German tanks in World War II of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history. It had sloped armor which increased the effective thickness of the armor from to roughly , effectively making the front of the tank virtually impervious to enemy fire. However the sides of this tank were very vulnerable, ranging from only to of either barely sloped or completely flat armor plating. The tank carried a high-velocity 75 mm gun, which possessed more penetration than the Tiger's 88 mm gun at short range. Series production began in 1943. The tank was plagued with mechanical problems throughout its service life, several of which were never
Japanese prisoners of war in World War II where they were. Due to the shame associated with surrendering, few Japanese POWs wrote memoirs after the war. Gilmore provides the following numbers of Japanese POWs taken in the SWPA during each year of the war; 1942: 1,167, 1943: 1,064, 1944: 5,122, 1945: 12,194 Japanese prisoners of war in World War II During World War II, it has been estimated that between 19,500 and 50,000 members of the Imperial Japanese military surrendered to Western Allied combatants prior to the end of the Pacific War in August 1945. Soviet troops seized and imprisoned more than half a million Japanese troops and