Super Heavy Super Massive Panzer VIII Maus - The Biggest Tank Ever

Following the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22nd June 1941, the German army had quickly gained huge swathes of territory and destroyed, captured, or killed large quantities of Soviet troops, supplies and equipment. Yet, despite this success, the German army was unable to deliver a knock-out blow against the Soviets or to capture Moscow. By January 1942, with Moscow saved by an increasingly stubborn Soviet defense, it was clear that the conflict on the Eastern Front was going to be very long and very bloody. As Soviet tanks of increasing quality, armor and firepower started to reach the front lines through 1942, it was clear that in order for German forces to maintain an edge in tank combat, they would need a tank that was bigger, more heavily armored, and better armed than anything that had gone before. There was also the need for a heavy tank capable of assaulting heavily defended enemy positions and since nothing in the German arsenal in Spring 1942 was capable of meeting these requirements, long term plans were being put into place.
The Maus, an easily recognisable vehicle, was the largest and heaviest production tank of WW2. It is impossible to consider the Maus and not be impressed by the machine as a feat of engineering. At 188 tonnes, it is the heaviest operational tank ever made by any nation at any time in any war. Following an Allied bombing raid of the Krupp plant on 4th August 1943, production of the Maus ground to a halt, with work on 30 hulls at various stages of completion. The result of this bombing was that there was an interruption in production which led to a scaling-down of production followed by the cancellation of the project in November 1943. This permitted just 2 hulls and a single turret to be finished.
Drawing both awe and fascination in equal measure, the Maus is a complex tank with a lengthy development.