Soviet tank KV 1 against 22 German ones. The feat of tanker Zinovy ​​Kolobanov

The feat of tank crews near Rasseinai

The first days of the war passed. The German Army Group North invaded the Baltic states, having a significant numerical superiority over Soviet troops in this direction. The Germans planned a quick breakthrough, but near the Lithuanian city of Rasseiniai they encountered a counterattack from Soviet KV tanks. These new heavy tanks came as an unpleasant surprise to the Germans. Conventional anti-tank artillery was useless against them, so the KVs simply drove up to the German guns and crushed them with their tracks. As a result, only 20 Soviet tanks destroyed dozens of German ones, and in addition many anti-tank guns and even heavy howitzers. Although the overall superiority in forces allowed the Germans to repulse the counterattack and soon resume the offensive, at this time one of the tank crews performed a truly heroic feat, the details of which were later restored from the notes of a German officer.

Heavy tank KV-1

On June 24, 1941, a lone KV drove out onto the road, which was already in the rear of the advancing German troops. For some reason, perhaps due to a breakdown or lack of fuel, he stopped there. From the outside, the motionless tank looked abandoned, but when a German convoy appeared on the road, it opened fire. Having destroyed 12 trucks, the tank continued to block the road. The peculiarity of the situation was that the tank blocked an important road that connected the advanced units of the German 6th Panzer Division with the rear, and on both sides of the road there were forests and swamps through which equipment could not pass. The advanced German units thus found themselves cut off from the rear, and difficulties arose with the delivery of supplies and the evacuation of the wounded. A single tank stopped the advance of an entire German tank division. At first, the Germans feared that the appearance of the KV was part of a Soviet counterattack, but when they conducted reconnaissance and it became clear that the tank was alone and, moreover, motionless, the Germans decided to destroy it.

To begin with, 4 50-mm anti-tank guns were aimed at the tank. They took up positions and opened fire, scoring several hits. The German soldiers watching this applauded, confident that the tank was finished. But it was not there! 50mm shells were unable to penetrate the armor. The tank turned the turret around and destroyed all 4 guns with return fire. The Germans were shocked. It became clear that the only hope for destroying the tank was a heavy 88-mm anti-aircraft gun. In the afternoon, the anti-aircraft gun was delivered and they began to move it to the firing position. This powerful weapon, however, required a lot of time to be brought into combat readiness. This is what let the Germans down. Despite all their caution, the KV crew noticed the anti-aircraft gun and, after waiting for the Germans to install it, fired first! The anti-aircraft gun was destroyed along with part of the crew. The road remained blocked.

Night fell and the Germans decided to send sappers to destroy the tank. The sappers approached the tank, planted explosives, a powerful explosion occurred, but the tank remained undamaged, opening fire from machine guns in different directions. Only in the morning did the German sappers, hiding under the bottom, return back, reporting the failure of the mission. The Germans were feverishly looking for another way to destroy the tank. The division commander even tried to call the Junkers to destroy the tank with the help of aviation, but he was refused - there were no extra attack aircraft to fight the only tank.

Finally, we managed to get another anti-aircraft gun. This time, taught by bitter experience, the Germans decided to act differently. To distract the crew, German tanks were sent, which briefly drove out of the forest, fired and hid. They could not cause any harm to the HF; their only task was to divert attention from the anti-aircraft gun. And this time the Germans’ plan still worked. The anti-aircraft gun managed to shoot and knock out the tank. Nevertheless, the heroic crew, who did not abandon the tank and defended the road, managed to delay the advance of the entire division for 2 days. For the summer of 1941 this was a huge achievement.

Memorial plaque in honor of the feat of KV tankers (inscriptions in Lithuanian and Russian)

There was a commander - but he swam away: how German tank crews and corps commanders had no luck

Vandel, Yar, Able. What do these German generals have in common? All of them commanded the 24th Tank Corps - and died, as they say, in the line of duty. But in addition to the 24th Tank Corps, there was another unit in the Wehrmacht that was not lucky with its commanders - the 39th Tank Corps.

As you know, World War II was a war of engines, and the main focus in it was on technology. Including tanks. In the Wehrmacht, tank units were organically assembled into corps and groups, later renamed tank armies.

Unlike Soviet tank units, where the corps and army had 80-90 percent permanent composition, which was determined during the period of initial formation, the German tank corps was more of a headquarters, to which tank divisions and other formations were transferred. The tank corps did not have any permanent composition. Moreover, at a certain stage of the war, some army units had more tank divisions than those corps that had the word “tank” in their name.

So, for example, on June 15, 1944, on the Eastern Front in the 48th Tank Corps there were four infantry divisions, in the 56th Tank Corps - five infantry divisions, in the 41st and 46th three infantry divisions each, in the 24th Tank Corps corps - three infantry and ranger divisions.

The monster in this regard was the 57th Tank Corps. Three German and Romanian infantry divisions were under his direct subordination. Another 13 German and Romanian infantry divisions and brigades were under the command of corps headquarters. At the same time, he did not have a single tank or even panzer-grenadier division in his composition or subordination.

But we are more interested in the fate of the 24th Tank Corps and its brother the 39th Tank Corps. They were among the least fortunate in the Wehrmacht. And they were unlucky because their commanders were not distinguished by their survivability and did not stay in their place for long.

Leapfrog in the 24th Tank

The 24th TC was the direct successor to the 24th Motorized Corps, which began its aggression in the East as part of the 2nd Panzer Group of the Fast Heinz Guderian.

General of the Panzer Forces Leo Geir von Schweppenburg led the corps in a fairly successful summer-autumn campaign of 1941, but as a result of the December defeat he was removed from his post in January 1942.

He was replaced by Wilibald von Langerman und Erlenkamp, ​​the former commander of “that same” 4th Panzer Division. It all started with him.

The new corps commander carried out a successful spring-summer offensive, and on October 3, 1942, he went to the front line. He wanted to inspect the positions and talk with Hungarian officers on the topic of “how to live further,” because the Soviet command did not stop active operations, and he never returned to headquarters. There, on the front line in the Storozhevoy area, the general came under mortar fire. According to the available version, a 120-mm mine hit right where the corps commander was standing with the Hungarian commanders. As a result of the explosion, in addition to General von Langerman und Erlenkamp, ​​Hungarian colonels Geza Nagy (commander of the 20th Light Division) and Jozsef Mike (commander of the 14th Infantry Regiment) were killed.

