503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion

s.Pz.Abt. 503 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion
Schwere Panzerabteilung 503
Active	4 May 1942 – 8 May 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Army
Type	Panzer
Size	Battalion
Equipment	Tiger I (1942–1945) Tiger II (1944–1945)
Engagements	Eastern Front: Third Battle of Kharkov Battle of Kursk Korsun Pocket Budapest Western Front: Normandy Operation Goodwood

Eastern Front:

Western Front:

The 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion (abbreviated s.Pz.Abt. 503) was a German heavy Panzer Abteilung (a battalion-sized unit) equipped with Tiger I tanks and Panzer IIIs. In 1944, it was re-equipped with the new Tiger II. The battalion saw action on the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. As with other German Heavy Panzer Detachments, it was normally not assigned to a single corps, but shuffled around according to war circumstances. Later the battalion became part of the newly formed Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle as the Feldherrnhalle Heavy Tank Battalion.

The unit was created on May 4, 1942. The unit consisted of 45 Tiger Is on May 10, 1943. In the aftermath of the Battle of Stalingrad, the battalion was deployed to Army Group Don and arrived at the front on January 1, 1943. The battalion, along with several divisions of the 4th Panzer Army, was tasked with securing the withdrawal of Army Group A; it then retreated to Rostov. On February 11, 1943, the unit was transferred to Kharkov. It took part in the Third Battle of Kharkov and the Operation Citadel in 1943. Four days before the start of Citadel, the battalion reported that 42 of their 45 Tiger tanks were operational. The unit losing three Tigers during the operation and five more during the subsequent retreat.