Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. J - Fighting the partisans

The Panzer II bore many variants over its service life, from the Ausf.A, to J.
The Panzerkampfwagen II Ausführung J. was a heavy reconnaissance tank, and compared to its bretheren, was far better protected.
Being a ‘Heavy Reconnaissance Tank’, the J performed a similar role to a light tank. This panzer was far from light, however, completely disregarding the usual morphology of this type of vehicle. It was slow, heavy and extremely well armored. The only similarity the vehicle bore to the other Panzer IIs was its name. It was not, in any way, an offensive weapon. If it got in trouble, the armor would have protected it while it withdrew, and its cannon would have been used to try and suppress the enemy in the meantime.
The Panzer II J began life as the VK16.01 (VK: Vollketten – fully tracked, 16: Tracked vehicle weighing 16 tonnes. 01: First prototype) on November 15 1939. The prototype was approved in 1940 and the contract for production was given to MAN. There was some delay after however, and the vehicle didn’t go into production until 1943. Even so, the production run was quite limited.
The II J was an extremely tough nut to crack. The vehicle had 80 mm (3.15 in) of frontal armor and 50 mm (1.97 in) on the sides with similar values for the turret as well.
The II J’s teeth were not quite as sharp as the Tiger however, as the tank kept the same Rheinmetall 2 cm KwK auto-cannon that was standard issue for regular Panzer IIs. It also had a coaxial MG 34. The 2 cm (0.79 in) auto-cannon was a considerable improvement over the Panzer I Ausf.F’s dual MGs. The weapon was more than deadly to large groups of infantry and lightly armored vehicles. However, it would really struggle against most tanks of the era. Though as its main role was reconnaissance, this wasn’t too much of an issue.
The Panzer II Ausf.J was a short-lived variant. The original order of 100 vehicles was canceled on the 1st of July 1942 due to construction efforts being focused on newer Panzer models. As such, only 22 of the vehicles were produced in total. In 1943, seven of the tanks were issued to the 12th Panzer Regiment, operating on the Russian Front.
These vehicles saw combat at the battle of Kursk along with its Panzer I F cousin. The Panzer II Ausf.J’s armor would have probably proven to be a quite nasty surprise to the Soviet defenders. However, it is important to note that this armor was only meant to allow the vehicle to get out of sticky situations, and not to actually assault enemy positions. It’s 2 cm (0.79 in) autocannon, while adequate for the reconnaissance role, would have been totally useless against most enemy armored opposition.
By April of 1943 it became clear that the Pz II Ausf. J was no good as a combat unit. The most reasonable course of action was to send these tanks to auxiliary units, the «punishment squads». The first such unit was the 13th Special Purpose Police Company, formed on January 6th, 1943 in France. It was assigned to the 14th SS Police Regiment and received 6 tanks of this type. The company was located in Yugoslavia starting with July of 1943. By the fall it still had four tanks of this type remaining.
The PzII Ausf. J is an example of what happens when a nonsensical task is given. It's hard to say that MAN built a bad tank. However, the military should be careful of what it wishes for. As with the PzII Ausf. J, the number of vague tactical requirement for the vehicle was off the charts.

More info at
warspot.net/428-pz-k..teps-of-a-light-tank