Willibald von Langerman

Von Langerman was replaced as commander by the “universal general” Otto von Knobelsdor. If in 1941 the general limited himself to command of the 19th Tank Division, then in 1942 he managed to steer as many as four corps - two infantry and two tank. In December 1942, he left the 24th Tank Corps for the more “tank” 48th Tank Corps, and General Martin Wandel took command of the unlucky formation.

The last one was a “washpe” and was never a tanker, but very much an infantry commander.

Before that, he headed the 121st Infantry Division. But the fact is that by that time the 24th Tank Corps had already ceased to be a “tank” unit and united under its command completely non-shock units: the 385th Infantry Division, the 387th Infantry Division, the 213th Security Division, the SS Combat Group Fegelein "and even the Italian Alpine riflemen from the Julia division." True, after the 8th Italian Army “raked” General Vatutin from the Southwestern Front in the Middle Don, the Germans quickly organized several more or less tank formations (they were packed, however, mainly with Czech Pz-38(t) tanks ; in that winter of high tank technology and against the backdrop of the massive use of T-34s and KVs, this was no longer funny).

When in January 1943, General Golikov’s Voronezh Front fell on the remnants of the Italian troops and the 2nd Hungarian Army, General Vandel rushed to personally tour those units with which he had lost contact.

Having fought the entire first part of the invasion of the USSR in the northwestern theater of operations in the Leningrad region, he did not expect any agility from the Soviet tank crews.

However, it was the advanced crews of the 3rd Tank Army of Pavel Rybalko who tried to stop the car in which General Vandel was. The driver did not obey, and the Soviet tank crews opened fire. As a result, the corps commander and everyone accompanying him on the trip died.

Martin Vandel surrounded by soldiers

Then the baton of command, from January 14, 1943, was taken over by General Arno Jahr, who previously headed the 387th Infantry Division. Yar served as a corps commander for a whole week. It was not possible to establish all the circumstances of the incident, but it is known that the general was seriously wounded and on January 20/21, 1943 he shot himself near the village of Podgornoye.

After Yahr, the corps was headed by General Karl Eibl - who died almost immediately upon taking office. According to some sources (German), he drove up to a column of retreating Italians and began to actively persuade them to further organized movement and resistance, and someone from the Italian column treacherously threw a grenade at the general. According to other sources - a French source - Able drove up to a column of Italians and, standing on the hood of a truck, began to shout at them, took out a grenade and threatened to throw it at the Italians if they did not behave appropriately. And it was precisely for these actions that explosive ammunition flew from the column of Alpine riflemen to the corps commander. And then - injury, operations/amputations in unsanitary conditions and death.

Be that as it may, all these versions indicate that there was definitely no combat coordination and mutual understanding in the ranks of the allies of the Axis countries in that January 1943. In seven days in January 1943, the 24th TC lost three commanders.

After all this leapfrog, the corps was headed by the chief of staff, Colonel Otto Heidkämper.

The forty-third – forty-four passed without any major tragedies. Not counting the fact that on August 2, 1943, another commander, Walter Nehring, was seriously wounded, but later returned to command of the corps. As a result, for success in combat and political work in March 1945, General Nehring left for the post of commander of the 1st Panzer Army, and the 24th Panzer was headed by “a native of the 19th Panzer Division” General Hans Kellner.

Like many German tank generals, Kellner loved to steer from the front line - and on April 18, 1945, he died during his next trip to the front line.

Thus, five corps commanders died in battle while leading the 24th Tank Corps.

Unlucky 39th

The 39th Panzer Corps - and then the 39th Motorized Corps - began the invasion of the USSR as part of the 3rd Panzer Group of General Hermann Hoth. Then the corps was transferred to Leningrad, where it was very unlucky in the battles near Tikhvin - there the Germans suffered very heavy losses. On November 30, 1942, the corps commander, General Hans Jürgen von Arnim, was relieved of his post as corps commander and soon went to Africa to command the 5th Panzer Army.

The vacant position was filled by General of Artillery Robert Martinek on December 1, 1942. From that moment on, there were fewer tank divisions in the corps, and much more infantry divisions.

In the summer of 1943, the 39th Tank Corps had three infantry divisions, in the winter of 1943 - two infantry and one panzergrenadier, and finally, by June 15, 1944, the corps had four infantry divisions under its command (12, 31, 110, 129 -yu pd)

Martinek successfully commanded the 39th “not at all tank” corps for a year and a half. On the eve of the Soviet offensive in the summer of 1944, he toured his divisions, apparently fully understanding what a thunderstorm was approaching him from the East, and was killed during a Soviet airstrike.

Command was taken by one of the former corps division commanders, General Otto Schünemann, who tried to organize a breakthrough from the encirclement. However, on June 29 he died in the area of ​​​​the village of Pogost.

Result: two days of fighting - minus two commanders.

Then the corps was headed by tanker general Dietrich von Saucken, who even managed to distinguish himself in operations “Two-Headed” and “Caesar” in the Baltics. However, later, due to disagreements with the Wehrmacht high command, he was temporarily removed from his post.

A holy place is never empty - the next corps commander was the honored, also “indigenous” tankman, General Karl Dekker. He accepted the corps in October 1944, and on April 21, 1945, seeing no further prospects in the resistance, he shot himself.

Personal cemetery of commanders

The fates of the generals who led different corps are very similar. Someone died trying to restore order and understand the situation, like Martinek and Vandel; others - trying to organize a breakout from encirclement, like Able and Schünemann; Arno Jahr and Karl Dekker died voluntarily, out of despair.

And there were those who, like von Saucken and von Langerman und Erlenkamp, ​​dared to express their dissatisfaction with the orders and procedures to the high command.

It is interesting that the five corps commanders who died en masse in short periods - January 1943 and June 1944 - were exclusively infantry generals and led “tank” corps when they had almost no tank formations.

