Wasn't it the Germans that, surprisingly to themselves, had the inferior armor after the onset of operation Barbarossa. Their initial armor couldn't compete with the T34 and KVs. The PIII was obsolete when it began production and PIV was originally a short barreled support tank.
Was it these early years of "learning" that promted the germans to build promote the PIV and build the larger tanks such as the Panther and later Tigers?