into the intersection. The Panther Commander also expected the American tanks to appear from the exact location where Eagle Seven went.
So he told his gunner to traverse the Panther's turret to cover this intersection and be ready to fire when told to do so.
Just as the Pershing made the turn onto the street, the American crew could see the Panther was there waiting for them, and the main gun of the Panther was pointing directly at them too.
However, the Panther tank did not open fire.
This is likely because Lt. Bartelborth did not recognize the new American tank. Instead he was expecting to see a Sherman tank. The new Pershing was not known to the Germans, and he did not recognize it as a threat. He probably withheld his fire because he might have mistakenly thought it was a "friendly" German tank instead.
This proved to be fatal for some of his crewmen.
When the Pershing rounded the corner, the gunner, Clarence Smoyer, got the Panther in his sights and fired, just as the Pershing driver sped up. This made them a harder target to hit if they were fired upon by the Panther.
The first round fired by the Pershing struck home, hitting the side of the hull, and likely immediately killed the loader.
This is not an easy thing to do with a tank that is not equipped with a stabilized turret, like most modern tanks have.
The new 90 MM main gun was a game changer for the Americans.
The Pershing tank stopped, and two more main gun rounds were fired at the Panther tank. One round hit the side of the hull and also penetrated easily. This set off a fire inside the tank and you can see the Panther crew is desperately trying to escape the tank in the Army film.
The third main gun round fired from the Pershing hit the Panther again. This hit was located in an area between the turret and hull, which is the same place we were trained to fire at many years later when I was a tank gunner myself.
Some things never change.
The last round fired at the Panther by the Pershing crew hit just as some of the crew were exiting the Panther tank. It is very likely that some of these crewmen were injured by the effects of spalling, which is when pieces of steel are shed into splinters when a main gun round impacts armor like in this case. They might have been previously injured by the first two rounds when they struck the Panther.
I do not know what happened to the entire crew of the Panther, but I suspect at least one, possibly two were killed. It is known that Lt. Bartelborth survived the war after he was captured in Cologne by the Americans.
Sadly none of these men survive today, as they have all since passed away over time. It would have been interesting to talk to any of them, to get their side of the story, like what has happened with Clarence Smoyer who was the gunner of Eagle 7, and Gustav Schäfer who was the machine gunner in the Panzer Mk IV. This is providing they would have wanted to talk to us about what happened that day. Many veterans from this era never talked about their wartime experiences.
Here are some links that are worthwhile looking into. They describe in detail much more than I have. I used these to get information about how to build these two tanks I have presented to you tonight. There is a lot of useful information here, should you decide to build these tanks for yourself.
This is a video that describes what happened better than I can tell the story by typing it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Uhx1YInQU
This is another very good video that shows even more about what happened on this date in history. This video even shows what these locations look like today. I think it's very cool, because it shows how the city looked during the tank engagement and then shows the same landmarks that are visible in the original Army film as they are today.
This is another great source of information on the Battle of Cologne. It goes into prior details of how and when the Pershing crews were picked and trained, and how these brand new American tanks were assigned to various units in the Army since their numbers were so limited.
It is a definite must read if you are even the least bit interested in this epic tank duel engagement.
I built these two models using kits that I have had in "Ye Olde Stash" for years. Both are 1/35 Dragon / DML kits. This is something that I have wanted to do for many years now, and there is not a better time than now. This tank duel has a personal connection for me, because my Dad served as a tanker in Sherman and Pershing tanks when he was in the Korean War.
I also served as a US Army "tanker" primarily in the M-60A1 series tank. Later we traded them in for brand spanking new M-1A1's. I almost reenlisted for this tank, as she was a beauty ! We were told at the time that we were the first tankers in the Army to get the new "up gunned" 120 MM smooth bore Abrams. It was like going from your grand father's Ford F-250 pickup truck, to a 1970 Hemi 'Cuda with a Shaker hood, "Go Wing" spoiler, a pistol grip four speed, AND the super track pack option...
My regret is that I didn't get to finish the pair of Sherman's and the Panzer Mk IV J late war version. It has the screen type "Thoma" side skirts on it. I will be finishing these tanks up as a part of the original build journal.
