The Soviets fielded many new weapons and implemented numerous organizational changes to counter the heavy tank battalions. The British conducted several studies of the Tiger, and of the heavy tank battalions, in an attempt to identify weaknesses of each. The Allied intelligence estimate of German forces in the west prior to D-day shows that the heavy tank battalions were the only unit below divisional size that the Allies posted on their theater intelligence map. These examples show that Germanys enemies took the threat of the heavy tank battalions very seriously and thus provide testimony to their effectiveness.Despite the success of the heavy tank battalions in destroying enemy tanks, there were deficiencies in the organization and equipment and areas that could have been improved. Almost all of these deal directly or indirectly with Tiger and Tiger II technical and mechanical problems.Frequently when a Tiger was damaged and was subsequently destroyed by its crew, the crew managed to escape capture and return to its unit. This had the benefit of creating experienced crews. These benefits came at a cost in other areas however.This usually resulted in a low operational rate for tanks within the heavy tank battalions, especially after extended periods of combat. The tendency of the Tigers to break down, coupled with the weight of the tanks, made recovery difficult. The failure to field a suitable recovery vehicle, with the exception of the Bergpanther, or to field them in sufficient quantities, resulted in the loss of Tigers in many instances.When this was included with the Tigers maintenance requirements, heavy tank battalions were limited in their ability to conduct mobile operations across an extended area. The Allies exploited this fact during the numerous and frequent operational and strategic withdrawals of the heavy tank battalions. The result of these deficiencies is clearly seen by the number of tanks destroyed by their own crews.After considering the limitations of the Tiger and realizing that the preponderance of missions given to heavy tank battalions were defensive in nature, it is puzzling that the Germans did not develop and publish more guidance and doctrine to meet these facts. The German military leaders stressed the concept of concentration, whether in the offense or the defense. In several instances when the German Army adhered to this principle in the defense, the heavy tank battalion was unable to respond in time or with sufficient combat power to stop the enemy penetrations.A prerequisite for employing heavy tank battalions as a mobile reserve or as a counterattack force to defeat enemy penetrations was for them to have greater, or at least comparable, mobility and radius of action than the enemy formations they were attempting to defeat. If this criterion was met, then the principle of concentration in the defense might also be applicable. In many instances, because of the deficiencies and limitations of the Tiger, this criterion was not met. In these cases, enemy armored formations attacked in areas absent of heavy tank battalions. This led to many forced operational and strategic withdrawals, during which many Tigers broke down or ran out of fuel. Often, because they could not be recovered, this led to their destruction.In light of these facts, heavy tank battalions may have been more effective if they had adopted a principle of dispersion in the defense in order to cover more avenues of approach or more defensive frontage. A prime example of the effectiveness of this tactic was s.Pz.-Abt. 502, which operated primarily with Army Group North around Leningrad and in the Baltic states. This area was heavily wooded and swampy, and armored mobility was reduced to the roads. Because of this, the battalion rarely operated as a concentrated unit. Instead, it was spread out and broken down to very small elements to effectively cover all the available armored avenues of approach. This battalion achieved the second highest kill total of all of the battalions and produced the highest overall kill ratio.The German military developed the heavy tank battalion and the Tiger and Tiger II tanks to destroy enemy tanks, whether in the offense or defense. Heavy tank battalions were successful in this area, but their overall kill ratio was reduced because of forced withdrawals over extended distances. These withdrawals caused the loss of many Tigers and highlighted the deficiencies in the Tiger and in the lack of recovery assets within the heavy tank battalions themselves.The heavy tank battalions were hindered by the failure to adhere to German doctrine on their employment in the offense. German commanders, in several instances, failed to commit a consolidated, concentrated heavy tank battalion in a major attack. During their few offensive missions, heavy tank battalions failed to achieve an operational breakthrough, although they were able to penetrate the first echelon defenses. The German heavy tank battalions were also hindered by the lack of a coherent, published defensive doctrine based upon the realities and weaknesses of the Tiger.German commanders continued to stress the importance of concentration in the defense. This was not always an invalid concept, but the lack of dispersal in the defense often denied heavy tanks the ability to counter enemy penetrations in time and with sufficient force.