The Allied land forces in Europe were not ready for the Tiger Tank. Its arrival on the battlefield brought a potency and impregnability the Allied vehicles could not match. That they were gradually overcome was only the result of poor back-up from other German equipment and Allied superiority in other aspects of weaponry. This analysis of the Tiger variants is compiled by the one British officer better placed than any other to assess its excellence and value on the battlefield. As a young tank officer, the author's own tank was knocked out by a Tiger. In turn this enemy vehicle became the first working example of a Tiger to be captured by Allied forces and it was Peter Gudgin, now back in England, who was charged with dissecting and evaluating it.