Vehicle Myths

WWII Vehicles: Myths/Facts
Myth: German tanks were diesels.

Fact: No German production tank models were diesels during WWII. All of them ran on petrol. This myth is prominently noted in the movie Patton, starring George C. Scott, in which Karl Malden, in the role of General Omar Bradley states the following after the slaughter at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia: [paraphrasing]"The German tanks were diesels, and as soon as ours were hit the gas went up." An additional fact: Some production models of the ubiquitous Sherman tank did use Diesel engines. So if anything, the technical advisors (of which General Bradley was one) and the writers of the film got it completely backwards. The real reasons for the US defeat at Kasserine Pass were due to experience and tactics on the part of the German army.