German Forces

Spoils of war - Polish TKS tankette.

Bundesarchiv (?)

German NCO poses with captured Polish TKS tankette, 1939. This tankette is fitted with the standard armament for the type, a 7.92 Hotchkiss machine gun. TK series tankettes formed the bulk of Polish armour in 1939. Their light armour and machine-gun armament, along with poor deployment, resulted in their suffering substantial casualties. On the other hand, the fact that the bulk of German tanks at this time were lightly-armoured PzKpfw I and (less numerous, but important) PzKpfw II meant that individual TK tankettes could, with a bit of skill and luck, hurt the panzers. The very small number of 20mm cannon-armed TKS could certainly present difficulties for a PzKpfw I or II. For this reason, along with the Polish artillery, the TK tankettes played their part in inflicting the not-insignificant losses suffered by the panzers in the Polish Campaign. For all its inadequacies as a combat vehicle, an intact TKS tankette like this was a valuable acquisition for the Wehrmacht, in view of Germany's ongoing shortage of motor vehicles. A substantial number of TK tankettes were captured by the Germans. These were subsequently used as artillery and general purpose tractors, and in local security duties. Best regards, JR.