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Verschnaufpause (pause between battles, lull in combat) was just one German WW2 military term describing particular combat situation. Other German terms include Schwerpunkt (main point of effort), Gefechtsstreifen (narrow attack sectors), Flankenangriff (flank attack), Umfassungsangriff (envelopment attack), Einkreisung (encirclement), Flugelangriff (wing attack), Durchbruch (breakthrough), Einbruch (penetration) etc. WW2 German Offensive Doctrines - etloh.8m.com/strategy/offense.html
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Photo showing Panthers with winter white-wash camouflage. Layout of number "411" above used as template for UweM Panther model construction. Spare roadwheels bolted on rear turret for additional armor protection, two cable wrapped on rear engine deck, protruding tow hooks attached to rear tow loops. White camouflage quickly looses its pristine-ness after successive combat, camouflage turned to tint of light yellow from mist of mud and grim.
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Panther 411 of 4th company, 1st platoon, 1st vehicle in platoon, assembled on 15 Jan 1945 for counter-offensive against Soviet thrusts into East Prussia. Given chronic German supply disruption from shortages and enemy air interdiction operations in last few months of WW2, Panther crews carried as much supplies as possible when they were resupplied.
- Panther tank production contracted to armament manufacturers among major German cities of Nuernberg (MAN plant), Berlin (Daimler Benz plant), Kassel (Henschel & Sohn plant), and Hannover (MNH plant). Thus as war reached it final months in 1945, stories of German tanks coming directly off the production line into combat zone only a few miles away camouflaged with only reddish anti-rust paint primer was absolutely true. One estimate stated that German tank combat expectancy lasted between 4 weeks to 4 days depending on close proximity of enemy troops. Allies encountered these factory rollout-tanks, such as Americans near Kassel, British/Canadians near Hannover, Soviets near Berlin.
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Rollover : Dec 1944, Panther tanks unloaded at Memel port, assembled inland. Spare tracks bolted  onto turret and rear engine deck for additional armor protection, intention was to defeat enemy shaped-charge warheads (warheads using concentrated heat to burn through armor plating and spew molten debris inside crew compartment). Enemy rounds would hit the extra tracks, expend about 75% of its energy before hitting main hull. Shaped Charged Warhead - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaped_charge
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From 1939 to 1945, Memel was part of Greater German Reich, governed by East Prussia district. End of WW2 saw Memel transfer to control of Soviet Union state Lithuania and renamed Klaipeda. Klaipeda - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaipeda
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Inset 1 : Panther "113" on open steppe in central Poland circa Autumn 1944. Panther decked out with straw to break up its silhouette, thus from afar it may resemble thatch mount or hilltop hump, for Germans were quite adapt in camouflage techniques and armor ambushes. In postwar military lore (especially in USA), German Tiger tanks often assumed mythical status given its armor and firepower. However, German Panther tank with its ballistic armor hull design and high-velocity 7.5cm gun (which enabled it to carry more ammunition that Tiger's 8.8cm gun due to shell size) had the most influence on postwar tank design among all nations.
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Inset 2 : Panther from 2nd Company / 4th Panzer Division (number 20# barely visible on turret rear)  passing through Eastern European village (either Poland or East Prussia). Barrel storage tube on rear deck, Schurzen (armor side skirts) mounted on hull sides. Since Panthers are transiting secured rear area to frontlines, its crew huddle outside vehicle for better comfort and also be on watch for marauding Soviet aircrafts. 4th Panzer Division - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_4th_Panzer_Division
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