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The feat of Zinovy ​​Kolobanov

In August 1941, German units broke through the front and moved towards Leningrad. Often the Germans did not encounter resistance and quickly advanced in columns along the roads. There was a threat of the Germans seizing Gatchina. There were almost no forces to defend the city; only one tank company under the command of Zinovy ​​Kolobanov was sent to the defense, which the day before received 5 KV tanks, just released in Leningrad. These tanks had to block three roads leading to the city. Kolobanov decided to send two vehicles to the outer roads, and he himself, with one tank, took a position on the central one.

Kolobanov with crew

Kolobanov wisely chose a position in an area where there was a wetland on both sides of the road, and the tank itself was carefully camouflaged. On August 20, the Germans appeared. They started with reconnaissance - German aircraft flew over, motorcyclists drove by, but they were unable to find a camouflaged tank. Finally a German tank column appeared. Having let the enemy in, the KV opened fire. First, the first and last car were destroyed, then Kolobanov began methodically shooting the rest. Not immediately realizing where they were being fired from, the Germans finally discovered the KV and opened fire back. But everything was useless. After 30 minutes, all 22 German tanks were destroyed, and then the same fate befell the anti-tank guns that tried to fire from the rear of the column. Although the tank suffered damage, the turret was jammed, the surveillance devices were broken, the armor survived. After the battle, more than 100 hits were counted on it. In total, Kolobanov’s company destroyed 43 enemy tanks that day.

Soviet tank heroes of the Great Patriotic War

This material is dedicated to the memory of tank heroes who glorified their names with their exploits during the days of the most brutal battles in the history of mankind.

VLADIMIR BOCHKOVSKY

Soviet master of tank combat Vladimir Bochkovsky has 36 enemy armored vehicles on his personal account. The young graduate of the Kharkov Tank School received his baptism of fire on the Bryansk Front. According to the stories of his son, at one of the railway stations, a train with tanks from Bochkovsky’s unit was simultaneously bombed and attacked by enemy armored vehicles. Soviet tank crews had to return fire directly from the railway platforms, and then, covering each other, descend from them under enemy fire. Then Vladimir Bochkovsky experienced all the hardships of the positional battles of the Kalinin Front, the supply of food to which was extremely difficult due to the snowy winter, and was awarded the medal “For Courage”. On July 6, 1943, during the battle on the Kursk Bulge, Bochkovsky’s medium T-34 company fought with up to 100 enemy tanks, which were supported by aviation and artillery. On that day, Soviet tank crews destroyed 15 enemy vehicles, three of which were owned by the crew of Vladimir Bochkovsky. In January 1945, Bochkovsky's tank battalion destroyed several enemy trains at the railway station, including those with heavy Tiger tanks. During the Great Patriotic War, Vladimir Bochkovsky’s tank burned five times. The tanker received four serious and two light wounds and was shell-shocked three times. After the war, Bochkovsky continued to serve in the Soviet Army.

DMITRY LAVRINENKO

Dmitry Lavrinenko did not have the chance to participate in the battles of the first months of the Great Patriotic War - his 16th mechanized corps was redeployed to the east under the pressure of Wehrmacht tank divisions. However, even during the retreat, a significant part of the armored vehicles had to be abandoned and destroyed due to a lack of fuel and technical malfunctions. Here Lieutenant Lavrinenko showed character: he refused to blow up his combat vehicle and got it towed, delivering it to the place where the unit was repaired and reformed.

In August, Dmitry Lavrinenko’s unit received new heavy KB tanks and light T-34s, and in October of the first year of the war, a tank platoon under the command of Lavrinenko took part in the battles near Mtsensk with units of Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Group. On October 6, a group of four Lavrinenko “thirty-fours” came to the aid of a motorized rifle unit, which was penetrated by German armored vehicles. With a sudden attack from several directions, the T-34s created the appearance of a large force approaching and knocked out 15 enemy tanks, four of which were accounted for by the crew of Lavrinenko’s tank.

In the second half of October, when the enemy was already approaching Moscow, in Serpukhov near Moscow, acting alone from a well-organized ambush, the crew of Lavrinenko’s tank destroyed an entire German unit, captured 10 motorcycles, a large number of small arms and prisoners.

At the end of October, the 4th Tank Brigade as part of the Western Front defended the line north of the Volokolamsk-Moscow highway (not far from the Dubosekovo crossing, famous for the Panfilov’s feat). On November 12, after a powerful artillery barrage, Soviet units launched an offensive, in which Lavrinenko’s platoon of three tanks walked ahead, calling fire on themselves in order to expose enemy firing points. They were followed by two heavy KVs as fire support. Lavrinenko’s tank, which burst into the village, was knocked out, but as a result of stubborn fighting, the Skirmanovsky bridgehead was taken. On November 17, 1941, Lavrinenko’s platoon attacked a group of 18 German tanks, destroying 7 of them and putting the rest to flight, and then alone from a position in the field (the surrounding snow and a whitewashed T-34 served as camouflage) fired at an armored column, knocking out three medium and three enemy light tanks.

In total, the T-34-76 Lavrinenko has 52 victories in tank duels. Thus, the fearless tanker became the most effective Soviet tanker. It is worth noting that he won all his victories within just two and a half months of fighting, and during the most difficult period of the war for the Red Army.

Dmitry Lavrinenko died on December 18, 1941 from a fragment of a mortar shell. He was then 27 years old.

IVAN KOROLKOV

Tankman I.I. Korolkov participated in the Great Patriotic War from its first day - on the western border of the USSR near Lvov, as a driver. In June 1942, during the Kharkov operation, as part of the crew in the battle for the Bulatselovka station, he destroyed 8 tanks, 7 guns and up to 200 enemy soldiers, while his tank received numerous damage, but managed to escape, having completed the combat mission. And in August 1942, near Stalingrad, at a critical moment in one of the battles, Korolkov left the tank and led the attack of a rifle unit, preventing its retreat by personal example.

In the spring of 1945, the 114th separate tank regiment of the 14th Guards Cavalry Division of the 1st Belorussian Front of the Guard, Major Ivan Korolkov, carried out successful military operations, and the regiment commander often personally led his unit into the attack.

On May 1, 1945, a few days before the surrender of Nazi Germany, in the battle for the German city of Rathenow, Korolkov was seriously wounded, but his unit destroyed two heavy tanks, and another enemy tank was captured. The personal account of the tank hero is 26 enemy tanks knocked out and destroyed.

