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Cologne, Germany, March 6, 1945.
The 3rd Armored Division tanks advance on the Cologne center and the cathedral. It's about 2 pm.
The following minutes will produce some of the most dramatic combat images to come out of WWII.
This page will show you the famous tank battle at the Cologne cathedral. |
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  Coming from western city districts, passing the city areas around Venloer Strasse, Friesenplatz, Friesenstrasse and Zeughausstrasse, a group of several US-tanks approach the central square in front of the cathedral. Big mountains of rubble on the Komödienstrasse prevent the further advance of the tank group. They have to stop only 120 m / 395 ft away from the place where the street leads into the central square. |
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1.) Skirmish Panther vs. Sherman
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 Two M4 Sherman tanks from F Co, 32nd A.R., 3rd AD are standing on Komödienstrasse next to street Andreaskloster (at the left side). | |
Suddenly a shell from a German Panther tank hits the leading US tank. A member of the crew, tank commander Kellner, tries to flee out of the tank.
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Where did the shot from come ?
There's a picture taken by George Silk when the battle at the cathedral was over. It shows the Sherman and in background the german Panther, which had hit the Sherman. On the right side there's the Sherman and in background the burning Panther at street crossing Marzellenstrasse. He is really good to see there.
And now a comparison with movie sequences before and after the hit:
In the background there's no Panther shortly before (right) and shortly after the hit (left), where one can see the Panther on the Silk photo later. So, where was the Panther located when he had hit the Sherman ?
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 In the background one can see a tunnel under the central station. It's the street tunnel Trankgasse. |
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 | When the Panther had shot he probably was located in or near the dark tunnel (white arrow) and the US troops were not able to see it there before. The red point is the place where the Sherman was located - distance tunnel / Sherman: 340 m / 1.115 ft.. After the hit the Panther was driving to the crossing Marzellenstrasse where he later was destroyed (distance Panther there / Sherman: 120 m / 395 ft.. There are records saying the Panther was already located at the crossing when the Sherman reached Komödienstrasse and they thought it was knocked out. But this seems to be unrealistic. Tank crews typically will not take it for granted that a tank in no mans land would be knocked out. They would shoot at it until it burned, which is what the Sherman crew would have done if the Panther was in sight on the crossing Marzellenstrasse. Following several sources the German tank Mark V (Panther) Ausf. A was from Panzerbrigade 106 "Feldherrnhalle". |
Back to the Sherman in Komödienstrasse after the hit:
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The tank smokes from the inside. The hit had cut off the soldier's left leg below the knee.
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Behind the tank commander Kellner, who is creeping out, a second soldier falls down from the tank
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|  The second soldier seems to be 19 years old Corporal 'Gunner' John J Gialluca of the 3rd Armored Division 'Spearhead'. His son Doug found my site on the web and sent me the following mail where he describes the situation as he heard it from his father:
The last tank battle in Cologne Germany on March 6 1945 happened as Corporal Gunner John J Gialluca approached the square of town between two buildings where suddenly by surprise a Panther Mark V hit their Sherman tank. John remembers the tank burning and they were trapped. The shrapnel went through his legs and he said he was pinned to his seat when a second blast under the turret forced him free from his position. There were no other survivors except Corporal John J Gialluca. There was another tank disabled next to his tank that tried to help the injured. They found John lying on the ground with his 45 caliber hand gun in his hand. Then John said as they were helping him he could hear the blast and gunfire from what is known now the battle of the last tank. The Sherman tank that Corporal John J Gialluca was in was facing the cannon of the 75mm high velocity Panther Mark V. The 76 mm is questionable as for penetrating the heavy armored Panther head to head. This was John's second tank hit in his journey from Normandy Beach and very fortunate to survive. Corporal Gunner John J Gialluca was sent to a hospital in England where he had a lengthy recovery and was able to walk again. After a long fight with kidney cancer John went to be with the Lord on July 5th 1998.
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Contrary to the memory of John J Gialluca there's another crew member who survives the attack too, it's Oliver Griffin, the assistant driver.
So the Sherman crew was:
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 Tank Commander Kellner
Gunner Gialluca
Asst. Gunner Speer
Driver Patrick
Asst. Driver Griffin
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Once again the exit of Gialluca:
At the beginning of the movie scene Gialluca is already located on top of the cupola. One can see the torso and the head. Then - picture top middle - Gialluca wants to jump down from the tank, showing his bottom. Next pictures: he jumps down headfirst, one can see his legs stretched upwards.
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Another detail:
When Kellner leaves the cupola he holds a rifle in his hand. But he loses it and the rifle falls down onto the street next to the Sherman.
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Courtesy of The U.S. Army 3rd Armored Division History Website. Photo by Fred Ramage/Getty Images
The crew of another Sherman tank standing on the left side of the street tries to help the other crew. |
The soldiers and a medic try to help Kellner in a bomb crater near the Sherman, but he passes away 
The driver Patrick and the loader Speer die just when the shell hits.
