508th Heavy Panzer Battalion The 508th Heavy Panzer Battalion ( ) , was a heavy tank battalion of the German Army during World War II , equipped with Tiger I heavy tanks . It fought at Anzio and later defended German - held Northern Italy opposing the Allies during the Italian Campaign . It fought in Italy until it surrendered at the end of the war in May 1945 . Formation . The battalion was partially formed on 11 May 1943 in France using personnel from a battalion of the 29th Panzer Regiment . The third company was attached from the 313rd Panzer Company ( Funklenk ) – a Tiger company equipped with Borgward B IV remotely controlled demolition vehicles . By 24 January 1944 , the battalion was at full strength with 45 Tigers Is under the command of Major Hudel . Operations . Anzio . In early February 1944 the battalion was sent to oppose Allied landings at Anzio . Transportation by rail ended at Ficulle in Italy , far from the enemy beachhead . Because Allied air superiority made further rail transport difficult , the battalion drove the remaining distance , via Rome . One Tiger caught fire on route and was destroyed in an explosion . Sixty percent of the Tigers suffered mechanical breakdown on the journey through the narrow , winding , mountainous roads . By 14 February , the first company deployed piecemeal in the Anzio region near Aprilia ( known as " The Factory " ) , as the second company arrived in Rome . On 15 February the battalion was attached to the 26th Panzer Division . A single platoon attempted to push toward the beachhead the next day , but muddy conditions foiled the operation . On 19 February the second company reached Aprilia , and the attached 313rd " Funklenk " Company was officially renamed as the third company of the battalion . The next day , the 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion , equipped with Elefant tank destroyers , was attached to the 508th . Between 21 and 24 February , the battalion claimed twenty US tanks ; seventeen while using small elements to support several unsuccessful attempts to reduce the beachhead from Aprilia , and three M4 Sherman s which had penetrated German lines . In late February , two Shermans were captured ; their turrets were removed and they were converted into recovery vehicles , greatly improving the ability of the battalion to recover damaged Tigers . On 29 February the second company was part of the final attack towards the beachhead , from Cisterna . Its advance was restricted to roads surrounded by marshy areas , and the attack stalled due to strong resistance . Eight Tigers were disabled by anti tank fire from the American 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion , accurate naval artillery fire , and mines . All were recovered under enemy fire over the next five days , but four were later written off as beyond repair . After combat on 1 March the 508th was attached to the 69th Panzer Regiment , with only twelve Tigers operational . Eight Tiger Is absorbed from " Tiger - Gruppe " Schwebbach ( formerly " Schwere Panzer Kompanie " Meyer ) brought the battalion back up to full strength . The battalion withdrew to Rome , staying there from 5 to 16 March , then , slightly over strength in tanks due to replacements , returned to the Aprilia — Campoleone — Cisterna area , where they resisted expansion of the beachhead . Unusually , Tigers were occasionally used in indirect fire roles . The Borgward IV demolition carriers had mobility problems in the muddy and mountainous conditions . In late May , the Allies broke out from the Monte Cassino and the Anzio regions as Operation Diadem bore fruit . On 23 May the 508th claimed 15 Shermans destroyed during a German counter - attack against advancing Allied forces near Cisterna , for the loss of a single Tiger . The next day they started to withdraw to Rome ; two tanks were lost to mechanical failure , seven more were destroyed by their crews in Cori due to lack of fuel , eleven more near Giulianello from breakdown , and another one near Valmontone on 25 May . This was a total loss of twenty - two Tigers in three days , with only one from combat . The battalion commander , Major Hudel , was recalled to the Führer Headquarters and sacked . The remaining operational tanks were all placed in the first company , which then attempted to defend the Velletri area during 26 – 27 May , then withdrew near to Rome . Tank strength dropped from a high of 49 on 25 April , to 11 operational on 31 May . The spare crews were used as anti - tank teams . German withdrawal . By 3 June 1944 , a general fighting withdrawal to the Trasimene Line began as the Allies pressed northward , taking Rome the next day . Thirteen Tigers were lost moving towards Poggibonsi on 13 June , mostly destroyed by their crews . Two more were lost in action against five enemy tanks near Chiusdino on 27 June . On 4 July one Tiger fell into a cellar near Colle di Val d ' Elsa ; it was destroyed as unrecoverable . Six Shermans were destroyed near Tavarnelle on 8 July . Despite complaints by battalion command , orders from Army Group were to widely disperse the Tigers in defense . Often , single tanks were involved in combat , which caused severe command , control and logistic problems . The 508th moved to San Casciano by 23 July . On 24 July a tank fell through a bridge and burned . The next day an enemy attack was repelled , but another Tiger fell through a cellar and was destroyed . On 29 July seven Shermans were knocked out for the cost of two Tigers . One Tiger was captured on 30 July near Galluzzo . Eastern Italy . On 1 August 1944 , only fourteen Tigers were operational out of a total of twenty - eight available ; all surviving second company tanks were assigned to the third company . The 508th reached the vicinity of Pisa on 14 August . A week later , Hauptmann Stelter was made battalion commander . In early September the first company moved across to Savignano in eastern Italy , eleven tanks were lost to mechanical problems during the road march . The personnel of the second company , which had no tanks , returned to Paderborn in Germany . After a day of rest in Bologna on 14 September , the third company moved via Imola , Faenza , and Forlì to Cesena by 30 September , positioned to oppose the impending northwards thrust of the British Adriatic front of Allied Operation Olive . On 1 October , fifteen Tigers were operational , ten in the first company , three in the third ; both were then attached to LXXVI Panzer Corps . Later in the month , the German lines were pushed back to Northern Italy . On 20 October , the demolition carriers were sent back to Germany . On 1 November , fourteen tanks were operational . By the end of the month , the personnel previously of the " Funklenk " company were sent back to Germany , disbanding the third company . Only ten operational tanks of the fifteen available in the first company remained in Italy , initially resting in Ospitale . By the end of December some replacement crews arrived . After returning to the front , the company saw action in Faenza on 1 January 1945 , then south of Solarolo on 3 January . Throughout January and early February the tanks were frequently used in the artillery role . Destruction . On 12 February 1945 , the last fifteen Tigers were transferred to the 504th Heavy Tank Battalion , which continued to fight in Italy ; it lost all of its tanks by late April and surrendered 3 May . The remaining personnel who were not transferred rested in Pontebba on 21 February , then returned through Austria to Germany . They started training for the Tiger II on 17 March , but were given a single Tiger I and six Panther tank s on 27 March , and formed a small " Kampfgruppe " . The second company , still without tanks , were used as infantry . These forces fought near Husen on 29 – 30 March , Paderborn and Scherfelde on 1 – 2 April , then Hofgeismar and Polle on 5 April before withdrawing to Berlin , which surrendered in early May 1945 . Over its lifetime , the battalion claimed to have knocked out more than 100 enemy tanks ; 59 percent of its own 78 losses were from crews destroying their vehicles , while only 19 percent were destroyed by the enemy .