Long before the mighty American Abrams graced the modern battlefield, a handful of ridiculously oversized tanks had been designed in hopes of overtaking enemy frontlines—among which was Germany’s super-heavy tank ironically called Maus (“mouse”) that almost took over World War II if only its mass production advanced before the end’s war. Almost.

The Nazi Germans developed the Panzer Maus, an absurdly massive tank that continues to be the heaviest ever designed and built to this day, weighing an enormous 188 tonnes (188,000 kg). That’s nearly three and a half times the weight of a modern 62-tonne M1A1 Abram.

While pitting these two juggernauts against each other seems impractical, given that they were created at different times and equipped with various technological advancements, let’s set that one fact aside and say hypothetically, these two came face-to-face: Could the behemoth Maus stand a chance against the American beast?

The Late WWII Contender

The idea of the Panzer Maus came about amid the German forces struggling to keep hold of its invaded territories against the Soviet Union, who, around this time, managed to increase its firepower and arsenal in the frontline beginning in 1942. To keep up, the aggressors recognized the need for a matching, if not more dreadful, tank capable of penetrating heavily fortified enemy positions.