On the Gettyimages website there's a picture showing the dead Patrick sitting on the driver chair, head outside the driver hatch.
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Source: Magazine "After the Battle #104"
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Griffin and Gialluca survived the incident with injuries.
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2.) Skirmish Pershing vs. Panther
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In a parallel street "An den Dominikanern", the US-troops from E Co, 32nd A.R., 3rd AD hear about this incident in Komödienstrasse 
  They receive the command, to approach and attack the Panther tank with the help of a Pershing tank
The lurking Panther
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The T26E3 Pershing tank
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What happened the last minutes before the upcoming tank duel ?
The US troops are only 200 - 300 m away from Marzellenstraße which leads to the central place at the cathedral where the German Panther tank now is located. US Army Signal Corps cameraman Jim Bates wants to film the upcoming tank duel.
Jim Bates:
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Courtesy: photos.ppld.org, Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District, 161-3315.
Jim Bates 1972
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A Tank Commander named Robert Early from E Company 32nd. Armored Regiment went on foot to investigate. I asked to go along and we went on the mezzanine of a building and saw the tank. He told me to stay there and he would come back in his tank and try to put the German tank out of commission and I could photograph it. He had one of the new M-26 Pershings with a ninety-mm gun. Sgt. Early said he would turn into the square under me, stop and fire at the German tank.
Source: Website by Charles R. Corbin Jr.
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This is the building of the Deutsche Arbeitsfront, where Bates and Early watched the German tank and the surroundings.
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At this time the German Tank crew is waiting what happens and observes the surroundings.
When Early comes back to his tank he gives last instructions to his crew and starts the mission. The Pershing tank approaches the crossing An den Dominikanern / Marzellenstraße. Jim Bates:
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When his tank came in the square under me the German tank began to traverse the gun.
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Pershing gunner Cpl. Clarence Smoyer:
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 "Gunner" Clarence Smoyer:
Shortly before our T26 "Pershing" tank destroyed the German Mark V Panther tank in the Cologne Cathedral square, the same German tank destroyed one of our Sherman tanks and killed three of its crew. When this happened, our crew was ordered to go down the adjacent street and destroy the Panther. We were told to just move into the intersection far enough to fire into the side of the enemy tank, which had its gun facing up the other street. However, as we entered the intersection, our driver had his periscope turned toward the Panther and saw their gun turning to meet us.
When I turned our turret, I was looking into the Panther's gun tube; so instead of stopping to fire, our driver drove into the middle of the intersection so we wouldn't be a sitting target.
Source: 3rd Armored Division Website - www.3ad.com
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The German tank crew discovers the tank the same time when it is leaving the cover of the destroyed houses in street An den Dominikanern.
Both tanks are in direct visual contact now. The first shot now will decide the fate of the other tank, the fate of five soldiers and their families.
What's the reason the Panther doesn't shot immediately ?
It's possible they have problems to identify the tank. The Pershing tank was very new in Europe. Maybe they want to wait until the Pershing stops on the crossing. Maybe they are not able to aim the Pershing as long as it is driving.
In any case this delay is crucial for the fate of the German tank. Fractions of seconds decide between life and death.
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 Overview battle area 
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On the right side the building of the Deutsche Arbeitsfront where Jim Bates filmed the Panther in his tank duel movie. The Panther tank location is marked blue on the left side. The Pershing now is located on the crossing in front of the building.Jim Bates: |
Cpl. Clarence Smoyer the gunner, did not wait for his tank to stop but fired before the gun was aimed at him.
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The Pershing tank drives to the crossing An den Dominikanern / Marzellenstrasse and fires toward the German Panther at the end of Marzellenstrasse. Distance between the two tanks: 110 m / 360 ft.
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A crew member of the German tank flees. Movie pictures taken from cameraman James Bates
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Another shell is on the way to the German tank
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The shell a short time before the hit
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The shell hits the tank
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A German crew member is running away.
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And a third shell appears
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Again a hit.
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The German Panther tank is on fire | |
Following the film made by Jim Bates four crew members are able to escape, one of them dies in a hospital a short time later. According the records another soldier was found dead in the Panther the next day.
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Pershing gunner Clarence Smoyer described the event several times. The following description is based on a meantime outdated thesis from cameraman Jim Bates, that no German soldier survived the tank duel:
... our driver drove into the middle of the intersection so we wouldn't be a sitting target. As we were moving, I fired once. Then we stopped and I fired two more shells to make sure they wouldn't fire at our side. All three of our shells penetrated, one under the gun shield and two on the side. The two side hits went completely through and out the other side.
