24
First Panzer Army continued its retreat toward the Dniepr bend. Fighting skillfully, the worn-out, under strength divisions managed to thwart the Russian advance, although for some their situation was far from optimistic. Intercepted radio transmissions reported enemy mechanized units descending upon isolated pockets of infantry separated from their battalions. Cries for help carried over the airwaves as these grenadiers were hunted down and eventually silenced. Voss had listened and became increasingly haunted by the fact that there was little he could do; there was no consolation in the knowledge that Reconnaissance Group Falkenstein was too small a force to mount a successful rescue. Due to distance and speed, they would only arrive too late to affect the outcome. The valiant troops would hold back the Russians for several hours, a day at best, before the vast, lonely steppe would consume them. No one would ever know their names. Voss prayed these men were possessed by apathy, born of misery and fatigue, which would resign them to their fate; perhaps, once free of all expectation, desire, and fear, they would unleash their ferocity in the face of the inevitable. Voss hoped to possess the same cold indifference when his turn came, as he believed it would someday.
The war in Russia had taken on the characteristics of one enormous rear guard action. Voss was worn out from having fought this war of attrition all summer long, and there appeared to be no end in sight. He had not been home on leave in well over a year, and such a prospect in the near future seemed dim. He was tired, filthy, and hungry all the time, scared most of the time—and he commanded men whose condition was no better than his own. Everyone hung on by a thread (maybe the Reds are attacking some other sector and not our own…maybe we will make it to the river in time). As the hours and days passed, hope dwindled. Voss was resigned to his own fate but there was something he wished to impart to the men. However, he hadn’t the authority to grant it. Not now, perhaps not ever. He needed to dispel the gloom that had enveloped him. The thoughts merely antagonized the present reality as he continued on with the captain’s inexorable course. The last thing the crew needed to see was a demoralized, moping officer. Weary of standing, he exchanged places with Wilms and climbed into the co-driver’s seat. Sergeant Reinhardt had taken over the wheel from Hartmann, who was in need of a break. The driver had delivered all his skill and luck during the barrage and for hours thereafter and was thoroughly depleted. Reinhardt glanced over as the lieutenant sat down and put on the headphones but did not speak, satisfied to drive on in silence. Despite the warmth and cramped space of the drivers’ cabin, Voss closed the front and side view port shutters to keep out the dust and tried to be as comfortable as possible. He turned his attention to the dossier the captain had given him the evening they had left the tractor station. During these past strange and demanding days, it had proven difficult to do more than glance at a few pages and read a passage or two. The file on Red Vengeance had the appearance of a worn scrapbook jammed with memoranda, notations, intelligence reports, photographs, and documents. The initial pages began with the complete evolution of the T-34 and all modifications thus far. Included were schematics, technical drafts detailing exterior and interior aspects such as weaponry and fire control systems, disposition of mechanics, and functions. A number of photographs were available illustrating the inside of a captured tank. Panzer divisions were known to place captured, serviceable T-34s as scouting vehicles and as flank protection for infantry units while on the move. When the T-34 appeared for the first time during the autumn of 1941, it immediately dominated the battlefield. The Mark I and II panzers in use at the time became obsolete overnight. The Wehrmacht was stunned. Due to poor intelligence both prior and during the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa, there were many at Oberkommando des Heeres, or OKH, who indulged in the luxury of believing the tank was miraculously produced overnight. Like any weapon, the T-34 followed a technological progression over time, and only the aptitude of Russian engineering was underestimated—with disastrous consequences.
During the early prototype stage (1931–36 and 1939), the Fast Tank series underwent the development of the Christie suspension, large road wheels (capable of travel without track links), and the revolutionary forward-sloping hull. The first T-34s (of which there were over 1000) had been tested in maneuvers by 1940. Since that time, five series types, A through E, were currently in service, although differentiation of type is difficult in some cases due to repair parts interchange, variations in production, and rearmament. Basic changes are as follows:
Type A 1940—small cast or welded turret with pig head gun mount; machine gun in ball mantelet at turret rear; and a large single roof hatch.
Type B 1941—angled rectangular gun cradle; extended cannon barrel (L41.2); perforated road wheels.
Type C 1942—double visor turret; ribbed and perforated tracks (an improvement over the plate link tracks on types A and B); protective visors on driver’s hatch; bow machine gun with ball mantelet.
Type D 1942—large hexagonal-shaped turret with double roof hatch (known as “Mickey Mouse ears” in soldiers’ parlance); hand hold bars on sides and rear of turret; gun cradle modified with side bulges; single and double periscopes.
Type E 1943—similar to type D; all models complete with double periscope and commander’s cupola.
The T-34 is fast. With a cruising speed of 40 km per hour and extremely maneuverable (remarkably so in an urban setting), its broad perforated/ribbed tracks allow the vehicle superb cross-country performance. The greatest asset is a 76 mm high-velocity gun. The Panzer I and II was no match against an enemy tank that could fire a more powerful armor-piercing shell at greater distances. The 37 mm cannon, the panzer’s main armament, was called a “door knocker” due to the fact that the projectile bounced off the T-34’s radically designed armor. When the battle for Moscow got underway, large numbers of T-34s were thrown into action and inflicted serious losses on German armor. Superiority was clearly on Russia’s side (until introduction of the Tiger tank in late winter-early spring of ’43).
Originally, the T-34 was not equipped with wireless sets, and communication among the tanks was conducted with a system of hand and/or flag signals. Needless to say this primitive method impacted negatively on deployment and tactics. By ’42, radios had been installed and a wireless operator included. The four-man crew consists of the commander-gunner, loader, driver, and wireless operator (who operates the secondary weapon, the hull machine gun).
Since the deployment of entire tank armies, Soviet tactics are such that strategic blunders occur more often than not, although signs of improvement are becoming evident. Nevertheless, what the Russian army lacks in flair and versatility on the battlefield is made up for in sheer weight in numbers. Despite the success of small maneuverable panzer units led by experienced officers and crews against forces of greater strength, the Russians continue to maintain an eightfold margin of superiority in armor. [Staff Intelligence A.G. Don]
Red Vengeance belongs to the Type D variety of T-34, with hexagon shaped turret (thickness: 72 mm) and double turret hatch covers (20 mm); single periscope on turret roof; front, side, and rear armor: 45 mm (appearance indicates extra armor plating welded to outer hull—on rear engine covers, hull exterior directly over on board fuel reservoirs). Two external reserve fuel tanks mounted on rear deck greatly increase the vehicles’ already formidable range: 430km road, 200km off road. Length: 6.5 meters; width: 3 meters. Ammunition consists of 80 armor-piercing/high-explosive shells and 2400 rounds for machine gun.