Panzerlied: the German military anthem played in France, Italy, Chile, Brazil, and South Korea

Among military songbooks, one can find curious cases of melodies that ended up passing from one army to another, even between former enemies.

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The original German version from 1933 and the Namibian version from 1937

An example of this is the "Panzerlied" (Tank Song), an anthem written in 1933 by a German Army officer, Kurt Wiehle, based on lyrics from a song by the German Navy and based on the melody of a song titled "Luiska-lied". The anthem became popular among German armored forces during World War II, with various lyrics.

Without a doubt, the most famous version is the one that appeared in the American film "Battle of the Bulge" (1965), in which it was sung by German tankmen in a presentation to their leader (in the film they call him Martin Hessler, but in real life his name was Joachim Peiper):

Already before World War II, in 1937, a German version of this song was made in Namibia, the "Südwesterlied", written by Heinz Anton Klein-Werner and sung by the German colony in that country:

The "Panzerlied" continued to be sung in the German Army after the Second World War, appearing in various official Bundeswehr songbooks, until 2017, when the then German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (now President of the European Commission) decided to prohibit the publication of further songbooks including it, considering it a nazi anthem, despite the fact that its lyrics (you can read them here in German and English) do not include any reference to Nazism or its ideology.

The versions that are sung in the French Army

As with another famous German song from that war, "Lili Marleen", which was also covered in many languages, the catchy melody of the "Panzerlied" eventually passed into the ranks of the French Foreign Legion: In the late 1940s, it was adopted by the French Foreign Legion under the name "Képi blanc" (White kepi, in reference to the cylindrical cap worn by French legionnaires). You can read the French lyrics here, and you can listen to the legionary anthem here:

In the French Army there is also another song inspired by the "Panzerlied", "La Marche des Chars" (you can read the lyrics here), sung by members of the 501st Tank Regiment:

The Italian paratroopers' version: "Sui monti e sui mar"

The Italian Army's "Folgore" Parachute Brigade also ended up adopting the melody of the German "Panzerlied" with its own lyrics, entitled "Sui monti e sui mar" (In the mountains and in the sea):

The "Armored Anthem" of the Chilean Army

As expected, there is also a Spanish version of the "Panzerlied." It's titled "Himno de los Blindados" (Hymn of the Armored Vehicles) and is sung by the tank crews of the Chilean Army, whose parade traditions were based on the old Prussian Army:

It must be said that in addition to Chilean tanks, this anthem is also used as an instrumental march in all types of military parades in Chile. Here we can see members of the Chilean Navy marching to its chords:

The Portuguese versions of the Brazilian Army

The "Panzerlied" has several versions in Portuguese. One of them is the "Canção da Tropa Blindada," (Song of the Armored Troop) used by tankmen of the Brazilian Army:

The song of the 26th Parachute Infantry Battalion of the Brazilian Army also uses the melody of the "Panzerlied":

"Loyal Fighter": The South Korean Army's version

Finally, one of the most curious versions of the Panzerlied is the one sung by the Republic of Korea Army, where this anthem is called "Loyal Fighter" (you can read the lyrics here):

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Main photo: Légion Étrangère.