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
Slovene Lands in World War II the capital city of the now independent Slovenia, was announced on 9 May 1945. The last battle was the Battle of Poljana, which took place near Prevalje on 14 and 15 May 1945, a few days after the formal surrender of the Nazi Germany. Hundreds of ethnic Italians from the Julian March were killed by the Yugoslav Army and partisan forces in the Foibe massacres; some 27,000 Istrian Italians fled Slovenian Istria from Communist persecution in the so-called Istrian exodus. Members of the ethnic German minority either fled or were expelled from Slovenia. The overall number of World War II