Part I: Favourite Armoured Battle in a War Movie?

[Crossroads]

Here's something to kill time while waiting for that opponent turn to arrive...

Part I: What is your favourite tank battle sequence in a war movie?
Part II: Poll

First, please name your favourite tank battles from big or small screen. Please give your motivation as why this should be voted to be the best sequence, together with a link to a video clip. Yes - we need to see the action in order to vote.

I will then open a poll in a couple of weeks time, include what I believe to be the TOP10 candidates, we can all then vote as who gets the award for a best link.

Here are my candidates:

#1: BoB episode 3 "Carentan" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhFPHr0OP...re=related

BoB has defined what is to be expected of realistic battle sequences. Although there is a longer tank battle in episode 4 "Replacements", this gets my vote as I feel it really nicely builds up its momentum as the Germans prepare to counter attack from the top of the hill.

The assault guns don't seem able to utilise their cannons downwards against Easy company positions. Soon, we see them retreat having had their noses blooded by some very courageous bazooka usage and then by the cavalry that is the 2nd Armor Shermans.

Actually, that was a h3ll of a job the Easy company accomplished in this sequence, suppressing the German infantry to their positions and taking the daring enemy tank out of action, keeping the other tanks put as well.

What made this my top choice was how they first showed a realistic view of the assault guns giving close support to infantry, then introduced friendly armour to change this into a tank battle.

What is my pet hate about this sequence are the GIs striking a pose on top of a Sherman, killing single handedly everyone with their .50 cal. It is so unbelievable it must be true (as I believe pretty much everything we see in BoB actually happened). I do not know about you but I would not approach enemy armour standing on a top of a tank :chin:

Nice mock-up of German tanks, I believe I saw a StuG III G (75mm cannon), StuG III H (105 mm howitzer), Jagdpanther, and was that a Panther that appeared for a few seconds?

EDIT: No, the StuG with the skirt was meant to be a Stug III G as well. And yes, I believe the tank is meant to be a Panther.

My #2 goes for the infamous Tali Ihantala 1944 movie and to its sequence where they film with actual StuGIII Gs and T34/76s and 85s. Unfortunately the clip has disappeared from Youtube so this does not qualify. Let us see if I can find it again.

EDIT: The clip indeed is gone but found this instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYo-zlaDby4

The movie sequences are all changed to create a music video out of some of the tank battles in the movie. Oh well, this just goes on to demonstrate the wasted potential of the movie... And what can be accomplished with a Hans Zimmer soundtrack :smoke:

My original reason for selecting the original clip was how it demonstrated why it was crucial to have time to stop before firing as the contemporary tanks of the WWII era had no mechanism to stabilise the cannon tube while in motion. The point in case is the fourth T34 the StuG crew met. It moved to a kill, halted, weaved, fired a bit too early and consequently hit the ground in front of the StuG.

Also I liked the action where the StuG with its cannon jammed to upright joins the battle, destroys one T34 and is then hit by another T34.

OK OK, I would vote for a clip of just seeing them in motion :cheeky:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjxNexw0mmo


And finally, there is so much I have not seen. I found this by accident while typing this at the airport, waiting for my flight:

Osvobozhdenie ("Liberation") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Q75NVnRPA

A HUGE Soviet-DDR Movie about the Liberation of Berlin. I have not watched it yet, but the opening sequence comes with most tanks I have ever seen in any movie. Come to think of it, there are more tanks than I have seen in all other movies combined! :eek1:

Apparently, they even build a King Tiger out of what is a IS-2 (or a more modern T55? I am not good with these):




So, my fellow Members, let us begin the Race for the Best Armoured Battle in a War Movie!

EDIT2: Just got home and watched part I of "Liberation". I was afraid the competition ended before it even started, as this is truly massive. The director managed to turn the battle of Kursk into a kung-fu sequence... Game on! With YouTube, one link leads to another. I will stop here, though. Please join! :)

[Larry Reese]

I'll have to think about this. However, that is an IS-2 without doubt (or possibly and IS-3, we can't see the hull front to make a clear differentiation in the photo as posted). Looks weird with side skirting.

LR

[Crossroads]

Yes, you are spot on, an IS-2 for sure. The track wheels of a T-55 are a different breed altogether.

Looking forward to hear you guys naming your favorite ones!

Come to think of it, that's quite a sad little list I was able to come up with :rolleyes:

I can't think of that many modern movies that have serious tank action... SPR is one with the famous scene in the end, there is the Tiger I, and a single Marder, if my memory serves me right?

