M10 Ersatz

World War II Ger- Uh, I mean American Tank Destroyer

About the M10 Ersatz

The unofficially dubbed ‘Ersatz M10s’ were a cadre of German Panther tanks disguised as American/Allied M10 Tank Destroyers during the Battle of the Bulge in Winter 1944, in the Malmedy region of Eastern Belgium. Also known commonly as the Ardennes Offensive, the Battle of the Bulge was one of the last major pushes undertaken by the German Army during the Second World War. During the battle, a section of the Wehrmacht employed an elaborate attempt at subterfuge, in what is now one of the most well-known ‘False Flag’ operations in the history of mechanized warfare. The deception of disguising Panthers as Allied M10 3in GMC tank destroyers was part of a larger operation – codenamed Greif – devised by Adolf Hitler himself. The operation itself fell under the command of the infamous Waffen-SS Commando, Otto Skorzeny, Mussolini’s knight in bloodied armor, and self-proclaimed as “the most dangerous man in Europe”…

To quote the fictional Captain George Mainwaring; the deception could be considered “just the sort of shabby trick the Nazis would play”, but is it a ‘war crime’, as so many are quick to label the tanks and the operation in general? This comes down to the execution of the plan, and specific details governing the rules of engagement under the Hague Convention (ratified by Germany in 1909) and Geneva Convention (ratified by Germany in 1929). It must be said, however, that this is far from the only case of such tactics being employed during the Second World War – and the Germans were not the only side to employ ruse de guerre tactics.

One thing to address is the name. These vehicles are most commonly known as ‘Ersatz M10s’ with the German word Ersatz meaning artificial, substitute, or imitation. However, this nom de guerre is a modern fallacy, thanks in no small part to its addition in recent media – it also goes by Panther/M10. In reality, there is no known record of an official name given to these vehicles. The most official designation for these vehicles comes from a post-battle US Army technical report, which gave them the long-winded – and bleeding obvious – title of ‘Panther Tanks Disguised as M10 Gun Motor Carriages’…

Instructions ( In-game )

Controls:
Trim to Move
Yaw to Steer
Pitch and Roll for Turret Control

Activation Groups:
AG1: Hull MG
AG2: Precision Mode
AG8: Lock Turret
GEAR: Parking Brake

Credits:

• LocalDealer for the track armour and exhaust system from Pz.Kpfw. V Panther Ausf. G

Other Variants:

Panther V Ausf. A

[ LINK ]

Jagdpanther Ausf. A

[ LINK ]