NIKOLAY MOISEEV

The Soviet master of tank combat Nikolai Moiseev began fighting back in the Soviet-Finnish War, and participated in the Great Patriotic War from its first day. In a tank battle for the village of Shtepovka, Sumy region, on September 23, 1941, the crew of Moiseev’s T-34 bypassed the enemy from the rear and decided the outcome of the battle, destroying 2 medium tanks and 5 anti-tank guns. The Germans fled, abandoning 5 transport vehicles with ammunition and equipment. In March 1942, near the village of Rubezhnoye, Kharkov region, a rapid counterattack by a company of Soviet tankers brought victory - the enemy lost 9 tanks and up to an infantry battalion. Then there were battles near Stalingrad, where the 6th Guards Tank Brigade lost all its tanks and 80% of the personnel of the motorized rifle battalion, battles near the Sea of ​​Azov and Perekop, and the assault on Sevastopol. As of July 1942, the tank ace had 31 destroyed enemy tanks, 29 guns and 24 machine guns on his personal account.

After the end of the war, Nikolai Moiseev passed on the skills of tank combat at the Guards Sivash Tank School.

ZINOVIY KOLOBANOV

The battle at the Voyskovitsa state farm on August 20, 1941 became a black day for the fascist Panzerwaffe. Until now, the events of this day have been carefully avoided in the memoirs of German soldiers.

In August of the first year of the Great Patriotic War, German units broke through the defenses and rushed to Leningrad in large tank and mechanized groups. Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov was given an order: with five heavy KB tanks to block three strategically important highways. The day before, Kolobanov’s crew took up a position in a tank trench 300 meters from the intersection. Then, in the enemy tank column that appeared in the afternoon, Kolobanov’s KV-1 knocked out three lead tanks, then attacked the tail. Enemy vehicles caught fire and their ammunition began to explode. The swampy area around the road made it impossible to escape the fire. In half an hour, 22 tanks were destroyed using 98 armor-piercing shells. During the ensuing tank duel at a long distance, all the observation devices on Kolobanov’s vehicle were broken, the turret jammed, and over 100 shell marks were then counted on the tank (German guns of that time could not penetrate the armor of the Soviet heavy KB). In total, Kolobanov’s company chalked up 43 enemy tanks.

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The feat of Grigory Naidin

The successes of Soviet tankers described above can be partly explained by the advantages of the heavy KV tank and its powerful armor. However, among the tank heroes there are also those who fought in light tanks.

BT-7

The BT-7, commanded by Sergeant Grigory Naidin, was already outdated by the beginning of the war and had rather weak armor that could be penetrated by any German anti-tank gun. But despite this, Naidin, who on June 23 was tasked by the command with detaining the Germans moving towards Vilnius, managed to teach the Germans a lesson.

Naidin set up an ambush on a section of the road, on both sides of which there was a swampy meadow. He managed to camouflage the tank well, so the German column that appeared on the road did not suspect anything until the last moment. There were 12 tanks in the column, dragging attached guns behind them. The fire from the BT-7 was completely unexpected for the Germans. They panicked, firing indiscriminately in all directions, but were unable to understand where they were being fired from until the entire column was destroyed.

Following it, another column of German tanks appeared, which, noticing the destroyed first one, turned back and tried to travel along a different road. But Naidin did not provide them with such an opportunity. He set up a second ambush on another road and managed to knock out three German tanks before the Germans turned around and retreated. Thus, in one day, one light tank destroyed 15 enemy tanks and 10 guns. Only three years later, for this battle, Naidin received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

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German tankers fought on different fronts since 1939, but they achieved the greatest success in North Africa in 1941-1942, on the Eastern Front in 1943-1945 and on the Western Front in 1944.

During the war years in the countries of the anti-German coalition (USSR, England, USA) the following were released:

Source: https://oldadmiral.livejournal.com/24595.html) In the USA: tanks and self-propelled guns - 88410; Armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles - 123683. In Britain: tanks and self-propelled guns - 33574; Armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles - 136991. In the USSR: tanks and self-propelled guns - 105251; BA – 8505.

Total: 374,430.

In Germany: tanks and self-propelled guns - 46857; BTR and BA - 26651.

On the Eastern Front, the ratio of losses between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht in 1941-1945 in tanks and self-propelled guns was 3 to 1, and in 1943-1944 - 4 to 1. The ratio of armored losses in the turning point battle of the Second World War was especially unfavorable for the Red Army - in the Battle of Kursk (July-August 1943).

If the German side lost 700 tanks and assault guns, then the Red Army lost 6064 (armored losses in the Battle of Kursk. If we take into account that the Germans lost a significant number of their tanks and assault guns, breaking through heavy-duty (in terms of saturation of minefields and anti-tank guns) and defense in depth , then it should be admitted that in a direct tank confrontation the picture was even more depressing for the Soviet troops.

The battle of Kursk clearly showed that the Germans achieved qualitative superiority in armored vehicles and victory over them was achieved thanks to the enormous numerical superiority of the Red Army and at the cost of heavy losses (soldiers and officers were lost 4 times more than the enemy, aircraft 1.7 times more).

In August 1943, the Soviet side maximally accelerated the development and production of a new heavy tank, new types of self-propelled guns and the re-equipment of the T-34 with a more powerful weapon.

With the appearance on the battlefields of the T-34-85, IS-2, ISU-122 and ISU-152, the qualitative gap between Soviet armored vehicles and German ones was overcome. The level of losses of tanks and self-propelled guns was reduced, but until the very end of the war it was higher than that of the German side. This can be explained by the fact that in defense the positive qualities of the Tigers and Panthers are more pronounced (excellent fire control system, powerful armor, effective tank guns) and their negative qualities (insufficient maneuverability) are less evident.

