Excellent work. The worst enemy of Tiger was fuel gauge - more Tigers were lost because of running out of fuel than any other cause.

T-34's were produced in numbers greater than the Germans could keep up with. Quantity has a quality of its own when it comes to war.

Three fives up! Surely, the greatest tribute to Wehrmacht armor since Lorne Greene's "Kampfpanzer!" ;-D

Thanks all. @Susanna- true. Most Tigers were abandoned for lack of fuel and/or ammo. In the West they more often were killed by strike aircraft with 6" rockets or bombs. Planes like the T-bolt, Typhoon, and Tempest. Tiger's kill ratio was 8:1, but that meant little as they were outnumbered 20:1+. At Kursk the T-34s outnumbered them 2.5:1 and yet the Tigers cut a path through them until Stalin ordered them to stop them by ANY means which led to ramping. The T-34 would make a frontal assault using maximum speed and ramp up the Tiger chassis to lock the main gun upward. Both tanks would be locked together and of no use in battle. By 1945 the numbers were staggering and yet methods were being developed to stop the Reds- things like the X-7 wire guided ATM and use of magnesium rounds to fuse turrets were experimented with. The Panzerfaust 150m made it into limited service while the 200m became the model for the postwar RPG series. The Tiger is still an awesome sight to behold at any tank museum- only the sole Maus in Russia is more intimidating at 188 tons!!!

Sole Maus at Kubinka, Russia: http://www.mark-1-tank.co.uk/jpgs/kubinka-71-maus-420b.jpg http://freespace.virgin.net/shermanic.firefly/maus1small.jpg http://www.mark-1-tank.co.uk/jpgs/kubinka-71-maus-421b.jpg

Another top parody, Rob - I never fail to get a very welcome education from your work. :) A definite 555.

What immortal hand or eye hath framed this fearful parody? I'd give you 5s just for knowing who Blake is.

My maternal grandfather was a celebrated local poet in Harrisburg, Pa. under the pen name Tohn Chayne who was also an entertainer during WW2 and a semi-famous mixologist. I have written maybe 25 poems in life and have the majority in anthologies. Some were personal like "Preciosa" that was sent to Selena's parents after she was slain and also "Undiminished Star" that used to be online for slain Lana Clarkson. I still have several unpublished poems I keep. Two of my favorites involve a feral child and angels. I have used several of my published poems with OS here as parodies (none of them are funny but rather witty and some morbid). I have known William Blake forever and other poets and have all the great literary works- Dante is my favorite. A sampling of one unpublished poem: "Feral Child": Somewhere in the ruins lay/ A shattered mind still at play/ Although away, and never found/ Her eyes betray awe at every sound/ And having heard, yet no speech/ Comprehension just out of reach/ She smiles and touches every heart/ Tears the civilized world apart/ A feral child, wild and free/ I wish I could conceive what she perceives/ ... beyond just her basic needs ~ Rob Arndt 5/15/11