The Tanks Of Operation Barbarossa

Download or read book The Tanks of Operation Barbarossa written by Boris Kavalerchik and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-05-30 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An absorbing study of the tanks and the tank tactics of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht during the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Red Army had four times as many tanks as the Wehrmacht and their tanks were seemingly superior, yet the Wehrmacht won the border battles with extraordinary ease. The Red Army’s tank force was pushed aside and for the most part annihilated. How was this victory achieved, and were the Soviet tanks really as well designed as is often believed? These are the basic questions Boris Kavalerchik answers in this compelling study of tank warfare on the Eastern Front. Drawing on technical and operational documents from Russian archives, many of which were classified until recently and are unknown to Western readers, he compares the strengths and weakness of the tanks and the different ways in which they were used by the opposing armies. His work will be essential reading for military historians who are interested in the development of armored warfare and in this aspect of the struggle on the Eastern Front. “So much has been written on this subject, and yet this book dispels myths and offers fresh insights in a study of Soviet and German tanks at the beginning of the war on the Eastern Front . . . a fascinating selection of images.”—Firetrench “This book is highly recommended due to the excellent use of data, the organization of the book established by the author, and thoughtful and comprehensive coverage of the subject.”—IPMS/USA

Download or read book Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941–1942 written by Robert Forczyk and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-02-24 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of Case White: The Invasion of Poland delves into the strategy and weaponry of armored warfare during the early years of the Russo-German War. The German panzer armies that swept into the Soviet Union in 1941 were an undefeated force that had honed their skill in combined arms warfare to a fine edge. The Germans focused their panzers and tactical air support at points on the battlefield defined as Schwerpunkt—main effort—to smash through any defensive line and then advance to envelope their adversaries. Initially, these methods worked well in the early days of Operation Barbarossa and the tank forces of the Red Army suffered defeat after defeat. Although badly mauled in the opening battles, the Red Army’s tank forces did not succumb to the German armored onslaught and German planning and logistical deficiencies led to over-extension and failure in 1941. In the second year of the invasion, the Germans directed their Schwerpunkt toward the Volga and the Caucasus and again achieved some degree of success, but the Red Army had grown much stronger and by November 1942, the Soviets were able to turn the tables at Stalingrad. Robert Forczyk’s incisive study offers fresh insight into how the two most powerful mechanized armies of the Second World War developed their tactics and weaponry during the critical early years of the Russo-German War. He uses German, Russian and English sources to provide the first comprehensive overview and analysis of armored warfare from the German and Soviet perspectives. His analysis of the greatest tank war in history is compelling reading. Includes photos

Download or read book Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East written by David Stahel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-09-10 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an important reassessment of the failure of Germany's 1941 campaign against the Soviet Union.

Download or read book Russian Tanks of World War II written by Tim Bean and published by Allan. This book was released on 2002 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the start of the campaign on the Eastern Front, in the earliest days of Operation Barbarossa, it was the German armour that swept all in front of it as the Wehrmacht drove eastwards in an unrelenting advance on Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. The ill-prepared and under-resourced Russian forces were forced to retreat. Gradually, the balance of the war swung in favour of the Russian forces, whose strength both in numbers and equipment proved decisive in the ultimate defeat of the German forces in the east. Critical in the Soviet victory was its armour; tanks such as the T-34 proving the equal, if not better than, some of the tanks available to the Germans. This authoritative history of the Soviet forces before and during World War 2, reveals the development of their tactics in the early post-revolutionary era right through to the ultimate victory in Berlin in May 1945. The dramatic struggle of the tank crews against the German advance is told through some 200 contemporary photographs, many of which have never been seen before.The photographs include images of tank training in the 1920s and 1930s, on active service, and many compelling pictures from some of the major tank battles of the day. Over the past five years, aided by the opening up of archives in Russia previously closed to western experts, there has been a massive growth in interest in the events that occurred on the Eastern Front. Russian Tanks is an important addition to the literature currently available, exploring as it does, the vitally important Soviet armour of the period.

Download or read book Operation Barbarossa 1941 written by Christer Bergstrom and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2016-08-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation Barbarossa was the largest military campaign in history. Springing from Hitler's fanatical desire to conquer the Soviet territories, defeat Bolshevism and create 'Lebensraum' for the German people, it pitted two diametrically opposed armed forces against one another. The invasion began with 4.5 million troops attacking 2.3 million defenders. On one side was the Wehrmacht, without any doubt the world's most advanced military force. On the other were the Soviet armed forces, downtrodden, humiliated, decapitated and terrorized by an autocratic and crude dictator with no military education whatsoever. Initially Operation Barbarossa led to a row of unparalleled tactical victories for the attackers. In just five months, an area of around 1.4 million square kilometres was captured. Tremendous losses were inflicted on the Soviet armed forces. 566,852 troops were listed as killed in action, 2,335,482 as missing in action (including POWs), and around 500,000 Soviet reservists had been captured while still mobilizing - making a total of approximately 3.4 million total losses. But by the end of December 1941, Operation Barbarossa had ground to halt; how was this possible? Christer Bergström tells the story in great detail; as with The Battle of Britain: An Epic Conflict Revisited he combines facts and figures with the human stories behind the action, and draws new conclusions based on many years of research in German and Russian archives.

Download or read book Designing the T-34 written by Peter Samsonov and published by Gallantry. This book was released on 2019-12-27 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the German army launched Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the Soviet Union – on June 22, 1941, it was expecting to face and easily defeat outdated and obsolete tanks and for the most part it did, but it also received a nasty shock when it came up against the T-34. With its powerful gun and sloped armour, the T-34 was more than a match for the best German tanks at that time and the Germans regarded it with awe. German Field Marshal von Kleist, who commanded the latter stages of Barbarossa, called it ‘the finest tank in the world’. Using original wartime documents author and historian Peter Samsonov, creator of the Tank Archives blog, explains how the Soviets came to develop what was arguably the war’s most revolutionary tank design.

Download or read book Operation Barbarossa 1941 written by Michael Olive and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2012-06-01 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photo chronicle of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.