On January 14, 1944, Soviet troops launched a major offensive on the Leningrad Front. The 502nd heavy tank battalion was in the rear at that time, but already on January 20 appeared on the front line. Two days later, Lieutenant Strauss destroyed two T-34 tanks and one M3 General Lee. On January 25, the Strauss combat group, consisting of three Tigers, was assigned to the 126th Infantry Division. In the battles near the Volkovitsa railway station, the Tigers were attacked by a large group of T-26 light tanks manufactured in 1937. Weakly armored T-26s literally fell apart when hit by an 88-mm shell. T-34s and KV-1s took part in the next attack. However, this attack was repulsed. On this day, platoon Müller destroyed 25 tanks (an absolute record of the Second World War), Lieutenant Strauss - 13, platoon Yaser - 3. After the start of the winter offensive of the Soviet troops at the end of 1944, many units surrounded in Klaipeda were evacuated to East Prussia. The 511th battalion was the first to be evacuated (on January 5, 1945, the 502nd battalion changed its number to the 511th to avoid confusion with the 502nd SS heavy tank battalion). The tanks were evacuated on the Deutschland and Preussen-Sassnitz ferries. On the morning of January 24, the ferries arrived at the port of Pillau. The next day the first battle took place. Platoon commander Carpanetto's tank was repaired at night for damage to the track, so the tank remained in the rear. Suddenly the crew heard the noise of tank engines. Having prepared for battle, the Germans saw a column of Soviet tanks emerging from nowhere. The very first Royal Tiger shell hit the engine of the Soviet IS-2. The next fourteen shots also found their targets! Soon the battlefield was illuminated by 15 burning IS-2s and T-34s. In the fall of 1943, Lieutenant Otto Carius was able to knock out 10 T-34s in one of the battles near the city of Nevel. On January 12, 1943, in a battle in the Shlisselburg area, Lieutenant Bodo von Hartel, commanding the Tiger, hit 12 T-34s, and on January 14, Unterfeldwebel Bolter hit 5 T-34s. On July 22, 1944, while repelling an attack by American tanks, Corporal Ruehring from the 504th Heavy Tank Battalion destroyed 12 Shermans, while the remaining 11 tanks participating in the battle were abandoned by their crews in panic. During the battle for the Italian city of Anzio on February 24, 1944, Lieutenant Zint from the 508th heavy tank battalion, driving a Tiger, knocked out 11 enemy tanks, and Unterfeldwebel Hammerschmidt knocked out 6. On April 6, 1945, near Königsberg near the village of Norgau, the “Royal Tiger” Unterfeldwebel Kerscher shot 10 Soviet SU-100s. Not only the Tigers and Panthers were a dangerous enemy, but also the German self-propelled gun mounts. The self-propelled gun tank destroyer 8.8 cm Pak auf GW III/IY “Nashorn” (“Rhino”) of Lieutenant Albert Ernst (519th heavy tank destroyer division) destroyed 49 Soviet tanks. On December 23, 1943, in a battle near Vitebsk, Ernst set fire to 14 Soviet tanks, firing only 21 shots. In a special order he was called the “Vitebsk Tiger”, and on January 22, 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross. The commander of the Sturmgeschutz III assault gun, Oberwachmeister Kicher (185th assault gun division), knocked out 30 Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks in the battles for Volkhov, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross on March 9, 1942. In the central sector of the Eastern Front, the 667th Sturmgeschutz III assault gun division took part in bloody battles. During the Battle of Rzhev on August 29-31, 1942, the division destroyed 83 Soviet tanks, 18 of them by the crew of Senior Lieutenant Klaus Wagner. On September 9, 1942, the positions of German troops were attacked by more than 50 Soviet tanks, while only 5 serviceable vehicles remained in the 3rd battery of the 667th division. One after another, Soviet tank crews knocked out the German assault guns, but when only one vehicle remained in service—Lieutenant Baurman’s—the attack fizzled out, and 33 Soviet tanks were left burning on the battlefield. On July 10, 1943, during the battles on the Kursk Bulge, the crew of the Sturmgeschutz III, under the command of Lieutenant Trispel, knocked out 12 T-34s within half an hour. On the southern sector of the Eastern Front in 1944, the 3rd battery of the 202nd assault gun division “Sturmgeschutz III” fell into the “cauldron” near Cherkassy. During the breakthrough of the encirclement, the crew of Sergeant Kremer knocked out 9 T-34s. The commander of the Sturmgeschutz III, Oberleutnant Schubert, had 37 Soviet tanks destroyed in 1945. Oberwachmeister Leo Har, from March 30 to May 6, 1945, knocked out an ISU-152, two ISU-122 and 18 Soviet tanks. When the Second World War began, Michael Wittmann was already an SS Unterscharführer in the division's artillery battalion. Participated in battles in Poland, Belgium and France. At the end of 1940, he received command of an assault gun, with which he participated in the battles of the Greek campaign. He did not stand out among his comrades in any way until the Leibstandarte crossed the border of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Wittmann soon gained a reputation as a brave, cool-headed and determined warrior. Possessing strong nerves, he allowed Soviet tanks to come within close range and knocked them out with the first shell. In the summer and autumn of 1941, he destroyed several Soviet tanks in this way, but was slightly wounded in August. In October 1941, in one battle he knocked out 6 enemy tanks. He was awarded the Iron Cross of both classes, as well as the badge of a tank attack aircraft.

In Russia, Wittmann was assigned to command a Tiger platoon in the 13th Company of the 1st SS Panzer Corps. Michael Wittmann became a recognized virtuoso of this deadly weapon during the Battle of Kursk. On July 5, 1943, the first day of the great battle, he destroyed 8 Soviet tanks and 7 artillery pieces. In total, during the battles near Kursk, he alone knocked out 30 tanks and destroyed 28 guns. After Operation Citadel, Wittmann was one of those who remained on and near the front line, covering the retreat of the troops, or launching counterattacks if the situation required it. He significantly increased his combat score during the autumn battles for Kyiv. On November 13, he destroyed 20 T-34 tanks (3rd result during the Second World War) and destroyed 17 artillery pieces. On January 13, 1944, near Berdichev, he knocked out 19 T-34 and KV-1 tanks. On January 14 he was awarded the Knight's Cross, and 16 days later he was presented to the Oak Leaves. A few days later, Wittmann was awarded the rank of SS Obersturmführer.

