Tank Rider: Into the Reich with the Red Army

A photograph taken in November 1944, somewhere in Poland. Left to right: Lieutenant Alexander Fedorovich Guschenkov, commander of the machine-gun platoon of 1st company; Lieutenant Oplesnin, commander of SMG platoon of the 1st battalion; an unknown soldier; Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Konstantinovich Chernyshov; commander of the 1st company; another anonymous soldier; and Lieutenant Grigori Andreevich Shtokolov, commander of the 2nd company.

A certificate awarded to members of Bessonov’s brigade to mark the liberation of Prague. Signed by Colonel Pushkarev on 10 May, 1945, the award notes that the brigade received the thanks of the Commander in Chief for their efforts in freeing the city.

The 1st battalion of the 49th Mechanized Brigade photographed on 9 May 1945 taking a rest while on their way to Prague.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

PLATES

Moscow youth. This photo, taken in 1932 in Moscow, shows children from Evgeni Bessonov’s neighbourhood.

A photograph taken while at the Kamyshlov military infantry academy in 1942.

A junior officer, holding a submachine-gun, watches as histroops fight their way into a wood.

A junior officer leading Soviet infantrymen forward through wooded terrain.

An action shot of Red Army soldiers changing position during an attack.

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.

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.

Tank Riders on a column of T-34-85 tanks move through the streets of a European town.

Another photo of T-34-85 tanks with tank riders.

These remarkable photographs show Soviet infantry taking cover as they come under German fire during a battle for possession of a forest.

A sparsely camouflaged Soviet artillery column moves forward.

A photograph taken in November 1944, somewhere in Poland.

A certificate awarded to members of Bessonov’s brigade to mark the liberation of Prague.

The 1st battalion of the 49th Mechanized brigade photographed on 9 May 1945 taking a rest while on their way to Prague.

MAPS

Overall map to show the route from Moscow to Berlin followed by Bessonov.

Map to show the Bryansk front and the Orel offensive, 26 July 1943 to 20 August 1943.

Map to show the Kamenets-Podolsk offensive, July to August 1944.

Map to show the Lvov-Sandomir operation, July to August 1944.

Map to show the Vistula-Oder operation, 12 January 1945 to 26 January 1945.

Map to show the advance on Berlin, April 1945.

About the Author

Evgeni Bessonov was born in Moscow in 1923. He graduated from military academy in 1943 and served as a lieutenant in the Red Army. He wounded in 1945 during the fighting for Berlin.

About the Publisher

Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a *New York Times* bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

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