Panzerkampfwagen I in Poland: The Cross Marks the Spot

      When Germany went to war with Poland on September 1, 1939, the armored vehicles of the Panzerwaffe wore a uniform dark gray (dunkelgrau) paint. In part, this was both an economic and a simplistic move as it cost less and was easier to apply than a more complex two- or three-color camouflage pattern. Interestingly, in bright sunlight, dunkelgrau turned a lighter shade of gray while in shadow, it was almost black. Another reason for the one-tone paint was the principle of Blitzkrieg (Lightening War). As tanks and armored cars would be on the move during the attack, there was no point to camouflage as motion nullifies the value of elaborate camouflage. When German tanks and other armor vehicles were at rest, they were often dispersed amongst natural cover (such as under trees) which had the same, if not superior, benefit of camouflage paint schemes.

     As for national markings, initially, German tanks had no such identification. But that changed when Germany prepared for the invasion of Poland. Starting in August 1939, simple white crosses were applied to tanks and armored cars. There was no standardized size for the crosses, or balkenkreuz, and so how large...or small...they were varied from vehicle to vehicle. There was, though, a standardization on where the crosses had to be applied. A cross was to be applied on the front, left side, right side, and rear of both the turret and the superstructure for a total of eight crosses on the vehicle. The use of the white crosses made what little value the dunkelgrau paint had as camouflage null and void but there was a far more serious problem the white crosses presented: they made excellent aiming points for Polish anti-tank gunners.

     This problem is graphically illustrated in this photograph of a knocked out Panzerkampfwagen I (PzKpfw I) light tank. Developed in 1932, the PzKpfw I entered service in 1934 and even by 1939, it remained in service in large numbers. Incapable of engaging other tanks due to its dual 7.92mm MG 13 machine-gun armament, it was still able to attack soft targets such as infantry and unarmored vehicles that lacked anti-tank support. If faced with anti-tank guns, the PzKpfw I crew knew the protection of their tank, between 7 to 13mm thick, was of little worth.

     The most common Polish towed anti-tank gun was the 37mm wz.36. Using a split-trail carriage and fitted with a vertical sliding-block breech, the wz.36 presented a low profile and a skilled crew was able to fire 12 rounds per minute. The gun had a 5mm thick shield to offer some protection to the gunners from small arms and shell splinters. When firing the standard armor-piercing round, the wz.36 could punch through 22mm of 45 degree sloped armor at 1,000 meters. This was more than ample to penetrate the PzKpfw I frontally. While Polish infantry platoons were equipped with the Model 35 7.92x107mm anti-tank rifle (Karabin Przeciwpancerny wzór 35), the rifle's ammunition wasn't meant to pierce armor plate but instead “pancake“ on the armor and cause spalling on the interior of the armor. Typically, the round could dislodge a 20mm sized shard of armor that, at high speed, would ricochet around the inside of the tank, causing injury/death to the crew and damaging equipment.

     Clearly, the PzKpfw I was struck by an anti-tank gun, most likely fired from a wz.36, that punched through the superstructure's frontal plate. Fortunately for the driver, the round went to the right of his position. The commander may or may not have been so lucky depending on the type of armor-piercing round utilized. The commander's seat was situated in the center of the turret and fitted to the turret ring so that the commander moved as the turret moved. This also allowed him to operate the twin MG 13 weapons which were fed from 25-round box magazines. The unit the tank belonged to isn't known but either 4. Panzer-Division or 5. Panzer-Division are likely candidates.

     Within a few days of the invasion of Poland, German tank and armored vehicle crews were already  obscuring the white crosses so as to both camouflage them as well as deny an easy aim point for enemy gunners. In some cases, yellow was used to overpaint the white but the more common means was to use mud, grease, or gray paint. Usually, the front crosses were totally covered while the crosses on the sides and rear had their interiors coated so only a white outline remained.

     Not surprisingly, following the Poland campaign, the Wehrmacht undertook a revision of the national identification for their tanks and armored vehicles so as not to make them so obvious.

Primary Sources:

Hogg, Ian V. and Weeks, John Military Small Arms of the 20th. Century (Northfield: DBI Books, 1985)

Zaloga, Steven J. Blitzkrieg: Armour Camouflage and Markings, 1939-1940 (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1991)