The origin of the "Ferdinand"/ "Elefant" self-propelled antitank gun derived from the initial development of the Panzer VI tank, the Tiger. Two German firms, Henschel and Porsche, developed prototypes for this tank, and they were both demonstrated to Hitler on his birthday on 20 April 1942. The Henschel design was judged to be superior and was selected for production. The Henschel Tiger became the famed Tiger I tank and saw service on all German fronts from late 1942 on.

The Porsche Tiger, although rejected, also managed to enter service. Production of the Porsche Tiger had been ordered before the April 1942 demonstration, as a hedge against the failure of the Henschel model. As a result, 90 Porsche Tigers were already available when the design was rejected. The Germans decided to use the chassis of these tanks to produce a heavily- armored self-propelled vehicle mounting the 88mm antitank gun. This vehicle was designated the Panzerjager Tiger (P) Ferdinand, with "(P)" showing it to be the Porsche Tiger and "Ferdinand" in honor of the Porsche Tiger's designer, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche.

The Ferdinands were organized into two battalions. The 653rd and 654th Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalions (schweres Panzerjager Abteilungen), and the battalions were grouped together as the 656th Tank Destroyer Regiment. The regiment was sent to the Russian front, and it fought in the battle of Kursk, where it suffered heavy losses.

The Ferdinands were withdrawn from the east to Germany for refitting. They received a bow machinegun at this time (a serious lack in the original version). The vehicles were renamed the Panzerjagd Tiger (P) Elefant, joining the rest of the German armored "zoo" of tigers, panthers, lynxes, and rhinoceroses, and were sent to fight in Italy in 1944.

In Scorched Earth, the 656th Regiment is not shown, as the 653rd and 654th battalions are shown separately. However, I see nothing wrong with being able to assemble the regiment from the battalions and use it as a single unit. Use the usual breakdown and assembly rules for this.

In Drang Nach Osten/Unentschleden, the Ferdinand got its own special AEC/ATEC rating. I'm not sure this is completely warranted. I'm fairly sure that effort to remember special armor/antitank values for so few units well overshadows its utility to the game. Still, if you like this kind of detail, here goes:

Facts Behind the Counters (Europa #3)