Tiger 712 heads south

This photo shows Tiger "712", which was eventually captured, given to US forces and ended up in American museums. The tank can be identified by damage on its skirts which matches other photos where the number can be read; also, various features (such as the folding mudflaps) rule out all but a few Tunisian Tigers. The bottom of the "2" digit can be seen on the turret, proving that the Tiger carries the number "712" in this photo, rather than any its previous numbers which all ended in "1".

The location of this photo can also be deduced. The hills in the distance, visible under contrast enhancement, have a distinct shape which matches a range of hills in the east of Tunisia (The modern section of this photo was assembled from Google Street View.) The location is confirmed by a road there, which existed in 1943 and matches exactly the direction of the straight road in the photo. And so we can say that this column of Tigers and Pz.3 is heading south from Enfidha (Enfidaville), which must be the town visible in the distance.

We can also deduce the date of the photograph. The Tigers of the former s.Pz.Abt. 501 were given turret numbers beginning with "7" in early March 1943, after Operation Ochsenkopf. They were attached to s.Pz.Abt.504. The combat diary of s.Pz.Abt. 504 for the rest of the campaign describes only one mission that would send the Tigers along this road; a 400km journey to Maknassy, from 17 to 19 March 1943. Given that Enfidha is near the beginning of the journey, and the shadows in this photo proving that it's evening, we can conclude that this photo was taken on 17 March.

This implies that Tiger "712" is one of the twelve Tigers that went south to Maknassy and fought American tanks there. Indeed the damage to its turret, including the loss of smoke launchers, likely occurred in that battle because it does not exist in this photo. The combat history of Tiger "712", not recorded in any known document, is being revealed by the photographic record.