In April 1944, when Wittmann left the Eastern Front, he had 119 destroyed Soviet tanks. But he faced his most difficult trials on the Western Front. He was transferred to Normandy, where he was appointed commander of a company of Tiger tanks in the 501st SS Heavy Tank Battalion. On June 7, the battalion was sent to the front, where it arrived on June 12, having suffered heavy losses from continuous and overwhelming raids by Anglo-American aviation (out of the entire battalion, only 6 tanks made it).

The first German tank ace fought his most famous battle on June 13, 1944. That day, Wittmann was assigned to conduct reconnaissance in the Villers-Bocage area, where he discovered a large group of British tanks and armored personnel carriers that were flanking a German tank division. Here is what the English historian Max Hastings writes about this battle of Wittmann: “Attacking stationary targets, he sent shell after shell at tanks and vehicles almost point-blank, from very close ranges, and in the end he rammed another Cromwell, knocking it on its side , because he was blocking his entry into the main street of Villers-Bocage” (Max Hastings “Operation Overlord”). Then other Tigers came to help Wittman. In this battle, 25 British tanks and 28 units of other armored vehicles were destroyed.

Wittmann's battle was of great importance for holding the front in this area, since the German command at that moment had no other opportunities to plug the gap into which the 7th Armored Division and the 22nd Armored Brigade of the British rushed. On June 22, Wittmann was awarded the Swords to the Knight's Cross and promoted to the rank of Hauptsturmführer.

Michael Wittmann fought his last battle on August 8, 1944 against M4 Sherman tanks of the advancing 4th Canadian Tank Division. He knocked out two Shermans from 1800 meters. To break the attacking formation, Wittmann's tank rushed forward and knocked out the third Sherman. The circumstances of Wittmann's death are unknown. According to one version, his tank was destroyed by Shermans of the 2nd squadron of the 2nd tank regiment of the 1st tank division; according to another, he died as a result of an Allied air raid. The remains of Michael Wittmann were discovered in 1987 during land reclamation work and were reburied in the military cemetery in La Cambra.

T-28 raid through Minsk

The 30s were a time of experimentation in tank building. One of the fruits of these experiments was the appearance of multi-turret tanks. First, such machines appeared in the West. And then the three-turret T-28 and five-turret T-35 appeared in the USSR. “Land battleships,” as they were called then, looked spectacular in parades, but it soon became clear that they were poorly suited for a real war. The huge size made the tanks an excellent target, and the armor, due to its large size, could not be made thick. The production of multi-turreted tanks was discontinued, but by the beginning of the war some of the tanks were still in service with the Red Army.

T-28

Most of the multi-turreted tanks were lost at the very beginning of the war, but a truly amazing story is associated with one T-28. On August 26, senior sergeant Dmitry Ivanovich Malko returned to Minsk, to the warehouse he was in charge of. There remained 2 armored cars and one T-28 tank, which had just undergone a major overhaul. The evacuation was in full swing in the city; the German units that had broken through the front were already approaching Minsk. The tank had no crew, so it was supposed to be blown up, but Malko felt sorry for the tank, and he got permission to take it with him. Having sat down in the driver's seat, he moved with the retreating Soviet units to the east. On the way, the tank had to be repaired, and because of this, as well as due to several other incidents, Malko was late. It turned out that there was nowhere to move further - the road to the east had already been cut by the Germans. But Malko still did not abandon the tank. On the way, he met a major and 4 young soldiers, who joined the crew of the tank. Everyone together decided to implement a truly crazy idea - to go back and break through to our own people through Minsk, already occupied by the Germans. In an abandoned military town, we replenished fuel and ammunition, and then moved towards Minsk.

It was already midday on July 3, 1941, and the Germans had already been in the city for several days. They didn’t even think that the T-28 that appeared on the road was not some kind of trophy, but a tank with Soviet tank crews. Perhaps, moving quietly, it was indeed possible to drive through Minsk and return to our own in a tank, but the tankers had other plans.

The T-28 crew found their first target near a distillery. Next to him, the Germans were unloading boxes of alcohol into a truck. But the Germans failed to try it - about 20 fascists died under machine-gun fire. Moving further, the tankers saw a column of motorcyclists moving towards them. Soon she was all crushed and shot by machine-gun fire.

But the worst awaited the Nazis in the city center. Having arrived there, the tankers saw that the street was clogged with enemy soldiers and equipment. The T-28 opened heavy fire from all turrets. The Germans fled in panic, enemy vehicles were engulfed in flames. Having driven further, the tank shot at German equipment and soldiers in the park. The shells were almost gone, but the outskirts of the city were already close, and hundreds of Nazi corpses remained behind the tank.

However, the tankers still failed to break through. Already on the very outskirts of Minsk, the tank was met by an anti-tank battery. Several shells ricocheted off the armor, but one did penetrate it, hitting the engine compartment. The tank stopped and the Germans opened fire with machine guns. Of the six crew members, three died, one was captured by the Germans, but two managed to escape, including Dmitry Ivanovich Malko. Moreover, he managed to get across the front line and return to his own. He continued to fight in a tank and met victory with the rank of senior lieutenant, deputy commander of a tank company. In more detail, the entire story about the Minsk raid, told by the hero in the first person, can be read here.

T-34 raid through Kalinin

What Dmitry Malko and the T-28 crew failed to do, the T-34 crew under the command of Stepan Gorobets succeeded.

T-34

The T-34 in 1941 was a new tank that had recently entered service. It had good armor, but was also reliable and fast. It is no coincidence that this particular vehicle was later recognized as the best tank of World War II.

In October 1941, the Germans were rapidly advancing towards Moscow. So quickly that information about their capture of certain cities was delayed, and units that believed that they were deep in the rear unexpectedly encountered the enemy. By October 17, the Germans had already occupied Kalinin with large forces, but the command, believing that there was, at best, an avant-garde in the city, sent a tank battalion there under the command of Agibalov, setting the task of driving the Germans out of the city and uniting with the units defending on the Moscow Highway.

Two T-34s are moving ahead, one of which is commanded by Gorobets. On the way, they overtake a German column and open fire, but the Germans fire back with anti-tank guns. One of the T-34s is knocked out, but Gorobets breaks through and destroys the guns, after which he continues to move towards Kalinin alone. The radio on the tank breaks down and communication with the battalion is lost. Meanwhile, the battalion lagging behind is attacked by German aircraft. Several tanks are hit and Agibalov stops the movement. T-34 Gorobets advances on Kalinin alone, without knowing it.