[Larry Reese]

I have a lot of problems with Saving Private Ryan from a realism perspective (particularly with regard to how it would fit into the overall Normandy campaign, and that there would be no need to hold the bridge, but then I've discussed all this here before). However, at the end of the movie there are two Tigers, one immobilized in the "trap" and the other destroyed on the bridge by air attack, and two Marders. One is destroyed by molotov cocktail, and the other survives I think (I'm going off of memory alone). Anyway, I need to think about it and review movies to come up with one I think is the best.

LR

[Herr Straße Laufer]

Not quite an armored battle. More a battle with realistic armor but, I liked this scene from Winter War:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MHIC1wk2...re=related

I think they got the "feelings" of the Finnish soldiers as they learn to cope with a "new" weapons and how to counter them.

BTW, I have a heck of a lot of "issues" with Saving Private Ryan and the armor selected for the scenes. :chin:



RR

[Crossroads]

Oooh yes, rule #1: never mention SPR in a positive light to any serious WW II buff :smoke:

It is just too bad... The build-up to the final battle is excellent, I remember how it felt at the time in a full blown Dolby digital theatre. Sounds were getting loud and ominous, the sense of danger was soon almost physically present. There were also some truly breath taking images, such as the Tiger roaring over the rubble at some point of the battle, if my memory serves me well...

And yes, there are incredibly ridiculuous scenes throughout the movie, including this climax. Fully agree: let us not go there. ;)

But that's mainstream for you, I guess. Me, I haven't even bothered to check Enemy at the Gates as it supposingly has romantic elements in it. :angry:

I ain't paying nothing to see a freakin' love movie :cheeky:

We are a hard crowd to please, aren't we :whis:

But keep those tank battles coming! What little I saw in YouTube, this competition could quite easily be won by our Russian members


EDIT: "Reel" 2 of "Liberation" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXPKmx5eS...re=related

The soviet infantry seems to have a much tougher time against Tigers, is it because Tom Hanks is not helping them out with "sticky bombs"?

EDIT2: The whole "Liberation" saga seems to be available in the "Russian Youtube".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P21Zd_XE5...re=related

Google bar does a good job to translate the page into English. Interesting discussions...

Wow: Part I: Kursk, Part II: Dnieper, Part III: Operation Bagration, Part IV: Berlin, Part V: Reichstag.

Hmmm, now here's a way to spend the Christmas season, glued to the Youtube :chin:

[Steel God]

At the risk of not being taken seriously, I have always had a sweet spot for the climactic battle in Kelly's Heroes, when Odd Ball's Easy 8 Sherman (modified to be faster than any other tank in the ETO, forwards or backwards) takes out 2 Tiger I's in a classic game of urban cat and mouse. For a comedy movie they took the time to make the vehicles realistic (alright the Tiger is a little snub nosed) and the engagement plausible, even to include the reactions of Oddball and his crew, hippie buffoons the whole movie, when faced with the threat that was three Tiger I's, became steely eyed professionals. For a great many reason's Kelly's Heroes remains a perennial favorite on my Top 5 list.

[1925frank]

Crossroads, the first ten or fifteen minutes of "Enemy at the Gates" are worth seeing. Skip the rest if you want. The first ten or fifteen minutes are kind of comparable to the first ten or fifteen minutes of "Saving Private Ryan."

[Jason Petho]

At the risk of not being taken seriously, I have always had a sweet spot for the climactic battle in Kelly's Heroes, when Odd Ball's Easy 8 Sherman (modified to be faster than any other tank in the ETO, forwards or backwards) takes out 2 Tiger I's in a classic game of urban cat and mouse. For a comedy movie they took the time to make the vehicles realistic (alright the Tiger is a little snub nosed) and the engagement plausible, even to include the reactions of Oddball and his crew, hippie buffoons the whole movie, when faced with the threat that was three Tiger I's, became steely eyed professionals. For a great many reason's Kelly's Heroes remains a perennial favorite on my Top 5 list.

I concur.

Jason Petho

[Crossroads]

steel god: this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-gl2s2dJ...re=related

Never seen the movie, a true classic it seems I have to watch the whole thing this weekend :)

1925frank: thanks for the info Two snipers in a middle of a love story in Stalingrad sounded, well, very wrong :smoke:

--
EDIT: Here's a clip from the beginning of Enemy at the Gates http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=43f_1175395150&o=1
A great movie sequence to say the least. What utter madness... :(
German half-tracks fighting in the middle of the action, by the way :stir:
--

And regarding SPR, I quite enjoyed it as a mainstream movie. Good moments in the middle of bad moments, and vice versa. And the success of it brought us BoB, right :happy:

Guys, keep'em coming!