Background

For Hitler's Germany, the Winter of 1945 was, in every way, a bleak one indeed. After 5 years of war that saw lightning victories in Poland and Western Europe, the adventure in North Africa, the monumental ecstasy and agony of the Russian campaign, and the relentless day and night bombardment by the Allied air forces, at last the final endgame was set to be played in Berlin itself, in the very heart of the Third Reich.

In Paul Renwick Farley's momentous painting, we see the last elements of Germany's finest gathering for the final battle - the Panther medium tank, arguably the best tank in its day, the formidable "King" Tiger, the redoubtable Pak 88mm, and wheeling overhead the war's ultimate fighter aircraft - the Me-262. In an almost surreal touch, the Brandenburg Gate frames this scene, like the proscenium arch to a Wagnerian Opera it will bear silent witness to the coming Gotterdammerung.

In this superb painting, Farley has captured the very essence of the Mk V Panther tank. Shown here is the late model Ausf G Panther, the most advanced tank design of its day; this one has been enhanced with the experimental FG 1250 infrared night vision sight. Panther 122 belonging to the Panzer Division 29 Muencheberg would be pitted against much superior Russian forces of Marshal Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front in its final assault on Berlin across the river Oder at the Seelow heights a month later in mid April.

The King Tigers of SS schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 and the Pak 88s were both veterans of the Eastern campaign. Finally, the retreat before the Russian juggernaut would make their last stand in front of the Reichstag, and in the first week of May, fire the last shots in anger in Berlin. Above the lifting fog, a swarm of Me-262s of JG-7 shatters the morning quiet as they head out to meet yet another raid by the heavies of the US Air Force.

Print Specifications

Main Print:	"Panzers in Berlin" Limited Edition Print Limited to 650 Prints, Certificate of Authenticity provided Full colour, 29" (width) x 25" (height) Image Area: 26" (width) x 20" (height) Printed on 300gsm archival paper with fade resistant inks