I will also be building some city cobblestone streets, and walls / rubble piles so that I can take some better pictures of all these tanks once everything is completed.
This will be posted as a new separate article, and it will be linked to this one, and the build journal that is currently underway.
So please keep checking back on the journal, as it will still be getting regular updates on the progress being made.
I want to thank everyone who has been following my build journal, and especially those who have been commenting on it.
Freedom is not free. Here is another example of what our ancestors did for us, and tragically went through, so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.
As always, comments are encouraged.
Thank you all.
G’day Louis (@lgardner),
Congratulations on making the date, even if not with all of the tanks involved.
This is a massive undertaking, particularly with the fine attention to detail that you have given the project.
And you know it has inspired me to build my first armour in more than half a lifetime. 😊
I’m looking forward to the final reveal.
Liked!
Michael Turner (@michaelt)
Thank you ! It was a bit sketchy at times... even today life got in the way. We had to go to an unexpected doctor's visit, but not to worry, everything is OK. I still need to finish the pair of Sherman's, as well as the Panzer Mk IV J "late war" version tanks and then build the photo shoot backgrounds and cobblestone bases.
So please stay tuned for this to show up as a separate article here in the headline section. I will notify everyone once this is completed through the build journal.
Speaking of this, I am VERY impressed by your German half track. It is already looking excellent and you still have a way to go before it is finished. It will only get even better from here. Well done !
I am sincerely pleased to hear that my work has encouraged you to start building armor again. This is the ultimate compliment. I don't think anyone could ever receive a better one than this.
I am grateful. Thank you.
Absolutely beautiful build and concept! looking forward to what's coming. Haven't been too active here of late. The tank battle you speak off I believe was the only tank vs tank battle caught on film.
Robert Royes (@roofrat)
Hey Robert ! It's great to hear from you. I also hope that you can become more active on here again. I personally have not been checking out the various articles and groups like I used to do. I have been concentrating solely on this Cologne project, and posting took away from the precious little time I had available for building. Having a deadline didn't help things, as I wanted to be able to post something for the 80 year anniversary.
I believe you are correct about this being the only tank engagement captured on film during the War. I have posted some links in the article that will describe this in a lot better detail than I can.
I plan to finish the pair of Sherman's and the Panzer Mk IV as I can. This will be posted on the build journal, so please check it out if you can.
https://imodeler.com/groups/military-vehicles-world-war-ii-and-before/forum/topic/tank-duel-between-the-cologne-cathedral-panther-and-the-t-26-pershing/
Here's a link if you're interested.
Thank you for your wonderful comments and compliments as I think they are fantastic. Much obliged my friend !
Take care.
Excellent work, Louis. Looking forward to more of this.
John Healy (@j-healy)
Thank you John ! I sincerely appreciate your kind words. There will be more to follow, as I still need to get the Sherman's the Panzer Mk IV J and the photo shoot backgrounds / cobblestone bases done. Then I'll be posting a second article that will be similar to this one... only with much better pictures.
Thanks again, and take care.
Great pair of tanks, Louis (@lgardner). As usual, it was a pleasure following along on this build and I picked up some really good tips for my future armor kits.
George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
Hello George !
It's always great to hear from you. First off, thank you for the kind words. I am very happy to hear that you are enjoying the Cologne build journal, and that you also picked up some building tips from me. I will still be working on finishing the pair of Sherman's and the Panzer Mk IV that didn't get done in time for today's deadline. So please continue to check back as you can for updates on the journal.
I have been limited on my "bench time" lately, so I have not been checking out the various build journals here on Imodeler like I used to. I had to concentrate my time on building, and limit my time on the internet, if it wasn't related to researching the Cologne tank encounter, or looking closely at the available photos and film of the event. Otherwise I likely would not have met the deadline I set for today.
Hopefully this time limitation will soon change, so I can get back to normal.
I have a family tribute build coming up for an ancestor who was killed in a B-25 near Palawan Philippines, on April 8th, 1945. He was a pilot with the 100th Bomb Squadron, 42nd Bomb Group in the PTO. I have completed a lot of work on the model, so hopefully it will not be as pressing as these two tanks were. His famous last words. 😉
Time will tell...