Moving towards Kalinin, the tankers first destroy a column of motorcyclists, and then suddenly drive out to the German airfield. Here they destroy two planes and a fuel tank. The Germans open fire on the tank with anti-aircraft guns, but do not hit. The T-34 leaves the battle and continues to move towards Kalinin. At the entrance to the city, tankers shoot German infantry and ram several cars. Firing on the move, the tank moves through the city streets, but in the area of ​​the plant it comes under fire from an anti-tank gun. The Germans achieve a hit, a fire breaks out in the tank, and the gun jams. But the tankers cope with the threat - while the rest of the crew is putting out the fire, the driver is crushing the German cannon with his tracks.

The path further is not easy. First, the tank drives across a shaky wooden bridge, risking falling into the river, then the tank crews have to make their way through anti-tank barriers, pulling the rails out of the ground. Moving through the city center, the tankers meet the Germans, who, as in Minsk, at first mistakenly take the T-34 for their own or a captured one. But despite the faulty gun, the tankers are not trying to get through Kalinin quietly. A column of encountered T-34 trucks is crushed and shot with machine guns. Seeing a German tank ahead, the T-34 goes around it and rams it from the side. The engine stalls from the impact, the Germans surround the tank, but then it still starts. Driving to Lenin Square, the tank fires at a building on which German flags are hung and continues moving towards the outskirts of the city and the Moscow Highway.

The last accomplishment of the tankers was the destruction of a German battery, which they suddenly drove into from the rear. Having crushed the guns and trenches, the tank finally makes its way to the Soviet positions. Our people did not immediately recognize the T-34 and opened fire on the tank, but then they finally figured it out. And the commander of the 30th Army, General Khomenko, having learned about the adventures of the tankers, without waiting for the decision on the award, took off the order from his jacket and gave it to Gorobets.

Monument to the legendary crew of Gorobets in Tver

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The best tankers of World War II

The criterion for determining the best tankers was the number of victories - knocked out and destroyed enemy tanks and self-propelled guns. In contrast to the recording of downed aircraft, the recording of tank crew victories was practically not kept in any warring country. The source was a report or report from the tankers themselves. In many cases, the number of victories can be either underestimated or exaggerated. Based on the peculiarities of tank combat, a tank that was immobilized and stopped firing was considered destroyed or knocked out. And since the same tank could be damaged and repaired several times, the statistics of victories of tank crews cannot be taken into account in calculating military losses of equipment. It characterizes only the skill of tankers who achieved certain successes during battles. At the same time, the basis for the data was award lists, which can be considered the most objective data. In the chaos of numbers given in the memoirs and memoirs of front-line soldiers, it is these data that make it possible to determine, at least, the order of the numbers characterizing the valor of tankers from different countries on the fronts of World War II.

Hungarian tank crews

Captain Erwin Tarzai

Among the Hungarian tankers who fought in the Wehrmacht, the most effective tanker is considered to be Captain Ervin Tarczay (10/05/1919 - 03/08/1945), who destroyed 10 enemy tanks using the Panther and Tiger I tanks. Naturally, the victory does not relate to the Hungarian army, but to the nationality of the tanker.

English tank crews

Lieutenant Norman Plow

British tank crews did not achieve any special victories in tank battles, since there were no massive tank battles on the Western Front. And in North Africa, the number of destroyed tanks was clearly not in favor of the British. Among British tankers, Norman Plough is famous, who in one battle on the Matilda tank destroyed 20 Italian Fiat M13/40 medium tanks. Also mentioned are 4 more tankers who managed to hit from three to five German tanks, including the Tigers.

German tank crews

Michael Wittmann

The general statistics of victories of German tankers is as follows: more than 120 victories were won by 7 tankers; 100-119 victories – 10 tankers; 20-29 – victories – 28 tankers; 60-99 victories – 14 tankers; 40-59 victories – 25 tankers; 35-39 – 5 tankers; less than 35 – 4 tankers. A total of 93 tankers destroyed 4,602 tanks, or about 4.8% of the total losses of the USSR.

The personal account of German tank aces cannot be compared with other countries, which is explained both by the long period of fighting (1939-1945) and by the superiority of German technology in many time periods and many theaters of military operations. For example, in Poland or the Balkans there was nothing to compare German tanks with. Soviet tanks dominated only until 1943. On the Western Front since 1944, German tanks had no competitors.

On the other hand, due to the lack of official records of tank crew victories, historians put the victories of the first four “record holders” under hypothetical doubt, although there is no documentary evidence or documentary refutations.

And so the record for the number of victories - 168 destroyed Soviet tanks belongs to sergeant major Kurt Knispel. However, he destroyed 126 tanks as a gunner, and only 42 as a heavy tank commander. According to the “rules,” it doesn’t count, although no one doubts that the tanks were destroyed.

The second record holder is Martin Schroif with a score of 161 enemy tanks, however, the tanker’s combat path is too vague for historians. Declared a victim of propaganda.

The third ace tanker Otto Carius with a score of 150 tanks destroyed. Here they found a discrepancy between the declared victories and the data on Soviet losses. Although the reason seems to be somewhat different - during the day of fighting, the tanker destroyed 13-17 tanks. It is unlikely that the Soviet commander dared to write such a figure of losses in one day in a report; he stretched it out over a couple of days. Even Rokossovsky during the Battle of Kursk was afraid to report to Stalin about the day's tank losses. And here …

The fourth ace, Hans Bölter, with 139 victories, also did not suit historians, but Western ones. With one “Tiger” he locked up an Allied tank column somewhere and shot it. I don’t like this kind of hero and that’s it.

But you can’t be capricious endlessly, especially since the list of record holders doesn’t end there. Therefore, the generally recognized record holder of the Second World War is Michael Wittmann (04/22/1914 – 08/08/1944), SS Hauptsturmführer. He took part in the Polish and French campaigns, in the Greek operation. During the invasion of the USSR, he commanded a platoon of StuG III assault guns and took part in the battle of Kursk; in one day on November 13, 1943, he destroyed 20 T-34 tanks. On the day of January 13, 1944, he destroyed 19 tanks and 3 SU-76 self-propelled guns. From the spring of 1944, he served in Normandy as part of the 101st SS Heavy Tank Battalion and fought on the Tiger I tank. And in total, during the fighting, he destroyed 138 tanks.

