Fury and respect

It is a German heavy tank Tiger that became famous not only in Germany but in all over the world through World War ll. It weighed 60 tons while a light tank weighed 20 tons and a medium tank weighed 40 tons. To be sure, being heavy does not necessarily mean it is great in quality but it is a different story when the weight is proportional to the thickness of the armor. If the armor can be compared to a shield, the tank’s spear was an 88mm gun, which was capable of destroying any enemy tank at long range. Using the gun, German gunners were said to be able to hit enemy tanks from an average distance of 1,500 meters.

German commander Otto Carius was an ace credited with destroying over 150 enemy tanks on the Tiger. The following is written in his memoirs.

Carius’ company of Tigers and an infantry troop were tasked with protecting the German main force from the back when it was retreating from the Eastern Front. They were attacked by the Soviet army at night while stationing in a village. The Soviet tanks opened fire to enter the village. Carius’ Tigers defeated them all but another Soviet tank quietly entered the village unnoticed. The tank eventually collided with a Tiger and was pierced by the German attack.

The next day when German infantry approached the broken Soviet tank, grenades suddenly flew out of it. The Soviet tank soldiers were alive and fought the Germans until the end. Infuriated Carius hurled abuses at the tank commander. But then he said, “Now my thoughts are a bit different.”

Perhaps he meant to pay respect to the commander’s struggles and spirits. Then, why did he get so infuriated? It was because his fellow soldiers were killed. Carius’ anger and respect are not contradictory. There are always two sides to everything, and it just takes time to realize it. The mission of intelligence is to help people see things in such perspective but our society is going the other way.