Panzer III L

During Germany's rearming, German tank doctrine intended the Panzer III to be their main battle tank, to engage and destroy opposition tanks. For this purpose, its three-man turret provided an advantage over current opposition tanks of the time. The Panzer IV, with its short 7.5cm gun firing high explosive rounds was to engage soft targets such as infantry strong points and antitank guns. When the Panzer IIIs encountered the Soviet T-34 and KV series of heavy tanks during Operation Barbarossa, the Germans were unable to adequately improve it. This lead to up-gunning of the Panzer IV, and the production of self-propelled antitank guns.