Canadian tank crews

Major Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters

Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters (01/11/1920 – 04/21/2015) – Canadian master of tank combat. Commanding the Sherman Firefly tank, he destroyed 18 enemy tanks.

Polish tank crews

Sergeant Orlik Roman Edmund

The Polish tank forces included light tanks and wedges, 24 of which had a 20 mm cannon. Naturally, one cannot expect the appearance of tank aces with such a tank fleet. However, Sergeant Roman Edmund Orlik (1918-1982) on a TKS wedge heel managed to shoot 13 German tanks with a 20-mm cannon in a month of fighting, among which were one Pz Kpfw IV and nine Pz Kpfw 35(t), which is more likely called a miracle rather than a mastery.

Another Pole from the Polish Army knocked out 12 enemy tanks using a Soviet T-34, but this relates more to nationality than to the army.

Romanian tank crews

Tank Pz Kpfw IV. Ion Dumitru fought in something similar

Among Romanian tankers, the most effective tanker is considered to be Lieutenant Ion S. Dumitru, who fought on a Pz Kpfw IV tank and knocked out 5 enemy tanks (two Soviet and three German). It is noteworthy that the tanker participated in battles for only 25 days: he fought for 5 days on the German side, and 20 days - as part of the Soviet 27-1 tank brigade.

Soviet tank crews

Despite the rather old school of tank crews, developed tank building and the largest number of tanks produced during the war, Soviet tank crews were not very effective during combat operations. And there are several good reasons. The first and main thing is the lack of adequate command from the level of a tank company. The second is that, given the huge mass of tanks, tankers were taught practically nothing at short-term courses: neither combat tactics, nor practical driving, nor shooting. And this situation was observed both before the war and at its end. Third, the technology actually turned out to be much worse than what was described in party documents, the press and shown in films. Until the end of 1942, issues of its urgent repair were still finding their way to the minds of the generals. Thus, they fought not with skill, but with the quantity of equipment and lives.

Lavrinenko D.F. with his T-34 crew. 1941

The best tank ace of the USSR during the war was Art. Lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Lavrinenko (10/14/1914 - 12/18/1941). In 1938 he graduated from the Ulyanovsk Tank School. He took part in the campaign against Western Ukraine and Bessarabia. At the end of 1941, he fought 28 battles on the T-34 tank, in which he destroyed 52 enemy tanks. He died on the outskirts of Volokolamsk.

The general statistics of victories of Soviet tankers is as follows: 50 or more victories were won by 1 tanker; 30-49 victories – 7 tankers; 20-29 – victories – 28 tankers; 10-19 victories – 57 tankers; 5-9 victories – 91 tankers. A total of 184 tankers destroyed 2,350 tanks, or about 6% of Germany’s total losses.

American tank crews

Staff Sergeant Lafayette Poole

According to incomplete data, during the war years there were at least 35 American tank crews who won one or more victories in battles with German tank crews. The main reason for the absence of “record holders” is the lack of an opponent. The best tanker is considered to be Lafayette G. Pool (07/23/1919 - 05/30/1991), who destroyed 12 enemy tanks in the M-4 Sherman tank during 80 battles.

French tank crews

Despite the presence of the largest and most modernly equipped army in Europe, incompetent command and soldiers unwilling to fight led France to a shameful surrender in less than two months. The main opponents of the German tankers were the Somua S-35 medium tanks and the B-1bis heavy tanks, which were superior to the most advanced German tanks Pz Kpfw III and Pz Kpfw IV at that time in both armor and firepower. But the French did not fight.

According to available data, the most successful French tank ace is the commander of a tank company, Captain Pierre Billotte, who destroyed 13 German tanks in one battle using the B-1 bis “Eure” tank. The brutality of the battle and the superiority of French technology is evidenced by 140 hits on Billon’s tank, which did not cause him any harm.

Also known is the second master of tank combat from the French - ml. Lieutenant Louis Latapie, who managed to destroy 7 enemy tanks using the same tank in Belgium. Two more Frenchmen distinguished themselves at the final stage of the war, destroying 9 and 6 tanks using the American M-10 self-propelled guns. But in this case, only the surnames were French.

Czech tank crews

Lieutenant Vaida Stepan Nikolaevich

Czech tank aces can be considered only by nationality, and not by the criterion of the armed forces. And yet, the Czechs fighting as part of the Red Army achieved some success in tank battles. The best tanker is considered to be Rusyn by nationality Vaida Stepan Nikolaevich (Stěpan Vajda) (01/17/1922 - 04/06/1945), who, as a Ukrainian nationalist, sat in a Gulag camp until the authorities began to recruit volunteers for the front from among prisoners. During a year and a half of fighting as part of the Czechoslovak Army Corps, the T-34 tank destroyed 11 enemy tanks. There are four more similar “Czechs” that destroyed from 4 to 6 tanks.

Finnish tank crews

Lieutenant Berrier Brotell

Despite the transience of the Finnish defensive battles in 1944, as well as with a 6-fold superiority in tanks and self-propelled guns (630 Soviet and 100 Finnish), self-propelled guns of the Finnish tank division destroyed 87 enemy tanks in a month. The best tank destroyer is considered to be the commander of the assault gun battalion, Lieutenant Börje Brotell (02/03/1922 – 12/06/2009), who, commanding the StuG III self-propelled gun, destroyed 11 enemy tanks. Nine more crews from his battalion destroyed from 5 to 9 enemy tanks.

And in conclusion, we repeat once again that the given “rating” of the winners of tank battles is by no means complete or accurate, but only shows the approximate effectiveness of the most difficult profession of a tankman in war. It also follows from this that much on the battlefield depends on the combat vehicle, but the main thing turned out to be the training and professionalism of the tanker himself. And vice versa, even sitting at the controls of a good tank, but after a short course, the tanker turned out to be ordinary cannon fodder, thoughtlessly thrown into the millstone of a skilled and trained enemy.

See also Armored vehicles of World War II.

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