Panzerknacker in 1940 for CoC²

Panzerknacker or is it "Geballte Ladung"?

With the advent of Chain of Command² rules there is the addition of the new German National Characteristics of "Panzerknacker":

"Where a section has three hand grenades available, it can convert them to a compound charge with which to attack an AFV or APC."

The Army Lists in CoC² represent late war forces circa 1944 onwards, so I wondered if this Characteristic was also present in the early war period covered by the Blitzkrieg 1940 Handbook?

First of all, let's be clear, we are talking about an adhoc improvised explosive device here and not the later war Panzerknacker or Hafthohlladung. Whilst Panzerknacker just means "tank breaker", it is an all encompassing term for any explosive charge used on enemy armoured vehicles.

The German Army had a long history of using ahdoc grenade based explosives, even using them in the 1st World War as bombs dropped from aircraft.

Cover of the 1936 Luger/Stick Grenade manual

According to the 1936 dated manual "Die Stielhandgranate 24 und ihre Handhabung" ("The Pistol 08 and its Handling, the Stick Grenade and its Handling"), a compound charge or "Geballte Ladung" could be made of any number of grenade heads, just so long as they were firmly connected to each other.

Apparently there's clear evidence that there was an early use of such cobbled together weapons in 1936, but was there any documented use in the early war period?

The Osprey book German Pionier 1939–45: Combat Engineer of the Wehrmacht (drawing on period imagery and manuals) illustrates that Geballte Ladungen were formally part of German combat engineer German Engineer Training Manuals (Pioneers) and their doctrine. 

There is a documented used of Geballte Ladungen by Pionier-Bataillon 12 der 12. Infanterie-Division when destroying the door of a French bunker.

In the Military Intelligence Service, War Dept, Washington D.C. Special Series No. 14 German Infantry Weapons, May 25, 1943 the use of grenades in an antitank role is explictly described;

Given that this document is dated 1943 it is reasonable to assume that it describes the use of German weapons since the beginning of the war. Whilst a majority of the evidence is primarily focussed on their use in a demolition role it is also mentioned in an antitank role.

And as if more proof was needed, a video of someone in Ukraine fashioning a modern equivalent using Polish grenades but also covering the history of the use of Geballte Ladungen. Sadly there is a need for these items even today.

In summary, yes the Geballte Ladung or in CoC² terms a "Panzerknacker" is appropriate for the 1940 setting as a National Characteristic, use it at your own risk though!