The Panzerkampfwagen I Ausführung A, the OG, the First, the Trendsetter, THE PANZER IS BORN! Translating to Armored Fighting Vehicle I Modification A (I swear on everything I hold dear if you ever say something like Panzer MARK I, there will be violence) the Panzer I as it is more commonly known was the first tank adopted by Germany in the interwar year in complete and blatant disregard for the Treaty of Versailles. Developed from 1932-1934 (if you know history you'll see this is before Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in 1933) the Panzer I would be officially designated as "Agricultural Tractors" in paperwork and parts shipments, a common tactic at the time for moving around trade, weapons, and development prohibitions, and would also gain the designation of Sonderkraftfahrzueg 101, or Special Purpose Vehicle 101 by the German Ordinance Department setting a trend for many of Germanys vehicles of the era. Development originally started in 1932 in secret in collaborations with the Soviet Union in their testing grounds in Kazan where the Reichswehr (German Interwar Military translating roughly to Realms' Defense) and Weimar Government had worked side by side with the Soviet Union to help develop tanks, tactics, strategy, and more. This Program was shut down in mid-1933 after Adolf Hitler gained full control of Germany after the death of Paul von Hindenburg. Development would continue into 1934 where the vehicle was deemed ready for mass production which started that year.

The Panzer I was when made not much to look at, many of its characteristics had been used on other tanks previously, its armament was lacking even for 1934 standards, its crew was small, and its armor thin. But these paper stats were not what the Panzer I was about, the Panzer I would see a massive production run for any German tank of the time and be start issuing en masse to the Panzertruppen (Tank Troops) where under the minds, eyes, and hands of people like Heinz Guedarian, Gerd von Rundstedt, and Albert Kesselring the German armored units would be molded into a modern fighting force.

The Panzer I would see its first baptism of fire in 1936 where over the course of 4 years 136 Panzer Is would be sent to Spain in support of Francisco Franco's Nationalist Forces in the Spanish Civil War. Here many lessons would be observed and taught to Henschel, MAN, and Krupp, the companies who made and designed tanks in Germany. Such as a larger armament, heavier armor, better and more radios, better visibility, were all needed to be properly effective on the modern battlefield, especially when it was known that the enemies of Germany in the future was at some point going to be the Soviet Union, who were supplying their T-26s and BT-5s and 7s to the Republican Forces in Spain. However despite seeming completely outmatched by the Soviet built tanks the lack of heavy armor would show that on various occasions the Panzer I capable and able to knock them out, especially after the arrival and fielding of denser and heavier tungsten cored armor piercing ammunition for the machine guns

The next time the Panzer I would see service in combat would be under the Chinese Forces in the Second Sino-Japanese War where starting in 1937 the Republic of China took order of a few vehicles which would assign them to the 3rd Armored Battalion. After the Fall of Nanking the Imperial Japanese Army captured a few examples of the Panzer Is and put them on display. Knowing the tanks were of German origin, in a way to save face between the two allies the tanks were labeled as "Made in the U.S.S.R." which was becoming a more common enemy between the two as relations between Germany and the U.S.S.R. began to strain.

The Panzer I would gain infamy however on the morning of September 1st, 1939, where it would be used for the first time by its own forces in combat during the Invasion of Poland. Although images may conjure up in your head of vast unending waves of Panzer Is through IV roaring ahead into battle as halftracks with Panzergrenadiers dismount and rush forward, this was far from the norm. By this point and through out the whole of the War the Wehrmacht or Defense Force was primarily horse drawn and motorized. Even though Poland had quite the large fighting force and was well equipped for their infantry, the had a notable lack of antitank and antiair capability on a scale large enough to hold back the Germans, and with the Soviet Union joining in and splitting Poland in half under the agreed lines in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact the fate of Poland was sealed. In the winter on 1939-140 the German Army would look upon the action undertaken in Poland and train heavily into the summer completely revamping almost every level of organization to get ready for the next fight. France.

Now many people say that the Panzer I was simply meant as a training vehicle, that it was never meant to see combat and that it was forced to against the recommendations of the designers. This is simply false, this can be dispelled almost immediately in the fact of the construction is proper rolled homogenous armor (RHA), the guns fire live ammunition, and it had been pushed into combat in two theaters, Spain and China, before the autumn of 1939. The Panzer I was from the outset a vehicle meant for the front, but because it was the most numerous and used the least resources to operate, it was also the primary training vehicles for both new recruits and trainees, and for unit training in the field.

In June 1940, the Panzer I would roar into battle once more as part of the Invasion of the Low Countries and France, where even though the German tanks of all types were out numbered nearly 2:1 and facing what is arguably on paper much better tanks such as the French Renault and Hotchkiss R and H.35s, Somua S.35s, and the monstrous Renault Char B1, the Tactics, Supply Lines, Communications, and Ability to Operate in swift and decisive actions, the Wehrmacht in the span of 6 weeks, defeated France, a nation who in WWI stood strong for 4 Years, and the Germans had planned for a war of 6 months.

By now it was clear to everyone that the Panzer I was getting long in the tooth, and that it was no longer fit for front line service. Instead of scrapping the vehicles it was decided to breath new life into them and a large amount of new special vehicles for specialized roles were to be made on the chassis of the Panzer I. These included

2cm Flak 38 auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf A: A modified Panzer I ausf A where top of the hull and the turret were removed and replaced by a 2cm Flugabwehrkanone 1938 for the purpose of repelling air attacks. 24 Made.

15cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B: Top of the hull was removed and replaced with a box superstructure and gun shield housing a 15cm schweres Infanteriegeschütz 33 howitzer in the role of providing mobile artillery support, and unofficially known as the Bison. 38 Made.

4,7cm Pak(t) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B: Better known as the Panzerjager I, the top of hull was removed and replaced with an open superstructure and gun shield housing a 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38, a Czech made 47mm antitank gun for destroying enemy tanks at longer ranges. 202 Made.

Kleiner Panzerbefehlswagen I: Based on the chassis of the Ausf A, the turret was removed and the hull made taller with a ball mount MG on the front right of the superstructure. This was used by Unit commanders for the tasks of commanding their units at the front line from within an armored vehicle, it housed various radios and other communication equipment. 190 Made.

Panzerkampfwagen I stats
Designed 1932–1934
In service 1934–1945
Produced 1934–1938, 1943
No. built 1,659 as light tanks
184 as command tanks
445 as training tanks
147 as special convertible chassis

Mass 5.4 tonnes
Length 4.02 m
Width 2.06 m
Height 1.72 m

Crew 2 (Commander and Driver)
Armor 7–13 mm
Main 2 × 7.92 mm MG 13 machine guns
Armament

Engine Krupp M 305 four-cylinder air-cooled gasoline engine 60 PS (59 hp, 44 kW)
Power/weight 11.1 PS (8.1 kW)/t
Suspension Quarter-elliptical leaf spring suspension.
Operational 200 km (120 mi) on-road; 175 km (109 mi) off-road.
Range
Maximum 37 km/h (23 mph) on-road; 25 km/h (16 mph) off-road.
Speed

Links to Further Knowledge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_I
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/.....y/panzer_i.php
https://youtu.be/pbKAg4SRW_U