Battle tanks decided many battles during the Second World War. Some 25,000 were produced in Germany and some 250,000 by the Allies during the conflict. Yet despite overwhelming odds, the German Panzer Divisions became legendary. Just as a cavalryman becomes attached to his horse, the Panzer crews still vividly remember their mechanical mounts, the sounds they produced, the smell of fuel and oil, the effects they had on the enemy and also the fact that the Panzer could become a steel coffin in one blazing moment.