As for the German tank crew, I spent many years wondering if they survived. Only recently, did I find the answer. A documentary film about the life of Jim Bates, the Army photographer who took the famous Cologne footage, revealed that three of the crew died outside of the tank. A letter I received from another soldier who looked through one of the shell holes said he saw one burned to death inside the tank. Apparently none of them survived the ordeal. The T26 tank was the best tank we had during the war.
Source: 3rd Armored Division Website - www.3ad.com
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The three hits caused by the Pershing - (1), (2) and (3). Number (4) is the Panther's optic, not a hit (one can see the optic in the little picture top right showing another Panther - red arrow). So you see the fire inside the Panther through this optic. Hit number (2) is hidden behind the gun.
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On this picture one can see hit (2) much better. | |
The burning German tank. The Sherman which was hit by the Panther is located in the road going to the right side.
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Photo: NARA.
The burning Panther. Photo was taken by Signal Corps photographer John Himes.
Photo: NARA, published on footnote.com
Another picture showing the burning Panther and the theater.
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 | The description of the tank duel Pershing / Panther above is only a short summary of the events. A more detailed description of this tank duel and especially the bale out of the German tank crew with 37 and more photos and detail pictures can be found on my webpage tank duel blow-by-blow. In addition there are 5 digital worked movie sequences close up and not that blurred as the original. |
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The next days US soldiers examine the destroyed German tank, it becomes a popular photo subject
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Again the destroyed German tank in front of the cathedral
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The crew of the US tank which fired at the German tank, left to right:
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Asst. Driver Homer Davis
Tank Commander Robert Early
Gunner Clarence Smoyer
Driver William McVey
Asst. Gunner John Deriggi
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Photograph by Jim Bates. Courtesy of Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District, 161-3307, photos.ppld.org
Once again the Panther tank at the cathedral. This and the following two other pictures were taken by Jim Bates on March 07, 1945, when Bates and other reporters were taking pictures around the cathedral. At the right side of the picture one can see the destroyed Sherman on street Komoedienstrasse (red arrow).
Excerpt from picture above, the destroyed Sherman on the street.
Photographs by Jim Bates. Courtesy of Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District, 161-3311 and 161-3314, photos.ppld.org
Left: Asst. Driver Homer Davis and Asst. Gunner John Deriggi in front of the destroyed Panther tank. Right: Davis and Deriggi with a third soldier on top of the Panther.
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And finally a photo where one can see the way the US-troops made through the Cologne center.
Yellow line the way of Company 'F' with the Sherman tanks coming from Friesenstrasse, passing Zeughausstrasse and ending in Komödienstrasse next to the cathedral. Red line the way of Company 'E' with the Pershing tank, coming from Gereonstrasse ending in street An den Dominikanern. Blue point the location where the Panther was located finally - at crossing Komödienstrasse / Marzellenstrasse.
This picture in big resolution here - 535 KB. |
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Resumee The German Panther tank at the cathedral was one of the last German tanks in the city center at this time. The other German units had already left this side of the city and had withdrawn across the Rhine. During the senseless tank duel at least 2 crew members (one inside the tank, one later in a hospital) of the German tank and 3 crew members of the US tank die. From two German soldiers we know they survived WWII. The German crew:
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Bartelborth - survived
König - survived
? died in a hospital
? died inside the tank
? ?
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Clarence Smoyer lives in the US. The other German and US tank soldiers died in the meanwhile.
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| NEW: Video |
 Video Battle for Cologne - tank duel |
| Youtube Video tank duel at the cathedral, March 06, 1945. Chronic and analytical presentation of the famous tank duel at the Cologne cathedral. See the fascinating original film with descriptions. 10 minutes of interesting film scenes show the destruction of a Sherman tank, the destruction of a Panther tank and the escaping crew members. 5 presentation parts show different analyses. Original film scenes show injured persons. |
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| NEW: tank duel sightseeing tour |
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In case you plan to visit Cologne and look for the places the tank duel took place, this page could be a little help for you. Here I have created a little sightseeing tour, where you will visit the most relevant places of the tank duel. |
 | More Weblinks:
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| General links: |
Google/LIFE photo: Sherman and burning Panther (Silk)
Google/LIFE photo: Sherman place in 1949, Carnival
Corbis photo: Panther and Cathedral
Corbis photo: Sherman before hit (Ramage)
LIFE photo: Sherman after hit (Ramage)
3AD Panther photo sequence (with partially incorrect descriptions)
youtube Video, 3AD during capture of Cologne
1000 bomber raid May 30/31, 1942
Bates interview with movie sequences
Smoyer interview, History channel
Smoyer memoirs on 3ad.com
Once again capture of Cologne, tank duel
Combat Mission scenario "Duel in Cologne"
 And a russian page about the tank duel:
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| sightwalk - Panorama pictures showing the battle area today - German |
Building A.d.Dominikanern - Bates location during tank duel
Location where the Panther stood - corner Marzellenstrasse/Komödienstrasse
Location where the Sherman stood - Komödienstrasse
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