• 28th Tank Corps (General-major Georgy S. Rodin)
August:
• 4th Tank Army (General-major Vasily D. Kriuchenkin), subordinated: 22 TC, 23 TC, 133 TB
December:
• 19th Tank Corps (Podpolkovnik S. A. Vershkovich)
• 20th Tank Corps (Polkovnik Dmitri M. Gritsenko)
Appendix VI
Tank Production, 1942
Germany
Tank Engines: Friedrichshafen (Maybach Motorenbau: Maybach HL 120 TRM and Maybach HL210); Berlin (Norddeutsche Motorenbau).
New tanks:
• Pz.III Ausf L with 5-cm KwK 39 L/60 introduced in June 1942, improved Pz.III Ausf M introduced in October 1942.
• Pz.III Ausf N with 7.5-cm KwK 37 L/42 howitzer introduced in June 1942.
• Pz.IV Ausf F2 with 7.5-cm KwK 40 L/43 introduced in April 1942.
• Pz.IV Ausf G with 7.5-cm KwK 40 L/48 introduced in June 1942.
• Pz.VI Tiger with 8.8-cm KwK 36 L/56 introduced in August 1942.
Soviet Union
Manufacturing Centers: CTZ, Chelyabinsk (KV-1); STZ, Stalingrad (T-34); Zavod 112, Gorky (T-34); Zavod 183, Nizhniy Tagil (T-34); Zavod 174, Omsk (T-34); GAZ, Gorky (T-60, T-70); Zavod 38, Kirov (T-60, T-70); Zavod 37, Sverdlovsk (T-60, T-70).
Tank Engines: V-2 Diesel engine (CTZ, Chelyabinsk).
New tanks:
• T-34/76 Model 1942 introduced in January 1942.
• T-70 with 45mm 20K Model 1938 L/46 introduced in March 1942.
Plates
A mixed German armoured Kampfgruppe begins the attack into the Soviet Union. By June 1941, the Germans were well-versed in combined arms tactics, which gave them an overwhelming advantage in the early border battles. (Ian Barter)
Abandoned Soviet T-26 light tanks from Oborin’s 14th Mechanized Corps in Kobrin, 23 June 1941. Panzergruppe Guderian demolished this Red Army formation after crossing the Western Bug River. (Author)
A knocked-out T-26 light tank and a victim of the early border battles. The T-26 was the most common Soviet tank in 1941 and the German panzerjägers were well-equipped to defeat them. (Ian Barter)
A Pz.38(t) light tank from the 12.Panzer-Division, which was part of Hoth’s Panzergruppe 3. The German dependence on Czech light tanks was an indication of Hitler’s attempt to fight a total war on the cheap. (Ian Barter)
A German infantryman approaches a dead Soviet tanker next to his burning BT-7 fast tank, Ukraine, June 1941. The Soviet tank took a hit on the hull, probably from a 3.7cm round, which ignited the fuel tank. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-020–1268–36, Foto: Hähle, Johannes)
A 15cm sIG 33 (sf), probably from 1.Panzer-Division, passes an abandoned KV-2 heavy tank in June 1941. The Germans were awed by the great bulk of the KV-2, even though it performed very poorly in battle. (Author)
During the Battle of Dubno on 26 June 1941, the Soviet 12th Tank Division attempted to attack the German-held village of Leshnev, but advancing into marshy terrain along the Syten’ka River they lost three T-34 tanks that got bogged down. Note that the tank in the foreground is a T-34 Model 1940 armed with the L-11 gun, while the other two are Model 1941.
A T-34 Model 1941 which overran and crushed a German l.FH18 10.5cm howitzer. The T-34 was a very advanced tank for 1941, but many went into battle with limited ammunition and fuel, and used ramming tactics as an expedient. (Author)
A StuG III assault gun crossing a river in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa. The wooden road bridge has been damaged by the retreating Red Army, forcing the Germans to use a ford to get across. River-crossings dictated the tempo of armoured operations in Russia. (Author)
Since standard German anti-tank weapons of 1941 could not penetrate the KV-1’s thick armor, except at point-blank range, German units concentrated their fire against the running gear. The hull of this KV-1 has at least four medium-caliber anti-tank round hits, which failed to penetrate, but a large-caliber artillery round, either 10.5cm or 15cm, has damaged the track. (Ian Barter)
A KV-1 heavy tank from the 124th Armored Brigade ambushed a German column northeast of Ivanovka on 9 October 1941. This burning 8.8cm flak gun and its Sd.Kfz.7 were destroyed before they had a chance to deploy. While the 8.8cm gun could defeat the KV-1, it took ten minutes to get into action – which was an eternity in tank warfare. (Author)
Soviet tankers examine a Pz.38(t) light tank from the 7.Panzer-Division, abandoned near Yartsevo. This tank appears to have run out of fuel, which was a common predicament for German tankers in the summer of 1941. (Author)
The onset of mud slowed down, but did not stop, German operations. Normally German panzer units were way ahead of the foot-slogging infantry, so this is probably taken during the redeployment phase prior to Operation Typhoon, in mid-September 1941. (Ian Barter)
Soviet T-26 light tanks lead Timoshenko’s counterattacks during the fighting near Smolensk in August 1941. Note that it is broad daylight and that there does not appear to be any artillery support, which made this type of attack little more than target practice for the German panzerjägers. (Author)
A Pz.III medium tank from 10.Panzer-Division, knocked out near Skirminova, east of Volokolamsk in mid-November 1941. Soviet resistance stiffened outside Moscow and the panzer units began to suffer their first heavy losses. This panzer crewman has suffered a tanker’s fate, being burnt to death. (RIAN Novosti, #884162)
The last stage of Operation Typhoon began with German panzers attempting to batter their way through Rokossovsky’s final layer of defense outside Moscow. Note that the German crewmen have overcoats, but no other winter gear. (Ian Barter)
A Soviet white-washed T-34 in hull-down position awaits the German panzers, near Volokolamsk, November 1941. The Soviets are watching the break in the woods, which is where German armour is expected to appear. The T-34 will probably begin the engagement at a range of 500 meters. (Author)
Polkovnik Mikhail G. Sakhno’s tanks from the Moscow Proletarian Motorized Rifle Division move to a new position in the vicinity of Naro-Fominsk, December 1941. By the time that the Winter Counteroffensive began, the Red Army only had small company and battalion-size tank units left, often with a mixture of models. (RIA Novosti)