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
German code breaking in World War II 1941. While the Germans appreciated the gift from their ally, they did not explain that they were already able to read "Black" code messages. In general, however, German performance in code breaking was weak due to the fragmentation of responsibility and specialized personnel. The Navy's "B-Dienst" was an exception to the rule, although its successes largely ended when the Allies began using more sophisticated encryption methods by 1943. German code breaking in World War II German code breaking in World War II achieved some notable successes cracking British Naval ciphers until well into the fourth year of the war, but