Tank Rider: Into the Reich with the Red Army

A junior officer, holding a submachine-gun, watches as his troops fight their way into a wood. The submachine-gun was the weapon of choice for many tank riders and it meant they could combine firepower with mobility.

A junior officer leading Soviet infantrymen forward through wooded terrain. Junior officers such as Bessonov were expected to lead from the front and suffered enormous casualties as a result. In four years of war the Red Army alone lost 90, 210 company commanders and 296,744 platoon commanders killed in action.

An action shot of Red Army soldiers changing position during an attack. The lead soldier is armed with a Degtyarev light machine-gun.

A T-34-76 tank, heading to the front, fires at a distant enemy position.

A Maxim machine-gun crew opens fire on a village occupied by Germans. The Maxim was a morale-boosting addition to any attack as well as a crucial way to ‘soften up’ any enemy position.

A Soviet divisional ZIS-3 76mm gun being towed by a Studebaker US6 truck drives through the streets of a liberated European town.

A T-34-76 ploughs its way through a forest.

The wreckage of a German Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t Sd.Kfz.7 destroyed during a Soviet assault.

A KV-1 heavy tank mounts a slight incline. Its complement of tank riders follow in its wake, ready to offer infantry support.

Tank Riders on a column of T-34-85 tanks move through the streets of a European town. Riding a tank was a hazardous affair. Near Lodz a tank carrying Bessonov’s men was hit by a shell from a German Tiger: ‘The explosion killed almost everyone, some soldiers were simply blown to pieces and nothing remained of them’.

Another photo of T-34-85 tanks with tank riders. Despite the hazards, riding tanks meant that infantry could at least travel at speed.

These remarkable photographs show Soviet infantry taking cover as they come under German fire during a battle for possession of a forest. Fighting in such terrain was extremely hazardous. Bessonov and several of his men were wounded by splinters when a German shell struck a tree in August 1944.

A sparsely camouflaged Soviet artillery column moves forward. Dodge 3/4s pull ZIS-3 76 mm divisional guns while Willis jeeps tow 45 mm antitank guns.

This photograph was taken in Poland in November 1944. Left to right: Bessonov, Petr Shakulo and another soldier.