Fantastic result after all this massive and detailed work, Louis! It was a joy following your build!
Congratulations!
Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
Thank you my friend ! I am very pleased to hear that you have enjoyed the build journal, and I sincerely appreciate your compliments. It doesn't get any better than that..
It will still be going on and kept up to date, as I need to finish the pair of Sherman's, the Panzer Mk IV, and build the photo shoot city walls and cobblestone street bases. This will be posted in the journal as it happens.
I tried to make these tank models as detailed and true to life as I possibly could. I have spent hours doing research, studying photos trying to determine what was what, then trying to make it in miniature 1/35 scale.
Thanks again, and please tell QC1 and QC 2 that we said hello.
Take care my friend. 🙂
The result is really amazing, Louis @lgardner
So much details and realism added into those builds, amazing.
I really enjoyed following your thread, very helpful.
Well done.
John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
Thank you my friend. I sincerely appreciate your continued support and comments throughout the build journal. I think it's the little things that can make or break a model build. I think I got lucky on this one...
Please continue to follow the build thread, as I will be posting updates on the remaining tanks as they happen. I still need to finish the pair of Sherman's and the Panzer Mk IV J.
Thanks again for everything.
Maybe now I can start checking in with your B-25 project. I'm sorry I missed a lot of it. This project kept me from posting as often as I would like to.
Take care.
Nice builds and an interesting history to them. But isn't the "Panther" "Panzer V" (and not IV)?
As far as I know there are: Panzer I, II, III and IV (without special names), V - Panther, VI - Tiger, VII - Löwe (Lion, only a project) and VIII Maus (Mouse only 2 prototypes).
Hans Wilhelm Fischer (@wimfi)
Hello and thank you. Yes you are correct on all counts. The Panther is actually the Mark V. I am referring to a separate tank in this article when I am talking about the Mark IV. It too is exactly as you stated, an unnamed tank like the earlier Mk I through III.
I am also building a late war Panzer Mk IV J model as a part of this story. It was the first tank encountered on this event by the Pershing crew. Unfortunately I didn't get it or the other two Sherman's built in time. I will continue to work on them and post updates on the build thread / journal as they happen.
This Panzer Mk IV was damaged when a part of a building fell on it after the Pershing crew fired several rounds into the walls. The turret was no longer able to rotate, so two of the crew left it. I don't know what the eventual fate was for the remaining three crewmen that stayed with the damaged Mk IV tank.
This is the same Mk IV tank that was involved with shooting their MG at the civilian car as they raced in between the Pershing and the Panther.
Thanks again for your kind words.
Well done, Louis! Enjoyed watching this one come together.
As you know, I've had the honor to chat with Clarence Smoyer a few years ago, at an Adam Mako's book signing. It was a pleasure to meet him.
Along with his other great books, you may be able to acquire an autographed book via Adam's website, Valor Studios.
https://www.valorstudios.com/
gary sausmikat (@gwskat)
Thank you very much Gary. I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed watching this come together. I hope you had as much fun as I did with the building part. I'm mainly an aircraft builder, but I'm starting to lean a little bit more to the dark side... armor. 😉
The more of these I make, the more I want to do.
I remember when you told me about meeting Mr. Smoyer. That must have been an amazing day for you.
Thank you for the link. This will be a good way for me to check off another box for this project.
Much obliged my friend ! Thanks again.
Epic post and builds, Louis. These two came together beautifully and in time! The detail is first rate. Always amazed how you choose some reference photos and zero in on the small stuff. The boxes are perfect, but the scratched oil can is the icing on the cake! This has been a long time in the making and that is reflected in the outstanding outcome!
Paul Barber (@yellow10)
Thank you SO much for this awesome compliment. I was fortunate to have been able to zoom in on the smallest of details, and pick things out that were otherwise not too visible.
I'm not too sure how well I did with the wooden box on the front fender. It's very hard to recreate something like that, but I did my best. That's all I could wish for...
This is a story I have wanted to tell for many years. Every since I first saw the original film on the internet. There is something about this story that drew me in like a moth to the flame. I can't really explain it. This project has a lot of personal connections for me.
