Even as the Tiger IE was proving itself on the battlefields of the eastern front the German high command had already begun requesting an even more powerful heavy tank, which eventually became the Tiger II. The Tiger went into production in early 1944 and a total of 487 (of 1500 ordered) were made before the end of the war. The first use of the Tiger II in combat was in Normandy on 18 July 1944 with schwere Panzerabteilung 503. It was first used on the Eastern Front on 12 August 1944 with schwere Panzerabteilung 501 against the Baranov bridgehead across the Vistula River in Poland.