<P> The German response to the modest initial successes of the Allied tanks was the A7V, which, like some other tanks of the period, was based on caterpillar tracks of the type found on the American Holt Tractors . Initially unconvinced that tanks were a serious threat, the High Command ordered just twenty A7Vs, which took part in a handful of actions between March and October, 1918 . They suffered from numerous design faults, and Germany actually used more captured British tanks than A7Vs . As it became clear that the tank could play a significant role on the battlefield, Germany began working on designs for both heavy and light tanks, but only a small number of prototypes were completed by the end of the War . </P> <P> After the Armistice, all tanks in German hands were confiscated . Almost all were eventually scrapped, and the various postwar treaties forbade the former Central Powers from building or possessing tanks . </P> <P> On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany . Although he initially headed a coalition government, he quickly eliminated his government partners . He ignored the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles (1919) and began rearming, approving the development of many German tank designs he was shown . </P> <P> The German Army first used light Panzer I tanks, along with the Panzer II, but the mainstays were the medium Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs which were released in 1937 . The IV became the backbone of Germany's panzer force and the power behind the blitzkrieg . During the invasion of Russia in 1941, the Germans encountered the famous and technologically advanced Soviet T - 34 tanks . This led Germany to develop the Panther or Panzer V in response . Its 75mm gun could penetrate the new Soviet tanks . Germany also developed the heavy Tiger I, released in 1942 . The Tiger could defeat any Allied tank and was soon joined by the Tiger II, also known as King Tiger, but too few were produced to turn the tide . </P>

What happened to all the german tanks after ww2