Thank you again for your kind words.
They are very much appreciated.
Simply amazing work all around Louis @lgardner.
I have learned alot with this build. Both in history and model building. Keep at this passion project.
Deadlines can be wonderful curses as they focus your attention while driving you up the wall.
VE Day is fast approaching and so is VJ Day.
David Odenwald (@kahu)
I sincerely thank you David for your continued support and kind words.
I'm glad that you followed along with the build journal. Please continue to follow this build thread, as it's not done yet. I still have to complete the pair of Sherman's and also the Panzer Mk IV. Hopefully I can post something useful or helpful for you along the way.
This is a very passionate story for me. Maybe because my Dad served in both the Pershing and the Sherman when he was in Korea, while I too was a US Army tanker. So I can kind of relate to what they went through.
Yes my friend, we are quickly approaching VE and VJ Day. I have some ideas for that.
Here again, deadlines... 😉 and your comments are spot on about them.
My next deadline will be a family tribute build for a B-25J pilot that was from my Dad's side of the family. He was lost near Palawan Philippines and is still MIA. The anniversary of this event is April 8th, 1945.
I hope to get my 1/48 Monogram B-25J done in time so that I can post it as a tribute for him on April 8th this year. I have already completed some work on the kit, but there is no guarantee it will be done in time. His name was Thomas Smith, and he flew B-25's as a part of the 100th Bomb Squadron, 42nd Bomb Group.
Once again, freedom is not free. As a veteran yourself, you know this is true.
Take care my friend and thanks again.
Very interesting read!
Emberson Fedders (@embersonfedders)
Thank you for stopping by and leaving the compliment.
What awesome work backed by your throughly researched presentation. All your effort certainly paid off. A real history lesson for me, Louis @lgardner.
Eric Berg (@eb801)
Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed this article. I enjoy doing the research behind my models, just as much as I enjoy the building itself. I still need to finish the two Sherman's and also the Panzer Mk IV. Once I do this, I'll be posting another article as a "part 2" follow up. This second article will have all new photos, with photo shoot backgrounds that will mimic the streets of Cologne, and even have cobblestone streets.
So please check the build journal for updates.
Thanks again.
@lgardner as always my friend you magically narrate life into the build. The level of research and general knowledge of the tanks and the event come to like in the accuracy of your builds. When the whole thing is assembled I’m sure it will be a site to behold.
Thanks for the ride so far. I hope you’re proud of it. I love it.
Matt Minnichsoffer (@coondog)
Hey brother ! It's good to hear from you, and I sincerely appreciate your compliments. Much obliged.
As a former US Army tanker myself, it was something that I wanted to do every since I first saw the original WW2 films many years ago. I have had these two kits in my stash since the late 90's or possibly early 2000's. I don't remember for sure exactly when I got the Panther, but it's safe to say I have had them for a long while. I know the Pershing was in the 90's for sure though. I picked them up because of the Army films that captured the tank duel. Someday I hoped to build them and tell the story using the models.
It has a personal association to me for another reason too. My Dad was a Korean War combat veteran. He was also a tanker, and he served in the Infantry as well. He actually preferred the Infantry, because as he put it... "They didn't shoot at you quite as much." to quote Dad. My Dad served in both Sherman's and Pershing's / Patton's when he was in Korea.
When he came home after several tours in Korea, he was stationed at Fort Knox and was a part of Combat Command A, as a part of the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment. This was the parent unit that this Pershing tank was assigned to. So in another twist, my dad was indirectly connected to this project too.
Being a former tanker, I tend to pick up on the little things like how some parts of the track and center guides become shiny from wear and rubbing against sprockets, how the dirt / grime / dust / mud accumulates on the suspension and hull, how the road wheel rubber chips and so on.
I'm going to finish the pair of Sherman's and the Panzer Mk IV first. The second article will have all new photos too. With more accurate backgrounds that will look more like the city streets of Cologne.
The next article will have all of the tanks that were involved in it. So please stay tuned for the second part, which will be a sequel to this original article.
Take care and please keep checking the build journal.
Thanks again.