The Push Back depicts the final days of Tiger I tanks serving with Panzer-Abteilung (Fkl) 301 as German forces collapsed into the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945. The artwork is paired with material recovered from an engine-bay storage component associated with one of the unit's last Tigers.
The Tiger I Relic
The relic comes from a storage tank or compartment component carried in the engine bay area of a Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I associated with Panzer-Abteilung 301. The surviving material retains portions of original finish and was recovered near Elsdorf, Germany.
Recovered Tiger I engine-bay component associated with Panzer-Abteilung 301.
Interior view of the recovered Tiger I component.
Large armored hulls were commonly scrapped after the war, while smaller components could remain on battlefields or be repurposed locally. That makes surviving peripheral pieces valuable evidence even when the complete vehicle no longer exists.
Panzer-Abteilung 301 in 1945
Panzer-Abteilung (Fkl) 301 fought during Germany's final defensive battles in the west. By spring 1945, the unit was retreating before overwhelming Allied forces toward the Ruhr, where a large German force was ultimately encircled.
Tiger I associated with Panzer-Abteilung 301 in the Elsdorf area.
The final Tigers connected with the unit were lost during the April fighting. The Push Back focuses on that collapse rather than the Tiger's earlier battlefield reputation: powerful vehicles operating at the end of a war Germany could no longer sustain.
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