“German tanks during World War II were often outmatched by superior Red Army designs beginning with the T-34. Armor, reliability and firepower were all—at various times—serious shortcomings.”
This statement is false.
German tanks like the Tiger, Panther, King Tiger, and the Mark IV with the high velocity 75mm gun were the superior tanks. The T-34 was a good tank that could be manufactured quickly. Quantity was the true strength of the T-34. NOT the quality. The use of sloped armor was an innovation. This ONE innovation does not make the T-34 a superior tank. The Josef Stalin class tanks were developed near the end of the war. They were not in enough data to say they they were a match for the Tiger and King Tiger. The same is true for the Sherman. It was sheer numbers that defeated German tanks. If the Germans could have produced the same number of tanks as Russia and the US the tank matchup would have favored the Germans.
Check out any number of books on Kursk. The Russians knew the attack was coming because the Allies had broken the Enigma code. Despite the preparation the Germans mauled the Russians in a tank on tank comparison.
The fact that you included king Tigers shows how for off the mark you are. It was mostly a failure due to its singular unreliability and difficulty to transport and maneuver. And it was made in such low numbers that it’s barely worth mentioning.
I agree; I’ve read accounts of Soviet tanks ramming German tanks at Kursk because they couldn’t match them gun for gun (trying to disable them instead in close quarters). German tanks were great but had limitations in the mud and ice of the USSR (as any tank would).