It's often depicted that it was relatively easy to 'track' (Blow off the tracks of) a tank in WW2 and happened more often than I'd have thought, how realistic is this?
While it's not trivial to "track" a tank, it's certainly easier than penetrating its armour. This was a well known issue with tanks and there was naturally research to solve this issue. Not surprising, it was discovered that a bigger track link is harder to destroy than a smaller track link. In the Winter War, Soviet engineers observed that one high caliber machinegun bullet hit was not enough to destroy a wide track. The commander of the 11th Mechanized Corps, Major General Mostovenko, complained that a tank's suspension ought to be as resistant to enemy shells as the front armour, as many of his tanks were knocked out of combat with superficial damage and could not be quickly put back into action as there were few spare parts and tractors to evacuate them.
Many anti-tank manuals instructed the reader to knock off a tank's track with whatever means they had available: logs, crowbars, specialized traps. However, most of these were ineffective, and anti-tank mines or grenade bundles remained the only sure-fire way to achieve this goal.
Soviet trials of a captured Tiger tank came to the conclusions that "despite its size, the tank track can be destroyed by a standard TMD-B anti-track mine, which causes the tank to stop". A TMD-B mine contained 9 kg of TNT. The report also mentions that the track links can be penetrated by a 37 mm aircraft cannon, but no mention is made of whether or not the track link is destroyed completely as a result.
British trials of the "Big Cats" tanks were more thorough, but not as promising:
The track of this vehicle is 2'-8 1/2" wide, ie 6 1/2" wider than that of the Pz.Kw.V. Trials on the latter type of tank have shown that a single Mk.V. standard (8 lbs) British A.T. mine will not always break the track...a similar mine will be less successful against the wider track of the Royal Tiger. A more certain track breaker would be a combination of No.74 A.T. Grenade Mines using a box of twelve with an additional three fitted with detonators laid on top; experience may prove, however, that a smaller number of grenades would suffice.
British trials estimate that one Mk.V mine (3.74 kg of TNT) would be enough to break a Panther track if it detonated in the center of the track, two Mk.V mines would be required otherwise. A Tiger track can be blown up with two Mk.V mines in the center, but not if they blow up near the outer edge of the track.
An easier time was had blowing up the track links of lighter tanks. Soviet anti-tank manuals recommend a bundle of five regular grenades or a single anti-tank grenade to knock tracks off PzI tanks.
Sources:
Strategic Report, Kirov factory #185
Report on Combat Action of the 11th Mechanized Corps, July 31st, 1941 excerpt
A. Ulanov, Anti-tank Exotics
Report on trials of armour of the German T-6 tank by shooting, NIIBT Proving Grounds, 1943
Armour Branch Report on Armour Quality & Vulnerability of Royal Tiger